Inhale Calm, Exhale Stress

It's time to talk about the simple yet profound act of breathing — an involuntary action that, when harnessed with intention, has the power to transform your entire being.

Yet, in the hustle of deadlines, meetings, and the daily grind, it becomes shallow, rushed, and, sadly, taken for granted.

Why focus on breathing, you might ask?

Because it’s the anchor that can bring you back to the present moment, to yourself, and to a state of calm, no matter the chaos around you.

With each intentional breath, you have the opportunity to reset your nervous system, to reduce stress, and to approach your challenges with a renewed perspective.

Embrace this month as a time to renew your commitment to self-care and well-being, starting with the very breath that gives you life.

Whether you're at your desk, in between meetings, or winding down at the end of the day, remember that a moment of deep breathing can be your sanctuary of calm.

Transcript

Maybe you've come out of a stressful meeting or something happened and you can feel that you have stress that's extra in your body.

Maybe your heart's racing a little bit faster.

Maybe your breathing is shallow.

And with this very simple breath technique,

You can calm yourself down.

And so we're going to share this with you and it only takes five minutes and you can calm yourself down.

Okay,

So let's do this.

Welcome to Press Pause.

On today's episode,

I'm going to talk with you about how to press pause and calm down with this breathing practice.

And today Graham is with me because he is going to be my example as I talk about this breathing exercise.

He's going to do it with us.

So we're going to do it together.

So this is a simple breathing exercise that you can use anytime that you just feel that you have some stress that's been going on.

Maybe you've come out of a stressful meeting or something happened and you can feel that you have stress that's extra in your body.

Maybe your heart's racing a little bit faster.

Maybe your breathing is shallow.

And with this very simple breath technique,

You can calm yourself down.

And so we're going to share this with you and it only takes five minutes and you can calm yourself down.

Okay,

So let's do this.

Graham,

If you want to sit up straight with your back straight,

Feet on the floor,

And you can close your eyes.

Now if you're listening to this,

Don't be driving or anything.

You're going to have to find a place where you can sit quietly and undisturbed for just a few minutes and then we'll do this together.

Okay,

Together we're going to just take a deep breath in through the nose and then out through the mouth.

Let's do that two more times.

In through the nose and out through the mouth.

And once more,

In through the nose and out through the mouth.

Okay,

Now you could just go back to normal breathing and I just want you to focus on your breath as it goes in and out of your body.

So focus on your breath,

Feel your breath as you breathe in and your stomach expands,

Your chest expands,

And as you breathe out that that contracts back.

Good,

Just keep that focus just on your breath.

And as you do this,

You may find that your mind starts to wander a little bit with some chatter that's very common,

Especially if you are coming out of a stressful time.

So if that happens,

Just recognize it and let it go.

Good job.

Now we're going to do just a simple counting technique where we're going to focus on the out breath and as we focus on the out breath,

This actually helps calm your nervous system down.

So we're going to take a slow breath in for a count of four,

Two,

Three,

Four,

And then hold for seven,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

And then breathe out two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

Eight.

Do that again.

Breathe in two,

Three,

Four,

Hold two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven.

Breathe out two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

Eight.

Again,

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

And release two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

Eight.

Good job.

Continue going on your own pace,

Holding at the top,

And then releasing the breath with a slow out breath to the count of eight.

And again,

Breathe in,

Remembering to expand your belly and your chest.

Hold it at the top,

And then release for a count of eight.

Good job.

And just continue this breathing a couple more times like this.

You should be feeling your body starting to calm down,

Just focusing on your breath.

Now,

Again,

If you have thoughts coming up,

Just let them go and just be here right now.

Okay,

Now you can return to your normal breathing,

Just watching your breath as you breathe in through your nose and out through your nose.

A couple more times of that.

Good job.

We're going to finish with one deep breath in,

Just as much as you can breathe in.

Hold it,

And then release with an audible sigh.

Good job.

Thanks.

I hope that you found that helpful,

Wishing you a wonderful rest of your day.