Box Breathing: Regulate Your Nervous System In Any Situation

Box breathing is a simple yet incredibly effective breathing technique for regulating and recalibrating your nervous system. A simple breathwork practice which consists of an inhale for a count of four, breath hold for a count of four, exhale for a count of four, and breath hold on the exhale for a count of four. Join me in this calming practice, which you can do in any situation where you need to find a moment of calm. Morning, afternoon, evening, or night, you can come back to this practice time and time again.

Transcript

Welcome to today's practice.

It is a practice you can come back to and use in any situation where you find yourself wanting a reset or to become calmer.

Whether you're stuck in traffic or in an exam,

If you're a Navy SEAL or the kids are driving you mad,

If you're in the cold plunge or the sauna,

Or if it's morning and you need to focus your energy for the day,

Or the afternoon when you need to create a centering practice,

Or in the evening when you're just trying to relax to go to sleep.

This is my favorite breathing technique and it is a go-to that I use all the time.

It's called box breathing.

It's called box breathing because we breathe in for a count of four,

We hold our breath for a count of four,

We have a slow exhale for a count of four,

And then we hold on the exhale for the count of four.

So find yourself somewhere comfortable and let's begin.

In,

Hold,

And exhale,

And hold.

In,

Hold,

Exhale,

Hold.

In,

Hold,

Exhale,

And hold.

As you continue to breathe in this rhythmic pattern,

If it's helpful you can visualize creating a box in your mind's eye.

You may wish to envision a golden star traveling in a square,

Leaving a shining trail behind it.

As you breathe in,

Watch the golden star travel up,

And as you hold,

Watch it traveling to the right,

And as you exhale,

Watch it traveling down,

And as you hold,

Watch it traveling back to where it began,

And let it continue on its journey.

You can come back to this anytime you like.

If you find your mind wandering,

Just come back to that centering breath.

It's a way to regulate and rebalance your nervous system.

It brings a sense of calming,

And as you're doing it now,

I want you to start to really slow down that breath,

Slow down that inhale,

That hold,

That exhale,

And that hold.

Nice and slowly.

In,

Hold,

And exhale.

Hold.

In,

Hold,

And exhale.

Inhale,

And hold,

And exhale.

Hold.

One more time.

In,

Hold,

Exhale.

And start to breathe normally again.

I trust that this practice has left you with a sense of peace,

A sense of stillness,

And a sense of calm.

Feel free to listen whenever you like.