Welcome to your square breathing practice.
When we've got lots of things going on in our mind and we want to create a little bit of space to think,
We can always come back to our breath.
There's a wonderful saying,
My breath is my anchor.
And what that means is that our breath brings us back to ourselves when everything is spinning and we don't feel like we've got much control of what's happening.
Square breathing is a really wonderful way to slow things down and help our mind find some clarity so that we can think about what we need to do next.
A square,
Like our breath,
Has got four parts.
The first part is when we breathe in,
This is called an inhalation.
The second part is a natural pause.
The third part is when we breathe out,
This is called exhalation.
And the fourth part is another natural pause.
Take a few breaths now by yourself and notice yourself breathing in,
Pausing,
Breathing out,
Pausing.
When we square breathe,
We visualize,
We draw a picture with our inside mind of a square.
Each part of our breath is a different side to the square.
Close your eyes now if they're not closed already.
Let's draw a square with our finger.
Breathing in,
Pause,
Breathing out,
Pause.
Wonderful,
Let's do it again.
Breathing in,
Pause,
Breathing out,
Pause.
If they're not already closed,
Try it again this time with your eyes closed.
And this time,
Draw the square on your inside mind.
Breathing in,
Pause,
Breathing out,
Pause.
Good,
Let's do that again.
Breathing in,
Pause,
Breathing out,
Pause.
Wonderful.
Think of your favorite color.
It can be anything.
Maybe it's sparkles or a rainbow.
Maybe it's green or blue or black or purple.
You choose.
This time,
I'd like you to draw your square using your favorite color.
Breathing in,
Pause,
Breathing out,
Pause.
Well done,
Keep going with your eyes closed.
Drawing your square on your inside mind using your favorite color.
Breathing in,
Pause,
Breathing out,
Pause.
This time,
Breathe into yourself.
Pause as you feel your strength.
Breathe out,
Letting go of anything that's holding you back.
And pause as you trust yourself.
Keeping your eyes closed,
I'd like you to let go of your square breathing.
And take a moment to notice the quality of your mind.
There may be more space between your thoughts.
You may feel that there are fewer thoughts and you have more clarity.
Well done for settling your mind.
And know that you can use square breathing whenever you need to,
Whenever you want to.
Whether you're at school,
At home or somewhere else.
All you need to do is use your inside mind to draw the four sides of the square for each part of your breath.
You can gently open your eyes now.
Congratulations on completing your square breathing practice.
