3 Easy-to-Remember Breathing Techniques
As a new and stressed out teacher, summer was a time I felt like I could finally breathe again.
It turns out I wasn’t imagining that feeling.
Stress has been shown to cause breathing difficulties, the most common of which is taking shorter, more shallow breaths.
When we’re stressed for extended periods, we might not even realize some of our fatigue is from not getting deep enough breaths.
The good news is, studies show intentional breathwork is a powerful tool to recover from stress AND build long-term resilience to stress.
As a health coach that wants you feeling g-o-o-d NOW, I’m sharing three easy breathing techniques - so you can start practicing and benefit right away.
Strategy 1: Box Breathing
Using your finger, trace a box in front of you.
On the first side, breathe in for 4 seconds
Tracing down, hold your breath for 4 seconds.
Tracing across, breathe out for 4 seconds.
Tracing up, hold for 4 seconds.
Repeat at least 3 times or until you are feeling more calm.
Strategy 2: Finger Breathing
Using one hand, trace up your pinky finger and inhale
Trace down your pinky finger and exhale
Keep tracing up and down all five fingers, deeply inhaling and exhaling
When you reach the base of your thumb, you can reverse the process.
Repeat 3 times or until you are feeling more calm.
Strategy 3: 4-7-8 Breathing
Breathe in for 4 seconds
Hold the breath for 7 seconds
Breathe out for 8 seconds
Repeat for at least 3 breath cycles.
Keep track of the second by tapping your thumb and pointer finger and counting in your head.
Let us know in the comments - What breath technique will you try? Is there another breathing technique that has worked for you during the school year?
Your comment can help other teachers reading!
And if you found this post helpful, make sure to share with a teacher you care about.
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