Clarity and Calm in 3 minutes

Every day throws a mix of the expected and the unexpected at us—situations, conversations, little moments. Some we can flow through pretty easily, while others can throw us off or leave us feeling stuck. A lot of it comes down to how much energy or headspace we’ve got at the time. The good news? We can give ourselves a little boost and create more flow with something as simple as a quick breathwork practice. There are many out there, but one of the easiest to try is Box Breathing.

Box Breath

Method

Find a quiet space where you can sit comfortably with your feet on the floor, with your back supported

Take note of any sensations/emotions you may be feeling in your body and rate it from 1(minimal impact to your current state) to 10 (maximum impact to your current state)

Rest your hands on your lower belly, just under your belly button

You may choose to gently close your eyes, keep them open or softly lower your gaze to your lap

Inhale through your nose , expanding your lower belly out gently for 4 seconds

Hold the breath in for 4 seconds

Exhale through your nose, pulling your navel towards your spine for 4 seconds

Hold the breath out for 4 seconds

Begin the cycle again and repeat for 3-5 minutes

If you can only manage 2-3 seconds of each step then start there and work up to 4 seconds, then 5, 6 or 7 seconds.

At the end of your time check in gain with your sensations/emotions and see if the level of impact has dropped for you. You can do another round if you feel you would like to drop the level more but generally one round will bring in enough calm and clarity for you to move forward and flow again.