Monday Memo

I recently watched a documentary that featured Chris Hemsworth, putting himself in perilous situations all for the idea of learning to manage stress.

The idea was that if he could manage stress during extreme situations such as, walking across a crane hundreds of feet in the air, or having to swim with his hands and feet bound without panicking and drowning, that he would be able to manage, everyday stressful situations like his kids throwing tantrums and restaurant.

My daughter and I watched for 40 minutes wondering what magic technique they were going to offer.

Turns out their big stress, relief and help to calm his breathing in parallel situations was… Box breathing.

Next to discussing emotions, breathing is a big topic for me. If everyone in all the world would learn to regulate their breathing and drink an adequate amount of water, it is my belief the world would see a dramatic decrease in disease.

---

To save you time from having to watch this documentary, allow me to share with you what box breathing is. On this Monday morning, practice this technique so that when any everyday stressors come in, whether you are carefully walking across a 300 foot crane in Australia, or simply driving through traffic today with your kids in the backseat carrying on, you are equipped to pause, breathe, oxygenate your lungs, releasing all kinds of stressors in life. Imagine feeling joy throughout your day.

Breathing is simply a four count breath technique. Inhale for a count of four, pause & hold the breath for a count of four. This puts your body in a little bit of stress, fills your lungs to capacity with carbon dioxide and then, exhale for a count of four and hold for another count of four. Repeat the process.

So breathe in 1 2 3 4 . hold 1 2 3 4, exhale 1 2 3 4, hold 1 2 3 4. Repeat .

This technique is quite effective because we’re forcing ourselves to slow down and take in as much air as possible. When we hold for a count of four, we’re expanding our lungs longer than we thought imaginable. When we exhale for a count of four we breathe out more carbon dioxide than we normally would in a typical breath.

Box breathing demands that we pause and meditate on what we’re doing. When we’re in a stressful situation the adrenaline & cortisol are firing yet most of the time the need to run is not there.

This type of breathing causes you to focus on something else, something more peaceful. When I practice this technique, I add a drop of Frankincense.

As an aside, this technique works marvelously if you're in pain as well. Recently I broke my wrist and while waiting in the ER, while letting the doc twist and turn it for x-rays- box breathing to the rescue! This truly did reduce the amount of pain and stress I felt.

So on this Monday, whether you're performing a death defying feat, having your arm set in a cast, or driving carpool, box breathe.

You'll be able to handle anything that comes your way.