Rectangle Breathing

This breathing exercise gives you a quick tool for slowing your breathing down to a settled, calm and relaxed pace. It utilises an external focus technique, tracing a rectangle perimeter. This not only ensures a longer exhale and inhale, but also draws focus and attention to an external source.

Transcript

Hello, I'm Dr Bethany Brown and welcome to this rectangle breathing exercise. For this exercise you will need something with you that is rectangle in shape. This can be a mobile or cell phone, A notepad, A book or if you do not have something on you, You can also use something that is rectangle shape within the room, Whether it be a door frame or a window. And what we're going to do is use the shape of the rectangle to ensure that our breathing is made up of a longer out breath and a shorter in breath. To begin, Get yourself into a position that feels comfortable yet alert. You can do this seated, Standing or lying. If you are using a rectangle object that you can hold, I invite you to hold it in your non-dominant hand, Leaving your dominant hand free so that you can use your index finger to slowly trace the perimeter of your rectangle object. And just doing a couple of circuits, Bringing awareness and connecting to that physical sensation of tracing the outline of the rectangle. And now what I invite you to do is start to link your breathing with the tracing. So an in breath occurs when you go along a shorter side of the rectangle and you breathe out as you trace the longer side. And the pace of your tracing, I invite you to listen to your body and adjust the pace to one that feels comfortable, Soothing and relaxing. And you might want to play around with this a bit more, Perhaps seeing if you can slow it down. But again, Listening to your body and going at a pace which feels comfortable. Breathing in for a short edge of the rectangle and breathing out for the duration of the longer edge, Continuing to trace it round and round, Settling into a pattern that feels soothing, Connecting with the physical touch of your finger tracing. And if you're not using a physical rectangle that you're holding and instead you're using a door or a window, You're doing exactly the same but tracing the perimeter with your eyes. Breathing in for the shorter edge, Breathing out for longer edges. And any time your mind wanders, Gently and kindly bringing your attention back to the rectangle linked with the breath. In for a shorter edge and breathing out for a longer edge. Using the rectangle to pace the in-breath and the out-breath, Ensuring that the out-breath is longer than the in-breath, Allowing this to deepen that sense of calm and relaxation. Also using that rectangle as an external stimulus, An external anchor, A focus that is outwith our own heads, Often the place where stress, Worries, Fears and overthinking lives. Placing our attention on this rectangle external to ourselves, Giving yourself the space and time just to breathe. And just taking two to three further rotations of your rectangle before finishing the exercise.