Now I'm sure you've probably heard of square breathing or box breathing before,
But it's a really good tool to have in your toolkit as it activates our vagus nerve which helps us move up through the stress steps,
Getting us a release from that stress that we're carrying in our body.
So square breathing is simply that.
We're going to breathe in for four,
Hold for four,
Out for four and hold for four.
You can imagine it like drawing a box or a square in the air.
In fact,
I really like to do this with a frame,
Particularly with kids as it helps them to stay focused if their hand is drawing around the edge of a frame or if even they're just miming it in front of them.
So if that's beneficial for you,
Please do that along with the count.
So let's begin.
Get comfortable,
Allow your body to feel settled.
I'm going to do the count for three rounds of square breathing and then I'm going to give you some space to go at your own pace.
Please know that it's perfectly normal that my pace might be a little bit too fast or a little bit too slow depending on where your nervous system's at.
So you're more than welcome just to ignore me and go at your own count from the beginning.
Okay?
So just starting to notice your natural breath.
Exhaling before we begin and then breathing in two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Out two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
In two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Out two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
In two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Out two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four.
Beautiful.
Take a couple of normal breaths and then find your own pace with the count.
Breathing in for four,
Holding for four,
Out for four,
And holding for four.
Some days you might want to go faster,
Some days you might want to go slower.
This is your space to explore what your nervous system needs in this moment.
And if this technique is feeling a bit jarring,
That's perfectly okay.
These techniques are all brilliant for your nervous system for helping you manage your stress but some days some techniques just won't be supportive.
So go try a different one.
This is why I want you to have a toolkit of these simple practices so that you've got something that you can experiment with no matter where your nervous system is at.
Hopefully you're still counting and keeping your own pace but know that it's normal if you get distracted.
Take a couple of natural breaths and start again.
Counting in for four,
Holding the breath for four,
Breathing out for four,
And holding for four.
Simple,
Straightforward,
But not always easy to do in practice.
Amazing.
Allow your breath to return to normal once you've done your final round.
Shake your fingers and arms to bring some movement into your body.
Perhaps you want to roll your shoulders or your neck and gently bring yourself back into the day.
Thank you for joining me today.
Thank you so much for joining me.
I hope to see you again soon.
