Journal
The two-minute exhale
The one breath I'd teach if I could only teach one: longer out than in, for two minutes, anywhere.
When the day gets loud, most of us breathe high and fast without noticing. The quickest way back is not a deep breath in. It's a long breath out.
Try it now
- Breathe in through your nose for a count of four.
- Breathe out slowly through soft lips for a count of six, or eight if it's easy.
- Repeat for two minutes. That's about ten breaths.
Why it works
A long exhale is the body's own signal that the danger has passed. You don't have to believe anything for it to work; you only have to make the out-breath longer than the in-breath.
Where to use it
Before a hard call. On the train home. In the queue at the supermarket. Nobody can tell you're doing it, which is half the point.
If you want to go further, lesson two of Breathe Easy is this breath, slowly, with me.