Find your calm, create greater physical breathing space and stillness within your mind
Few of us feel we have time to intentionally slow down – but when we do, we realise how effective and more enjoyable AND productive we can be, from just simply taking a few minutes (or preferably longer!) to stop and breathe! When we find a simple way to reset the body and mind, it can feel like a superpower! One of the most effective—and surprisingly easy—tools is something you’re already doing: breathing. The technique I describe below is something I use with massage and yoga clients all the time, helping them to find space in body and mind, quickly – and get the most from their appointment or class. Breath awareness can help calm your nervous system, improve focus, and support overall wellbeing.
At the heart of this practice is your autonomic nervous system, which controls functions like heart rate, digestion, and stress responses.
When you breathe slowly and evenly:
- Your parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” system) becomes more active
- Your heart rate variability (HRV) improves, which is linked to resilience and emotional regulation
- Stress hormones begin to decrease
In short, you’re signaling to your body: it’s safe to relax. Breathing practices can:
Improve focus and clarity: a calm nervous system makes it easier to think clearly and stay present.
Support better sleep: practicing before bed can help you unwind and fall asleep more easily.
Enhances emotional balance: creating space between stimulus and reaction, helping you respond more calmly
Boosts overall wellbeing: supporting a wide variety of bodily systems to get the message that it is safe to relax.
How to practice:
The beauty of this technique is its simplicity—you can do it anywhere and you’re just using your awareness – there’s no need to deepen the breath in anyway, just breathing normally throughout.
Step-by-step:
- You might like to soften your gaze, close your eyes or find something beautiful to rest your eyes on
- Bring your awareness to the touch of the breath in the inside of your nose, inhaling and exhaling a few times in this way, noticing the touch of the breath
- Place a hand on your chest and on your belly and see if you can breathe into your hands – perhaps feeling the belly and chest rise on the inhale, and fall on the exhale. Take a few breaths here, really noticing the breath in the front of the torso
- Now bringing your awareness to your armpits, sides of the ribs and sides of the waist. You can wrap your hands around your ribs or place your hands on your waist to get a greater feel for this. See if you can visualise the breath broadening sideways into the sides of the torso, filling the whole sides of the torso with breath. Take a few breaths here.
- Next, bringing your attention to the back of the torso, perhaps wrapping the arms around and feeling the small of your back. Maybe you can notice the touch of your waistbands or bra-bands touching the back too. Bringing your breath awareness into the back of the torso, try expanding the breath backwards – as though your lungs are filling the back of the torso. Perhaps you can visualise the spine filling with breath. Breathing here a few times.
- Allowing the breath to return to normal
- And when you’re ready allowing your awareness to gently rest on those three areas, the front, sides and back of the torso, and allow your breath to lightly touch all those places at the same time.
- Try taking 5 – 10 breaths in this way, into the whole of the space available for the breath
- Allow the breath to return to normal
- Notice how you feel now
Tips for getting started:
- Don’t force the breath. Keep it smooth and natural, not strained.
- Use a timer, try for 2 minutes
- Place a hand on your body or notice clothing touching those areas mentioned: This can help you stay connected to your breath.
- Start small. Even 2–3 minutes can make a difference.