Hello and welcome to this mindfulness activity based on the idea of box breathing.
So I'm going to introduce you to two versions of this.
Both of them are very simple and they can be incorporated into your day.
Maybe if you're waiting at a red traffic light or you're between meetings or you're stopping one activity and thinking of starting another one.
These box breathing exercises are very good for grounding yourself,
Giving yourself time and space to pause,
To be aware of the present moment and then to move on with your day.
So the box in question is a visualization of a two-dimensional square and usually we would count with the visualization.
So what we'll do is preferably sitting with your eyes closed visualizing a square in front of you and visualizing a point at the top left-hand corner of the square.
And for the first exercise we're going to use a count of four and we're simply going to breathe in and breathe out.
And what we're going to do is we're going to visualize the point moving from the left corner of the square across the top of the square for a count of four as we breathe in and then down the side of the square for a count of four as we breathe out.
And then repeating along the bottom side of the square and up the other side of the square.
So let's just focus on that visualization.
See the square in front of you.
Find your space on the top left-hand corner and breathe in two three four and then down the side breathing out three four.
In two three four and up the other side three four as you breathe out.
Let's just practice that quietly for a cycle of three or four breaths.
And now for a slightly different version of the same exercise.
Again we can use the count of four.
However this time we're going to inhale across the top of the square,
Hold for four going down the first side of the square,
Exhale across the bottom of the square and then hold for four going up until we reach our starting point.
So visualize the square and then we're going to breathe in two three four and hold down the side three four and release.
Exhale three four and hold three four and in two three four hold two three four exhale two three four hold two three four and continue that cycle for three or four breaths.
These are very simple practical exercises that you can use throughout the day when you feel that you need to take a moment to recenter yourself and ground yourself before moving on to a new activity.
I hope you find them interesting and maybe helpful as well.
Thank you for joining me today.
