This week, to attain, maintain or regain your sense of wellbeing...
...practice balloon breaths. Imagine that your belly is a balloon that inflates when you breathe in and deflates when you breathe out.This is another way of practicing diaphragmatic breathing.
Practice taking slow, deep breaths, focusing on the movement of you belly as it rises and falls with each breath. It can help to place a hand on your tummy and a hand on your chest. Start with just one or two at first and see if you can extend to a full minute. Aim to do this at least once a day, everyday.
If you find yourself feeling hungry for air or like it's getting hard to breathe when you practice this, you can try fake yawning or turning your attention to your toes or to the room around you while you practice and this will usually relieve the sensation. It's nothing to worry about, it's just your body getting used to a different breathing pattern. If you move your attention, then your automatic responses will take back over and return to your usual breathing pattern.
Once you are comfortable with this practice, add Balloon Breaths to your Personal Coping Kete for times of stress and distress.
