Box breathing, also known as square breathing, four-square breathing or simply box breathing, is an exercise that provides many benefits to anyone willing to give it a try. This simple breathing technique can help you relax, focus and even handle stressful situations in your life with ease, says a psychiatrist doctor in Bhopal. But it’s not just the results you’ll enjoy - here’s why you should try box breathing right now!
Why You Should Try It
People often focus on controlling their breathing when they’re stressed out or scared. This often manifests as heavy, short breaths. For example, people might breathe like that when feeling intimidated at a job interview or panicky during a fight with a loved one. But you can actually control your breathing to do more than just acknowledge stress or fear. By practicing box breathing, you can learn to control those breath patterns so that they don’t rule your body.
How To Do It
Basic box breathing involves bringing in a slow, deep breath for four seconds; holding it for two to four seconds; exhaling slowly over four seconds; and closing off your airways as you hold that breath out for another two to four seconds.
Benefits Of Box Breathing
First, it can help you cool down in a stressful situation. Say you’re at work; your boss walks by and gives you an unpleasant look. Normally, that might send your heart racing or worse. But if you’ve practiced box breathing techniques for a few minutes beforehand, those two minutes spent concentrating on your breath will give you some time to think through how you want to react in that difficult situation.
In addition, thinking about your breathing can help calm you. When faced with a scary or tense situation like being yelled at by your boss, it’s easy to start thinking of everything going wrong in your life—but all of these negative thoughts happen as we breathe out; they disappear when we breathe in.
Tips For Box Breathing
First, sit comfortably in a quiet space. Then, take a deep breath through your nose. Hold it for four seconds as you slowly count to four in your head. Then, slowly exhale through your mouth for four seconds while counting to four in your head. Repeat three times or until you feel calm again.
Final Thoughts
While doing something as simple as a breathing exercise might not seem like much, it can have some pretty great benefits, especially if you’re someone who already faces anxiety or stress, says the best psychiatrist in Bhopal. If you try it, let us know what you think! Do you feel less stressed after? Tell us in a comment below.