4,4,4 - quickly de-stress with this technique

The 3-part exercise

In this short extract from my event on happiness in December 2021, I take you through the popular 444 breathing exercise with an imagined flow of calm. (The next event is on Thursday 30th October) Paying attention to your breathing can be almost immediately calming for the nervous system and I explain more about this below. It’s an excellent and quick mindfulness exercise also.

• Count to 4 while breathing in

• Hold the breath for a count of 4

• Count to 4 while breathing out and imagining calm flowing down to your heart and stomach areas
  

Not all in the mind

Neurons, the cells that connect to make everything work, are found in three parts of your nervous system: brain, stomach and heart.

The neurons in your stomach and heart carry information to and from your brain and enable gut and heart to function. These are in communication with each other all the time and influence each other, including emotionally. For instance, when you are nervous, about a job interview, say, the amygdala which is the “alarm centre” in your brain, becomes more active, your stomach tenses(‘butterflies in your tummy’) and your heart beats faster.

Calming your body helps to calm your mind. And calming your mind helps to calm your body. That’s why in this exercise you imagine the sense of calm flowing to your heart and stomach.

This is also a simple and effective mindfulness exercise that brings you into the moment while you are doing it.

This de-stressing and greater sense of in-the-moment awareness make it easier to spot those random moments of happiness and well being that often go unnoticed in the rush of the day.

My 15-lesson course Easy Mindfulness can help you learn many mindfulness techniques to bring more calm to your life.