Calming Breath Exercise

1.      Breathing from abdomen, inhale slowly to a count of five (count slowly “one... two... three... four... five...” as you inhale).

2.      Pause and hold your breath to a count of five.

3.      Exhale slowly, through your nose or mouth, to a count of five (or more if it takes you longer). Be sure to exhale fully.

4.      When you’ve exhale completely, take two breaths in your normal rhythm, then repeat steps one through three in the cycle above.

5.      Keep up the exercise for at least five minutes. This should involve going through at least ten cycles of in-five, hold-five, and out-five. Remember to take two normal between each cycle. If you start to feel light-headed while practicing this exercise, stop for thirty seconds and then start again.

6.      Throughout the exercise, keep up breathing smooth and regular, without gulping in breaths or breathing out suddenly.

7.      Optional: Each time you exhale you may wish to say “relax,” “calm,” “let go,” or any other relaxing word or phrase silently to yourself. Allow your whole body to let go as you do this.