Pace breathing is a distress tolerance skill from dialectical behavioral therapy.
This practice is designed for times of high emotional distress and crisis when you need relief fast.
In this moment,
You might notice your breathing is quick,
Shallow,
And labored.
We are going to spend a few minutes slowing this down,
Which will help engage your parasympathetic nervous system so you can begin to feel calmer and more centered.
The breath can be a key to regulation in moments of stress because when we are breathing in a panicked and rushed way,
The brain receives information signifying that something is wrong,
Which intensifies the body's stress response.
Then the mind gets more stressed,
And the body does too,
Creating a loop of tension and anxiety.
You might be feeling that right now.
By bringing awareness to the breath and gradually slowing it down,
We can begin to alter that stress response and offer information to the mind that we are safe and that things are okay.
Start with simply observing the breath.
What is it like right now?
Fast?
Slow?
Shallow?
Where in your body can you feel the breath?
In your chest?
In your belly?
Through your nose or your mouth?
Is it hard to pay attention to your breath?
If so,
That's okay.
And if you find your mind wandering at any time,
Simply notice that it is wandering and bring your attention back to the breath.
Now the next time you inhale,
Count to yourself how long the breath takes.
So counting 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
However long it takes.
Do the same thing when you breathe out,
Counting to yourself how long the exhale lasts.
1,
2,
3,
4,
5.
Do this for a few rounds,
Familiarizing yourself with the pace of your breath at this time.
Counting as you breathe in and counting as you breathe out.
Now when you're ready,
We are going to start to slow the breathing down.
What that will look like is that when you exhale,
We're going to make the breath longer than the inhale.
For example,
If you inhale for 5 counts,
We're going to exhale for 7.
And we'll try this for a few rounds.
You have your numbers from observing,
So just make your exhale longer than the inhale.
Inhale in whatever amount and exhale out for longer.
I'll provide some counting prompts for this,
But if you have your own numbers you prefer to use,
Please do that.
I'm going to do 5 counts for the inhale and 7 counts for the exhale.
Let's begin.
Inhale for 2,
3,
4,
5.
Exhale 2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7.
Inhale 2,
3,
4,
5.
Exhale 2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7.
Inhale 2,
3,
4,
5.
Exhale 2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7.
Inhale 2,
3,
4,
5.
Exhale 2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7.
Now do this a few more times at your own pace,
Paying attention to the breath and making the exhale longer than the inhale.
It can take up to 2 minutes to alter the nervous system with this practice,
So be patient if you need to be.
Right now,
Notice if anything has changed with your breath.
Where in your body do you feel it?
In the chest,
The belly,
Through the nose?
Has your breathing deepened in the last few minutes?
Has it slowed?
Is it the same?
Notice any other changes that have arisen in the past few minutes.
Perhaps your thoughts are different.
Perhaps your emotions are less intense or seem clearer.
We don't need to judge or put shoulds on this,
Just notice what the experience is like right now.
And you'll probably notice different things every time you do this practice because each situation is different.
And you might also start to notice patterns about what happens with your breathing during times of distress.
Remember,
Your breath is always with you and you can tune into this practice any time you want.
Thank you.
