4-7-8 BREATH
by Dr. Andrew Weil
For many of us, we are experiencing one or more of the following struggles during this Coronavirus Pandemic.
*STRESS
*ANXIETY
*IRRITABILITY / ANGER OUTBURSTS
*APPETITE CRAVINGS / BINGE EATING
*SLEEP ISSUES
*ETC….
Most of us have heard how breathing relaxation exercises can help reduce overall stress and anxiety, but how many of you knew it could also help with the others listed above. I have researched many such exercises over my many years as a mental health professional. Below, I have outlined one I believe anyone can master quickly, and with measurable results in a week. It’s simple, quick, and can be done anywhere. It’s important to try and do twice a day or more, and keep with it for at least a week or two. The skill of the exercise and the positive results tend to both increase over time. As is customary with the advice I like to give to others, it is simple, yet powerful.
Following the old adage….just breathe.
It’s called 4-7-8 BREATH (by Dr. Andrew Weil). Here is how you do it.
- Sit with your back straight.
- Place the tip of your tongue on the ridge behind your two upper front teeth, and leave there throughout the exercise.
- Exhale completely, through your mouth, making a whooooosh
- Close your mouth, and Inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of 4.
- Hold your breath for a mental count of 7.
- Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whooooosh sound to a mental count of 8.
- This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.
Set the mental count to your comfort level, but be sure to keep the ratio the same. Use the exercise at set times during the day, or use them when you have a negative internal reaction to something during the day. Use it to help you fall asleep, or at predictably difficult times, i.e. at night when you typically begin to snack on unhealthy food and wish you could pass on the cravings.…or when you typically begin to drink alcohol and do not want to drink as much as you have been of late. All areas listed above can be managed better with this simple, yet powerful, exercise.