Exercise 02
The Long Exhale
Make the out breath longer than the in breath. The simplest lever there is.
How to do it
- 1
Sit or stand with your feet flat. Let your shoulders be wherever they are.
- 2
Breathe in through the nose for a count of four. Do not try to fill up.
- 3
Breathe out through the nose or pursed lips for a count of six to eight. Let it be quiet.
- 4
Pause for one count at the bottom without holding hard.
- 5
Repeat for two minutes. If you feel light headed, breathe in less, not more.
- Use it when
- Before something you are dreading, on the commute home, or in the gap between finishing work and being at home.
- Watch for
- Pulling in a big breath first. That is the part everyone gets wrong. The in breath should be smaller than feels natural, and the out breath does the work.