I absolutely love this breathing technique!! It has helped me out big time in situations when I felt overwhelmed and needed to feel calmer or grounded. It was developed by a fantastic research organisation in Colorado called the Institute of HeathMath: http://www.heartmath.org
The technique is so simple, quick and very effective. It can be used when you are feeling that the attitude you have at the moment is not conducive to the situation that maybe adopting a different attitude of “stay calm”, “stay neutral in the situation”, “don’t judge”, “be compassionate” etc would be better. I find its great to use first thing in the morning to start your day off on the right note.
Rather than ignoring your emotions this helps bring your emotions and thoughts back into balance helping you to deal with the situation in a much clearer and positive way.
Technique:
Step 1: Take a moment and think of somebody or something that you are very appreciative for. Imagine you are breathing this great emotion of appreciation for this person or thing into your heart. Continue this for a few breaths. Longer if you have the time.
Step 2: Bring your attention to your heart and solar plexus(belly area).
Step 3: Ask yourself, what would be the best attitude for me to feel in this situation. For example “stay calm”, “stay grounded”, “be open minded”
Step 4: Imagine you are breathing this new attitude in through your heart and exhaling out through your solar plexus to anchor the attitude. Continue this until you feel the new attitude has set in.
Easy peasy!!
Enjoy!!
Namaste 🙂