When your mind is racing, your breath is the quickest thing you can change. This simple technique from wellness book How to Be Well takes less than a minute.
In their book How to Be Well, Sharon Kolkka and Dr Karen Coates call the breath “the unsung hero” of health. When you’re stressed, breathing tends to get fast and shallow. Slowing it down and breathing into your belly can help you feel calmer and think more clearly.
Try it: straw breathing
- Shape your lips as if you’re holding a straw.
- Breathe in slowly through the imaginary straw, right down into your belly.
- Pause at the top until you feel the need to breathe out.
- Breathe out slowly through the straw, then pause again.
- Repeat three or four times.
The authors suggest using it as a “circuit breaker” for a busy mind, especially under pressure.
Bring it into your day
- When you wake up: notice your breathing and set an intention to come back to it when things get busy.
- On a walk: go on your own sometimes and listen to the rhythm of your breathing.
- When you’re under pressure: slow your breathing down and take it deeper.
- At 3am: instead of planning tomorrow, focus on slow belly breathing to help you drift back to sleep.
Yoga, Pilates and qi gong are all good ways to build breath control.
Techniques adapted from How to Be Well by Sharon Kolkka and Dr Karen Coates.
