Calming Breathwork For Anxiety And Racing Thoughts

This gentle breathwork practice is designed to help calm anxiety and bring your nervous system back into balance. We’ll begin with the physiological sigh to release tension, followed by 4-7-8 breathing to slow the heart rate and quiet the mind. You don’t need any experience. Simply breathe along and let your body settle :)

Transcript

Find a comfortable seat.

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Relax your jaw.

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Drop the shoulders and unknit the brow.

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Take a full deep belly breath in through the nose.

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And exhale.

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Soften.

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Letting go of the day.

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Today's sequence will include two breathwork techniques to reduce anxiety and stress.

First we'll do the physiological sigh followed by the 4-7-8 breath.

Let's begin.

Inhale through your nose and expand your belly once.

Now take a second small sip of air at the top and exhale slowly through your mouth.

Long and complete.

Again we inhale once through the nose.

Inhale twice fill all the way up.

Exhale this time with an audible sigh.

Let it out.

Ah we do this twice more now.

Inhale one.

Inhale two.

Exhale audible sigh out.

Ah one more.

Inhale one.

Inhale two.

Exhale sigh it out.

Each exhale signaling safety in the body.

Now take a moment to scan the body.

Perhaps rolling the shoulders up and down once more.

Perhaps giving your neck a few rolls this way and that.

Perhaps softening the face.

Moving now into our 4-7-8 breath.

I want you to meet me at the bottom of your next exhale.

Let's empty out all of our breath now.

Now we inhale for a count of four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Pause at the top for seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Exhale for eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Deep inhale through the nose for four.

Pause at the top for seven.

Exhale for eight.

Few more rounds just like this.

In for four.

Pause for seven.

Exhale for eight.

Inhale for four.

Pause for seven.

Exhale for eight.

In for four.

Pause for seven.

Exhale for eight.

Inhale.

Pause.

Inhale.

Pause.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Final round here.

Deep inhale for four.

Pause.

And exhale slowly.

Now let that count go and return to your natural rhythm of breath.

Let your body find its own pace.

Notice how your breath feels now,

How your belly and chest is moving now,

How your mind feels.

Come back to this practice anytime anxiety or stress arises.