Deep Breathing Exercise
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DEEP BREATHING EXERCISE
Counseling Services
Kansas State University
When getting ready
to practice relaxation, assume a sitting position so that your body
can remain relaxed for the entire exercise. A position that will allow
you to be comfortable and remain awake is to sit in a chair with your
back rather straight. Place your feet flat on the floor and let your
hands rest comfortable in your lap.
Take a deep breath. As you slowly let it out, let your eyes close and
your body relax as much as possible right now.
This form of relaxation is designed to help you breathe away fatique
and breathe in new energy. Using this technique, you can learn to relax
quickly and deeply with just a few slow, deep breaths.
In this exercise, I will direct you to focus on the sensations coming
from a particular part of your body. Maintain your attention on that
area of your body and allow yourself to become aware of all the feelings
- temperature, texture of clothes, pressure against the floor or chair,
blood pumping.
Then, I will ask you to breathe in slowly and deeply. And, as you breathe
in, imagine all those sensations from that particular part of your body
flowing up into your lungs. And then as you exhale imagine all those
sensations being released from your body. Exhale them along with your
breath. You may exhale through your mouth or your nose, whichever seems
best to you. The sequence of the relaxation exercise will continue through
your whole body, breathing it away, part by part, and erasing with it
the tensions embeded in your body.
Right now, focus your attention on all the sensations you can feel in
your feet. Be aware of the sensations in your toes, heels and under
your arch. Notice the feelings of clothing, pressure against the floor,
temperature, specific muscles and any other sensations that you are
aware of. Let your eyes remain relaxed and closed as you very quietly
attend to all the sensations that you feel in your feet.
Now, breathe in slowly and deeply. As you do, imagine all those sensations
in your feet rising up into your lungs. As you exhale, let all those
sensations from your feet be expelled from your lungs.
Let's try that again. Focus on the sensations that you are still aware
of in your feet. Now, breathe in slowly and deeply, bringing all those
sensations from your feet up into your lungs. And, as you exhale, release
all those feelings with the air that you expell. Good. Just continue
relaxing deeper and deeper.
Now, direct your attention on the area from your ankles to your knees.
Become aware of the sensations coming from your calves and your shin
area. Be aware of all the internal and external feelings from your ankles
to your knees. Let all these sensations be the only feelings that you
are aware of. And, as you breathe in a little more deeply and a little
more fully, bring all those sensations up into your lungs and, then,
exhale them out of your body. They're gone. Allow your breathing to
be naturally relaxed again.
Now, focus on the sensations from your knees to your hips. Become aware
of the sensations. Focus on the sensations coming from your upper legs
and buttocks as they make contact with the chair. Now, breathe in deeply
and slowly as you bring those sensations up into your lungs. And then,
release them as you exhale. Feel yourself drift down to an even deeper
level of relaxation.
Focus your attention on the area of your stomach. Be aware of all the
feelings coming from inside and outside your stomach and the small of
your back. Maintain your mental focus on these sensations. Slowly, now,
breathe in deeply as you imagine those sensations filling your lungs.
Exhale and see the area of your stomach flowing out as you exhale. Just
continue now relaxing more and more.
If you find that your mind wanders as you relax deeper and deeper, just
bring your mental focus back to your breathing or to your heart beating.
Now, focus your attention on the area of your chest. Feel all the sensations
. . . your heart beating, your breathing. Now, breathe in very slowly
and deeply, bringing all those sensations into your lungs. And, now,
exhale them away. Relax, letting any left-over tensions slip away.
Gently focus your attention on the sensations coming from your hands.
Let yourself be aware of only those sensations from the tips of your
fingers up to your wrists. Notice the feelings of touch as well as temperature
in your hands. Remember to allow your eyes and forehead to remain relaxed
as you gently focus your attention on the different parts of your body.
Now, breathe in slowly and deeply bringing the sensations from your
hands up into your lungs. Exhale and relax as these feelings are released
and erased from your body.
Maintain your attention on the area from your wrists to your shoulders.
Be aware of all the internal sensations from your arms as well as the
external sensations of touch or pressure that are there. Now, as you
breathe in slowly and deeply, allow those sensations to flow up into
your lungs and then exhale, dispelling them from your body.
Now, as you are going through this relaxation exercise, perhaps you
can almost imagine and visualize that your body is being erased as you
exhale away each part. Allow the relaxation to cleanse the fatigue and
tension from your body.
Now, focus your attention on your neck. Notice the feelings coming from
your throat, vocal cords and all the parts of your neck. Now, as you
breathe in, imagine those sensations rising up into your mind. And exhale,
feeling those sensations leave your body. Allow yourself to float effortlessly
in a state of being deeply relaxed.
Direct your awareness to all the sensations coming from your head and
face. Those sensations coming from your jaws, your tongue and your ears.
Also, be aware of the feelings of your eyes, your scalp as well as the
sensations of taste and odor. Any tightness or fullness in your head.
Focus on all the different sensations and let your only thought be of
the feelings coming from your head and face. Now breathe in slowly and
deeply. Imagine letting all these sensations shrink together. Then,
as you exhale, they are leaving and going away.
Imagine all the thoughts that keep crossing your mind as coming together.
Roll them up into a ball. Pack it so the ball is smaller and smaller.
As you breathe in slowly and deeply, imagine all those distracting thoughts
forming even a smaller ball. Then, as you exhale, all the distracting
thoughts disappear.
Perhaps there may be one or two sensations that you still are experiencing
in your body. Focus your attention on these specific sensations. Bring
all these sensations together as you breathe in, and then exhale so
that now your body is completely cleared. It's much as if you were erasing
the picture of your body. Just enjoy this state of deep relaxation as
you allow your self to relax more and more deeply.
And now, while you are deeply relaxed, perhaps you can think of something
you would like to change about yourself. If there is something you wish
to change, just imagine or visualize yourself improving, becoming better
at it and know that you will change. When we are deeply relaxed, it's
often easier to see a change take place and to be more receptive to
change as a result of being relaxed. Now, let the image fade and just
continue relaxing.
Now, visualize pure energy flowing all around you.
Now, see that energy flowing into your body so that it's filling your
body. Allow the energy to pour inside you, filling your body. It's strong,
clean energy flowing inside your body, and your body is becoming very
full. You feel strong, very refreshed, inside and out. This energy will
stay with you and you will know that you can return to it whenever you
wish.
Now, as you sit there in the chair, begin to breathe in a little more
deeply and a little more fully. As you breathe, see your breathing as
an exchange of energy. Each time you breathe in, you replenish the fresh
energy in your body. As you exhale, you clean and clear out the energy
you've used up.
Feel yourself becoming more active and more energized. Begin to move
your fingers, your feet, and toes. Begin to move your arms and legs.
Prepare your body to become active again. And, whenever you are ready,
go ahead and open your eyes.
In order to use this new skill, you will need to practice a quick, mini
version of this technique. Try, every hour or so through the day this
week, to take a long, slow breath in. As you do so, imagine yourself
gathering up all those tensions in your body. Then, exhale them. With
practice, you might be able to gather all the tensions in two or three
inhalations or, possibly, even in one inhalation and dispell them with
your exhalation. Have fun seeing how much of the body you can cover
with each inhalation. Practice will help you increase the effectiveness,
so practice this several times during the day.
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