A simple breathing practice designed to promote relaxation, focus, and emotional balance.
To begin, find a space, with good air circulation and where you can either sit or lie down making sure your spine is straight.
Before you begin the square breath, first empty your lungs by exhaling through your nose as fully as you can. Then contract the diaphragm muscle and inhale through your nose to the count of four. Then hold your breath to the count of four, then slowly relax the diaphragm muscle, and exhale through your nose to the count of four, then hold your breath to the count of four. This completes one cycle of the square breath.
Repeat this cycle of inhaling, holding, exhaling, and holding for about 3 or 4 cycles. Once it has become easy to do 3 or 4 cycles you can increase the number of cycles. If at any point you become light headed stop the exercise.
Consistency is crucial when it comes to integrating square breathing into your daily routine. By consistently practicing this technique, you can harness its potential as a valuable tool in helping you feel a greater sense of balance.
Stay informed about the latest research in psychology.
If you've spent any time researching therapy options, you've probably encountered both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and trauma-informed care.
If you've ever felt flooded by emotion and unable to think clearly, or, conversely, gone completely numb and checked out, you've experienced what therapists call dysregulation.
Trauma lives in the body, and if you've ever noticed your shoulders locked around your ears during a stressful conversation, or felt your chest tighten before you'd consciously registered a threat, you've experienced this firsthand.
