As a single mom, my life is absolutely crazy. My already-existing anxiety can shoot straight up at any given time.
This breathing exercise has helped both my son and I more than I can put into words.
This exercise takes less than two minutes and has helped my hyperactive son get calm enough to sleep and eased my own anxiety.
So what’s the exercise?
Step 1 – find a place to relax.
Whether you’re sitting on a chair or laying in bed, it doesn’t matter. Just find a place to relax and get comfy.
Feel your body sink into the surface below you. Be aware of each muscle as it releases tension.
If this doesn’t come easy to you, that’s ok. The more you do it, the easier it will get.
Step two – become aware of your breahting.
As you breath, make sure you’re taking belly breaths and not chest breaths. Chest breaths can increase anxiety which the opposite of what we want. As you breathe, place your hand on your belly and feel it rise and fall as you breath.
Take a big deep breath in through your nose, feeling your belly fill with air. Push it out through your mouth, feeling your belly slowly collapse.
Step three – pace your breathing.
Take a big deep breath in through your nose and hold it for a count of three before pushing the air out of your mouth.
Repeat this two more times.
Step four – take in as much air as you can possibly fit into your body and hold it for a count of three.
Then push it all out until there’s no air left in your lungs.
Step five – visualization
Pick a color, any color you like. For the purposes of this exercise, I’m going to pick pink.
When you breathe in, imagine a pink smoke going in through your nose, down your throat, and into your belly where it swirls in a beautiful pattern.
As you push the air out, imagine that it’s swirling out of your belly, up your chest, through your throat and out of your mouth.
Step 6 – repeat as needed.
Continue to use the visualization until you feel your body relax and feel that calm.
Step 7 – relax each muscle individually.
Let your feet and legs sink into the bed or seat, imagining that pink smoke filling your muscle as it relaxes. Repeat this all the way up your body.
Then go back to your normal breathing pace.
If this is your first time doing anything like this, give yourself grace. You may not feel relaxed right away and you may not be able to create a solid visualization. And that’s ok. give yourself SO much grace.
This takes practice and is something you need to do consistently to truly feel the effects.
Alright y’all, do you feel relaxed?
This breathing exercise has changed the course of my personal life.
It’s changed the life of my little dude. And doing this and letting go of the resistance that I had to this because it was like breathing, all of this breathing stuff, but that’s where the hippies and all that letting go.
The resistance that I had regarding the breathing exercises, was one of the best things I’ve ever done. It’s allowed me to better process my just my life.
In general process, my anxiety and other issues and the human body is just amazing.
If this helped you, I’d love it if you reached out to me on Instagram and send me a DM letting me know. It would make my day to hear about your experience.
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