Once you have practiced this exercise several times, it can be done almost anywhere or anytime except in circumstances when the stress response is necessary to take care of a serious situation. In other words, don't close your eyes and focus on deep breathing when you are running away from a wild animal.
Step One: Choose a time and place that is quiet and where you will not be disturbed for at least 30 minutes. Step Two: Sit upright, but not too stiffly, in a chair that is comfortable yet supportive for your back. Once you are seated, you should be able to not be distracted by any noises, smells, or other things in the room. Rest your hands on your lap. You do not have to hold your hands in any kind of fancy position; just let them relax in your lap in a position that is comfortable for you.
Step Three: Close your eyes and notice how you are breathing. Does your breath go deep into your belly or does it go in and out through your chest only? Put your hand on your belly and feel your belly push out as you inhale and sink in as you exhale. Do this a few times until it feels comfortable and then return your hand to your lap.
Step Four: As you breathe into your belly, or diaphragm, count to four (not too fast). Then count to four as you breathe out. When this feels comfortable try counting to four on the in-breath and then counting to eight on the out-breath. Do you notice that when you breathe out you use your stomach muscles to push the air completely out of your body which makes room for you to breathe in more air on the in-breath?
Step Five A: (Optional) if you feel very comfortable with Step Four and want to try one more thing – here it is. As you complete count eight on the out-breath, notice the space between breathing out and breathing in and count to two. Then, breathe in on the four count and out on the eight count repeating the two count between out-breath and in-breath. Once that is comfortable, try doing the same thing between breathing in and breathing out. Find the place between the in-breath and out-breath and hold it counting to two.
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Step Five B: (Optional) Remember a time and a place where you were very happy. Use all of your senses to be back in that scene. What did it look like? What did it sound like? Did you smell anything? Did you taste anything? Focus on that time as you breathe in and imagine white light coming into your body from just above your head. As you breathe out imagine that white light settling into your heart. If another happy time comes to mind you can switch over to that and continue to imagine the light coming in through your head and into your heart.
Step Six: After a few more breaths open your eyes and notice how you feel. Do you feel more relaxed? Did anything distract you from the exercise? Many people like to write down their experiences during breathing exercises like this. You can create a journal just for this and look it over in a few weeks or months and see if you have noticed any changes in your life as a result.
Try doing this exercise for three to five minutes at first, then each time you try it over several days, try increasing the time until you are able to do it for about twenty minutes during each session.
This activity can be introduced to students as an opening to the Health and Anatomy Unit and practiced briefly before other lessons as the unit progresses. Students should be familiar with this exercise and have practiced a few days in a row before introducing Heart Rate Lesson below.
This activity can be introduced to students as an opening to the Health and Anatomy Unit and practiced briefly before other lessons as the unit progresses. Students should be familiar with this exercise and have practiced a few days in a row before introducing Heart Rate Lesson below.