Day 9 - 4, 7, 8 Breathing

Day 9 of the Breathe Together With Me Challenge: 4, 7, 8 Breathing
Today, we’re practicing the 4-7-8 breathing exercise, a rhythmic technique involving gentle breath-holding to promote relaxation and emotional balance. This practice improves lung capacity, enhances carbon dioxide tolerance, and boosts oxygen efficiency.

Transcript

Hello, Welcome to Day 9 of Breathe Together With Me Challenge. I'm so glad you are here. Today we're going to do 4-7-8 breathing exercise. This exercise involves a bit of breath holding. Breath holding can have several benefits when practiced mindfully and safely. It can help you improve your lung capacity. Holding your breath for short periods can expand your lung capacity, Increasing your carbon dioxide tolerance and in turn improve oxygen delivery to your muscles and tissues. It also helps to improve stress reduction, Enhancing mental clarity. This improves breathing control and strengthen our mind-body connection. It helps reduce stress and helps with emotional regulation. This creates a sense of calm and stability, Helping us regulate our emotions. Let's get started. I'll get you to sit on a chair or you can lie down in a supine position. If you're sitting, Imagine a piece of string gently pulling you upwards towards the ceiling. Imagine the space between your ribs widening as you breathe in and closing as you breathe out. Close your eyes or gently soften your gaze. We take two slow deep breaths in and out through your nose. Breathing in and out. Breathing in and out. Releasing any tension or stress with each breath. Now we do four, Seven, Eight. Taking breathing in for four counts, Holding for seven and breathing out for eight. Breathe in, Two, Three, Four. Hold, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven. Out, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight. In, Two, Three, Four. Hold, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven. Out, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight. In, Hold. Keep going, Counting in your head. We'll do a couple more minutes of four, Seven, Eight. Each time you exhale, Release more stress and tension out through your body. As you continue this rhythmic breathing pattern, Focus on your attention, On the sensation of the breath entering and when you hold, Enjoy the peace and the quiet. When you leave your body, Let go of all the stress and the anxiety that you have. Notice the rise of the chest and the belly as you inhale and the fall of your body as you exhale. If your mind wanders, Gently bring it back. Let go of any thoughts or distractions and simply come back to be present with your breath. Let's take a final round of four, Seven, Eight, Savoring the sense of peace and calm when you hold and relaxation as you exhale. Take a moment to notice how you feel. When you're ready, Let's take two slow breaths. To conclude this exercise, Breathing in and out. Breathing in take a moment to feel the sense of calm in your body and your mind. When you're ready, Gently open your eyes. Take a moment to notice how you feel. Today we practice four, Seven, Eight breathing. It doesn't have to be four, Seven, Eight. It can be three, Six, Nine, Five, Seven, Eight. It can be anything you like. Ideally, When you exhale longer than you inhale, You can slow down your heart rate, Calm your mood down. Remember, You can come back to this breathing exercise anytime you feel like a moment of peace and relaxation in your day. Thank you for taking this time to yourself. Thank you for breathing together with me. I am Dr Chow Tun Lifestyle GP. Until next time, Keep breathing.