Recently I was working out with my client Lydia, and she expressed that she was experiencing “monkey brain”, high anxiety,  and was having  a difficult time concentrating on the workout.  I suggested we take a break from our workout and simply regroup.  I had her sit down and take some deep breathes.  Then I taught her a breathing exercise called “Take 5.” This is a technique she could use right now and in times when she needed to learn how to calm herself.

Breathe!  It’s our greatest gift and strength!  It alone gives us life.   We just need to learn  how to use proper breathing for our benefit==and there’s a lot of them! One of the greatest benefits is  to relax us and relieve anxiety and stress while  increasing calmness. It stimulates the lymphatic system to help detoxify the body. It will increase your energy, improve digestion, and lower blood pressure.  And that’s just the top 5!

The “Take 5” breathing exercise:

Start by placing one hand on your abdomen and the other on your heart.

1. Take a deep breathe inhaling slowly through your nose and filling your abdomen for a count of 5
2. Hold that breath for a count of 5 seconds
3. Exhale slowly through your mouth taking 5 seconds to do so.  1, 2, 3, 4, 5…..Slow!
4. Once the breath is released…hold or wait for 5 more seconds
5. Go back to number 1 and do these 5 more times!

When done….release your hands and give yourself a high 5!