“Smile, breathe and go slowly.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Sarah, a psychiatrist of How to Cope with Pain.
Ever have one of those days when it seems there’s not a minute to catch your breath, let alone meditate or relax? A day when you feel like the proverbial busy bee, with no time to admire the fragrant flowers you’re landing on?
Leo has given us some wise ways to relax, simplify, and take life more slowly, but you might still find it tricky to always put these suggestions to use. Or, perhaps for you, some days flow smoothly, but there are still some - or many - during which taking a break feels impossible.
On those days, instead of an evening, an hour, or even 15 minutes to relax, could you spare 6 seconds?
Yes, that’s right… 6 seconds. That’s the time it takes to let yourself have 1 relaxing breath. 2 seconds breathing in through your nose, and 4 seconds exhaling through your mouth. Right now, I’m going to ask you to take 12 seconds for an experiment. At the end of this sentence, practice that relaxing breath… 2 seconds in and 4 seconds out.
That’s right. And once again at the end of this sentence.
Even that little amount of time – 6 seconds - can help your body and mind relax. Let your heart rate slow. Let some of the stress slide away.
Now how can you give yourself the gift of relaxing breaths during even your busiest days? One answer is to pair a relaxing breath with an activity that comes up repeatedly during your day. For example, let’s say you’re a secretary. Each time your phone rings, breathe before you answer it. (6 seconds is less than the time it takes for the phone to ring again, so no one will even notice you’re taking time for yourself.)
Here are some other examples of fitting in a single breath, using - you guessed it - BREATHE:
B: If you’re a Blogger, take a breath each time you click “save” when writing an article for your blog.
R: If you make Reservations for an airline, take a breath each time you book a flight going east.
E: If you’re an Engineer, take a breath each time you use your calculator.
A: If you’re an Accountant, take a breath each time you see a number ending in 6.
T: If you’re a Teacher, take a breath each time the school bell rings.
H: If you’re a Highway tollbooth operator, take a breath each time a white car comes through your lane.
E: If you’re an Editor, take a breath each time you correct a comma.
Now it’s time to put your creativity to work for yourself. You’re invited to fill in the blanks below, and then share in the comments what you’ll do to regularly sneak in relaxed breathing during your day.
I’m a _________________, so I’ll take a breath each time I ________________________.
Will you commit to try this exercise today? Remember, even busy bees rest. The American Bee Journal says so. And if they can do it, so can you!
How to Cope with Pain, hosted by a psychiatrist specializing in chronic pain management, frequently writes about breathing, relaxing, and managing stress.
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69 brilliant comments
Absolutely love your site Leo - try to read it every morning over a coffee. This article is ok but it’s missing an important element - how to breath properly. I would like to add that diaphragmatic breathing is an important skill to master in order to relax (or meditate, do yoga, etc.). As a massage therapist, it’s one of the first things I teach patients that come in for stress related concerns. Becoming more aware of your diaphragm I would say is an important add on to this article.
I do breathing excersises every morning for about 10 minutes, and I am astonished at the effects they are having on my life. A lot of tension is connected to the respiratory system, and it is very important to become aware of this. Thanks for the reminder.
I’m an advertising production director, so I’ll take a breath each time I read an email.
My oxygen levels will go way up and my day will be more relaxed. Love it!
Fantastic idea.
I always had these breaks but never thought of deciding on a prticular trigger, so sometimes I forgot to take them for much too long.
I’m a mother of 3 grown sons so I’ll take a breath each time I start worrying about any of them.
Breathing is one of the few body functions that can be controlled both consciously and unconsciously.
Exercising breathing leads to a healthy body and mind.
Here is mine:
I’m a Consultant , so I’ll take a breath each time I communicate my plan.
I am actually practicing the 2 - 4 seconds breathing while reading the article. If that doesn’t describe how practical this is, I don’t know what does.
Just a small addition to the advice, breathing will provide the best effect when it comes with conscious mind. To actually feel the air inhaled in and exhaled out.
Here’s mine - I’m an engineer, so I’ll take a breath each time I was handed a problem to be solved.
In addition to breathing, you can also try laughter. I’m a designer so everytime I click on a layer in Photoshop, I will take a deep belly breath as well as let out a small chuckle.
“Laughter is an instant vacation.” ~Milton Berle
Very, very nice! (breathes)
I’m a web designer, I’ll breathe every time I save and preview my pages
I’m an Instructional Designer, and I’ll breathe before I record narration on a course.
The best advice skips all the deep thought and brings to light the simplest ideas. IMO, this article tops the rest of the “stress freedom” genre =D Kudos.
My new favorite way to destress is sitting with no sound at all-total quite wrapped up in my jammies and a blanket at my bedroom desk reading this website while breathing. Totally amazing.
I am responsible for the website http://www.udk-berlin.de and there are many things to do. I’ll breathe every time I save and preview, everytime I finish reading an e-mail.
I’m an Interaction Designer at a software company and I use many different software applications during the day for different tasks. I’ll take a breath each time I switch from one application to another AND every time I get up from my desk to talk to different colleagues.
Great advice. I think we all have 6 seconds for a quick mental break. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Great way to start my stress free Friday, thanks.
Today, I will try taking a breath every time I see a number ending in six.
-Dan Malone-
I’m a computer guy, so I’ll take a breath each time I figure out the cause of an error message.
I may be holding my breath for a while today…
I’m a communicator, so I’ll take a breath each time I get off the phone.
Six seconds? I think I can do that - great advice and very doable for even the busiest person. Of course reminding myself to do it when I’m stressed is the tricky part.
This post seems like a great compliment to a post that I wrote on my own blog yesterday. Please consider checking it out:
stopassuming.blogspot.com
I’m in Human Resources. I’ll breathe everytime I fill out a form.
Well… maybe every third form.
Doing it now actually. Aahhhh. Great post!
Best post of the week. This is just what I needed. Little reminders are good, but now I’ve got my six second breathe rule.
I’m a systems administrator, so I’ll take a breath each time I log off of a server.
I think I would not have been able to take many of those deep breaths during work hours, had it not been bumping into Leo’s advice on GTD, nor would I have had enough courage to start a blog of my own. Thank You Leo for trying to bring out the best in me. :)
Very good, though when i first read the title I thought it said how to cope with “Palin”
That is great advice. Everyone should take a few seconds out of each day to just breathe :)
What a great exercise to pair with the post. (Since I’m one of your examples, I’ll do a new twist on it.)
I’m an editor, so I’ll take a breathe each time I correct a misspelling.
What a wonderful relaxation exercise. It really does work!
I love the idea!
Thank you.
I’m an executive assistant, and I’ll take a breath each time my boss ask me to do something I consider unreasonable.
Nice. I’m a mathematician, so I’ll take a breath each time I get confused.
1…, 2…, 3…, 4…, 5…, 6…
Thanks. I will practice it more often.
Nicolas
Great technique.
It’s even tought by Anthony Robbins. He recommends 10 breaths like this, 3 times a day.
I am a tax advisor and will breath every time I think about the IRS.
Thank you Leo!
It’s very useful to me.
I’m a software developer and I have dificult to relax!
Glad to hear this post has been helpful… the examples people have given are great. And I love the humor - Mr. B, your mis-read How to Cope with Palin is hilarious. Made my day!
Great reminder! I’m a psych nurse, so I’ll breathe every time I say “Tell me how you’re feeling”.
I have always my 6 seconds relax time, if you take it easy to every article you post on, life could be more relaxed than you ever thought
Interesting idea. I like the thought that it should be associated with regular activities, which will really help it to become natural and common every day. I’m going to try this and see how much I can benefit from those relaxing breaths :)
Hello again. This inspired me to write a post on breathing exercises. You are welcome to visit.
http://missattica.blogspot.com/2008/11/craving-air.html
awesome!
I am a student and I will breathe every time I open a book :-)
(and yes that is quite a lot)
I am a Day Trader and I will breath every time I make a trade.
Thanks.
I am a Web Designer (and I could possibly be a contender if they created a new sport called competitive worrying.) so I will take a deep breath every time I see an angle bracket. >>>>>>> Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
I’m an attorney. I’ll take a breathing break every time I click “check mail” on my email client.
i’m a soapmaker, so i’ll take a breath every time i mix a new batch and every time i answer a business email.
Great ideas! I read somewhere that most webpages take 5-6 seconds to load so I’ll get lots of 6-second breaths when I’m on the computer.
Mr B, your comment about Palin cracked me up.
Frank’s comment about breathing at the thought of the IRS was also hilarious.
Glad I dropped in here as I usually read posts in my reader instead of visiting the site itself. Guess if I click on the site, which takes around 6 seconds to load, I’ll get those breaths in!
Daphne
Hi Sarah,
This is an interesting post and also a great reminder for us to take a break. The frantic pace of the modern lifestyle sometimes cause us to forget about breaks and keep us working endlessly and this is a recipe bound for disasters. Taking deep breaths can definitely help us to relax and thanks for the reminder Sarah.
Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger
I’m a student, so I’ll take a breath each time I turn a page in the book I’m studying.
I’m a nurse and I monitor my patients’ oxygen saturation percentages via a finger clip (pulse oximetry.)
Whenever I ask one of my patients to take a deep breath, the saturation rate goes up immediately (under “normal” circumstances) and stays up for several minutes even when he or she returns to regular breathing.
This direct observation reminds me to take a deep breath myself.
This is one of those simple yet overlooked things that a person can to to improve the quality of their life. Just Breath!
this is very nice! ^_^
i’m a web developer so I’ll take a breath each time I save my code before previewing my project.
Nice tip. I like these quick and practical ideas for living better. Thank you, Sarah.
I also like the idea of linking this stress reliever to common activities we do during the day. I’ve written about this a little in an article on finding time to pray during the day. The principle for reminding yourself to do it is largely the same though.
- Marshall
Even though I do have a full-time job that requires a lot of attention and detail…I do find time to check my facebook account often.
So, I will breathe every time I check my facebook account (on and off the job). :)
I get my six every time I come here. And that’s why I’m here often, even when I know there is nothing new. The header has become a symbol of calmness that I desire to attain…
I am an executive at a financial institution with many employee issues, but that is okay; I can handle these issue without breathing. I think the employees need to breath when I am talking…;-) I am also a mother of two girls….I promise to start breathing every time I hear
” Mom….(pause)….” I know what is coming next….dish out the ATM/Debit card…..loll
I use visualization every single day to calm my nerves and create focus around my goals and desired outcomes in life.
Another method I use on top of this is the use of a vision boards. Have you ever heard of them? They are images pasted on a board that represent your hopes, dreams, and goals. Studying these boards every days plants seeds of these goals within your subconscious mind.
John Assaraf does a better job of explaining this and showing you how to do it in his new book “The Complete Vision Board Kit.” I downloaded the free chapter here at http://www.TheVisionBoardKit.com.
What a great post and a great simple idea.
I am a website administrator, so I’ll take a breath everytime I open my web browser.
When I get good at that, I’ll take a breath everytime I open an email AND everytime I hear myself say a buzzword.
;-)
All of your comments continue to be great - thanks for sharing how you’ll pause for a breath.
Great Post. I always forget to take a long breath in betn my work. I will make it a point to do it everytime i check emails.
Annie Bankss
Get Rid Of Your Depression
Great post, after reading the book The Power Of Now, combined with some tony robbins recommendations, i try whenever i am walking to take 4 short inhales and 4 exhales. This works great and i get very relaxed. Also try to remain present when doing it, see the sun, night, air.. enjoy life for this seconds, forget about what was and what will be.
I’m a communicator, so I’ll take a breath each time I make the usual error.
I’m a chiropractic assistant and I’ll take a breath each time I check someone in.
This is wonderful! Years ago, my massage therapist gave me a bookmark that had these words on it:
“Things to do today:
inhale
exhale
inhale
exhale
ahhhhhhh….”
Its true.. It does work well. I have actually tried it out.
I have also managed to sum up 5 ways of beating workplace depression in my blog. Hope it helps one and all. Would like to know all your views as well.
http://atreyeechowdhury.blogspot.com/
I’ve got 6 seconds! *inhale….exhale*
When I read this post I could help but think about the hip hop song from back in the day by Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh. The main lyrics were….
6 minutes, 6 minutes, 6 minutes Doug E. Fresh you’re on.
Ah ah on, ah ah on, ah ah ah ah ah ah ah on(2x)
let’s change that to…
6 seconds, 6 seconds, 6 seconds to Relax you’re on!
Ah ah on, ah ah on, ah ah ah ah ah ah ah on(2x)
Your Friendly Neighborhood Computer Guy, your comment cracked me up!
I’m a computer Help Desk worker, so I’ll breathe every time I’m waiting for a remote computer to let me in, as well as before I read any new email.
Thanks very much for this tip!
I really liked this article, Leo… and I suspect that one of the cool things about it is that due to the joys of associative conditioning, once you’ve been doing it semi-regularly for a few days, you’ll find yourself breathing deeply each time you do your trigger action without having to think about the breath first. Kind of like setting up an NLP anchor, but anchoring to an action, instead of just a gesture.
*grins* - I think I’m going to have to try it now just to see if it does work the way I’m thinking it will :-)
Blessings
Starfire
good post i got to do this a lot more.
hi
its true…….i juxt tried out………..
thanx very much
I’m a student, so I’ll take breath each time open the book
Great post. So simple, but I’d never have thought to do this if it wasn’t for this post. Relaxing is probably the last thing I think of because I’m so busy during the day, but I’m going to try and take a deep breathe inbetween tasks to help me relax.
Tim
I take a breath each time I click “submit comment” in zenhabits
:-)
I’m a fan of your great blog
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