How to 4-Count Breathe
4-count breathing, or box breathing, is an awesome tool for maintaining mental health. With stress and anxiety so prevalent in our society, having ways to calm and center the mind are more important than ever. In a day and age when we feel disconnected from one another and pressured by influence of social media and news, it is vital to have a way to maintain calm and peace in your There are several reasons why 4-count breathing is so highly recommended here at Karis. The primary reason how easy it is to utilize at any time. Unlike other relaxation techniques like exercise or meditation, this technique requires no preparation or planning. It doesn't matter if you are a stay-at-home mother juggling children, working at a stressful job, or even an astronaut on the moon, if you have 20 seconds you have time for 4-Count breathing.
You may be thinking this sounds a little overrated. Surely something as simple as breathing can't do that much, especially in cases of extreme stress. This is a false assumption. 4-count breathing is so extremely effective it is even utilized by Special Operations military forces for stress management in both training and in combat. Breathing in a mindful and measured way supplies oxygen to the brain, utilizing your lungs full capacity and distracting your mind from whatever stressors are effecting you at the time. This also stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which regulates the resting and calm states in your body. This centers and stills your mind and combats the negative effects of stress.
So how do you 4-count breath? It is as easy as 4 simple steps:
Breathe in for four seconds. Ensure that you are taking a nice, even breath, remembering to count to 4 slowly as you breathe.
Hold for four seconds. Imagine the oxygen in your lungs perfusing throughout your body.
Breathe out for four seconds. Let all your stress leave your body with your breath.
Hold the breath out. Let yourself be grounded in the moment, calm and centered.
Complete these four steps then repeat until you feel your stress abate. Then you are done! Its really that simple. We here at Karis recommend incorperating 4-count breathing into your daily life. While this is a great way of reducing active stress it can also be a great preventative technique for reducing your overall stress. The incorperation of stress relief into your day is an important way you not only combat illness but grow your overall wellness.