Karen

Reduce stress by counting your breath and lengthening your exhales to activate deep relaxation.

Science

Stress & Anxiety

Psychology

Stress

MBSR

Mindfulness

English

This five-minute meditation helps you during a stressful day to take a quick break and instantly relax your mind and body to reduce your stress level. By lengthening your exhale, you activate your parasympathetic nervous system which immediately lets you relax. The count helps you to focus on your breath and let go of all the thoughts and to-do's rushing through your head. This is a meditation you can squeeze in every day. Repeat it until you feel relaxed enough. 

"Focused Breath" Meditation For Stress Reduction

 So, first of all, please make yourself very comfortable. Sit on your chair or on a meditation cushion and sit up straight and very relaxed. Maybe roll your shoulders back and forth for some time to get rid of the tension in your shoulders. And this very short and effective stress reduction focus meditation helps you to focus on your breath, to let go of everything, every pressure, every responsibility in your environment, in your day-to-day work and connect to your breath for a moment to release your stress immediately. So please close your eyes and let your breath flow in a natural rhythm. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the nose. And now start counting your breath. Start counting your inhale with one, two, three, four. And then count your exhale on one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Start with this. With this counting, you increase the length of your exhale in order to start your relaxation to activate your parasympathetic nervous system and let go of stress. So for a few breaths, let's count together. Inhale, one, two, three, four. Exhale, one, two, three, four, five, six. Inhale, one, two, three, four. Exhale, one, two, three, four, five, six. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Exhale 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Exhale 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Exhale 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. And now let go of the counting. Let your breath flow in a natural rhythm how it needs to flow right now. And now activate your breath a little bit more to activate yourself again for your upcoming tasks, your upcoming meeting, for your upcoming day. And take a deep inhale through the nose. Open your mouth and exhale. Let go of everything that you don't need. You can sigh. It feels so good. Inhale through the nose. And exhale. Open your mouth very wide. Let go of everything that you don't need. And the last one. Inhale through the nose. And exhale out of your mouth. And repeat this very, very short and very effective breathing technique, guided or in your own pace, in your own rhythm, for yourself every time you need a break. And it's very important that you lengthen the numbers for your exhale, then you inhale to start your relaxation. So have a really nice quick break and enjoy the rest of your day. Thank you.