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Breathing Practice


Breathing practices have many benefits when incorporating mindfulness techniques and can help pull the mind away from distractions to increase focus and attention. By oxygenating the body, breathing helps to redirect the mind during stressful or anxious situations. Following the activities listed below, you should be able to balance the mind and body connection.

Activity: Whale Breath

Duration: 3-4 minutes

Instructions: Sit on your shins or cross-legged with a straight back and shoulders relaxed for the seated version, or stand tall with your back straight for the standing version.

Standing version:

Imagine you are like a whale and you need to take a deep, deep breath — one that could last you hours underwater. Hold it for three seconds and then lift your chin. Exhale your breath while raising your arms (clapped together like a fin) toward the ceiling in a motion that resembles a whale’s blowhole. Release arms slowly out and down to your sides like falling water. Repeat this process. Lift arms up on the exhale, and reach over slightly to the left for a side stretch.

Seated version:

Sit on the shins and focus on making the spine long and tall. Imagine you are like a whale and you need to take a deep, deep breath — one that could last you hours underwater. Hold it for three seconds and then lift your chin. Exhale your breath while raising arms (clapped together like a fin) toward the ceiling in a motion that resembles a whale’s blowhole. Release arms slowly out and down to your sides like falling water. Repeat this process five to six times.

Activity: Bunny Breath

Duration: 2-3 minutes

Benefits:

  • Oxygenates the body
  • Facilitates conscious breathing during crying or when feeling anxious
  • Redirects the mind during stressful situations

Instructions:

Sit on your shins or cross-legged with a straight back and shoulders relaxed. Be careful when inhaling quickly not to strain the throat or chest.

  • While seated, sit on the shins or with legs crossed, and focus on making the spine long and tall. Place the palms down on the top of the thighs. Release the shoulders letting gravity pull them naturally away from the ears.

  • Take in three quick sniffs/breaths in through the nose. The nose may twitch like a bunny. Feel the breath move from the lungs into the belly.

  • Hold the breath for a count one.

  • Take one long exhale out thorough the mouth.

  • Repeat for 1-2 minutes.

Activity: Breathe Counting

Duration: 2-3 minutes

Benefits:

  • Pulls the mind away from distractions
  • Increases focus and attention
  • Balances the mind and body connection

Instructions: Sit on your shins or cross-legged with a straight back and shoulders relaxed.

  • Inhale through the nose and then as you exhale through the nose with the mouth closed, count “one” to yourself.
  • Inhale an again, and the next time you exhale count “two,” and continue the cycle counting up to “five.”
  • Then begin a new cycle. Start by counting “one” on the exhalation and again counting up to “five” with each out breath.
  • Practice three cycles of counting up to five and then beginning back at one. You may want to use your finger tips and tap on your knee as you count each number. Focus can be enhanced with the eyes gently closed, but it is not required for the activity.