#27 A Peaceful Pause

4-7-8 Breathing

Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash

Welcome to this month’s edition of A Peaceful Pause.

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Each month A Peaceful Pause features a guided audio practice from me.

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“Dr Weil claims that over his decades of experience 4-7-8 breathing has shown itself to be an incredibly effective way to manage stress and anxiety.”

- Extract from my book, Rest + Calm

In this month’s edition of A Peaceful Pause I’m guiding you through the 4-7-8 breathing technique, popularised by Dr. Andrew Weil.

If you find yourself waking up in the night, this practice can be helpful for that too.

Some practice pointers:

• You can do this seated or lying down.

• You will be inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth with pursed lips. (So, your exhale may make a ‘whooshing’ sound.)

• If you find holding the breath challenging it may be that you are shallow (chest) breathing. Aim to inhale as deeply into your lungs as you comfortably can. Feeling your rib cage expand (rather than the chest rising) is an indicator that you are breathing deeper.

Here’s your 4-7-8 Breathing practice (5mins 16secs):