478 Breathing For Anxiety Relief

This is a twenty-minute breathing guided meditation by Zachary Phillips. Use this practice in response to stressful events, to calm down after exercise, as a lead into a meditation session, and as a sleep aid. By slowing down and controlling the breath (in for 4, hold for 7, out for 8), the practitioner triggers the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting anxiety relief, relaxation, and performance enhancement.

Transcript

Welcome to the session.

Today we'll be practicing 4-7-8 breathing.

Breathing in for 4 seconds,

Holding the breath for 7 seconds and exhaling for 8 seconds.

By slowing down the breath,

You'll slow down the body.

By slowing down the body,

You'll slow down the mind.

Anxiety will reduce,

And you will return to a state of calm.

Let's begin.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Hold.

Breathe out.

Well done.

Feel free to come back to this session anytime you need.

Reviews

That was very hard. But out of about 500 different meditation exercises on this app, this one has made me feel the best by far. Thank you!!

Perfect - time flew by - and mind has slowed down a lot. A good precursor to a body scan by enabling a more settled state.