Stress Relief – It’s Just a Breath Away!

Sometimes stress relief is just one deep breath away. This simple meditation is quick, but powerful. It combines deep breathing, which has been proven to cause significant effects on the mind, mood and the body, with simple meditation, which helps one become more physically relaxed and mentally focused and centered. Whether you use it to prepare for a physically taxing day or just a stressful day at the office, this quick exercise is an effective tool that will help you feel relaxed, alert and engaged, and generally ready for almost anything.

Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 3-10 minutes

1.    Sit in a comfortable position. The ‘seiza’ (“say zah”) position, where you sit folding your legs beneath you so you’re resting on your feet with your knees directly in front, is recommended. However, you may also sit cross-legged or in another position that’s more comfortable.

2.   Close your eyes, but keep your head up, your eyes (behind your lids) focused on the horizon.

3.   Take one deep, cleansing breath, and hold it in for the count of 6.  Then breathe normally, and focus your attention on your breathing. As you breathe, inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.

4.   If your thoughts drift toward the stresses of the day ahead or of the day behind you, gently refocus on your breathing. Feel the air move in, and feel the air move out. That’s it.

5.   Continue this for three to ten minutes, and you should notice that your body is more relaxed and your mind is more calm. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Additional Tips:

1.   As you breathe, let your abdomen expand and contract, rather than moving your shoulders up and down. This deeper breathing is more natural and similar to how babies breathe. It gives you increased lung capacity, whereas the ‘shallow breathing’ adults usually utilize doesn’t allow as much oxygenation of the blood.

2.   Don’t breathe too quickly or too slowly; just breathe at a natural rate, but more deeply.

3.   If you find your thoughts drifting a lot at first, don’t worry that you’re doing it ‘wrong’. Noticing that you’ve drifted and refocusing to your breathing is part of the practice, and something you’re doing ‘right’!

What You Need:

• A quiet place (with soft calming music, if preferred)
• A few minutes
• A willing mind

The great thing about breathing exercises is they can be done almost anywhere.  You may not be able to plop down on the floor, close your eyes and start breathing just anywhere for stress relief, but you can perform the actual breathing exercises just about anywhere.

Remember–just breathe!