This is another version of The One Minute Breath. All you have to do is visualise a box and count to 5. Simple!
Research has confirmed that this style of controlled breathing (meditation) calms nerves and relieves stress by helping to regulate the autonomic nervous system.
How to Box Breath:
- Sit down on a comfortable chair in a quiet space.
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Close your eyes & relax your shoulders, place your hands on your abdomen – make sure when you breathe in your stomach fills will air, not your chest.
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Visualise a box
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Breathe in for 5 seconds (up one side of the box)
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Hold your breath for 5 seconds (across the top of the box)
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Release for 5 seconds (down the other side of the box)
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Hold for 5 seconds (across the bottom of the box)
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Repeat 4 times
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Note: you can download a metronome app to help you draw out the length of your counting. At first you may count each number as a second. You can then build to count each number over 3 seconds and so forth.
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Start with practicing once per day and build up to 3 times per day.