10 Days to Christmas: Learn to Breathe
Most of our problems stem from reactive behaviour. There is no life-threatening situation when dealing with your family on holiday (obviously, exceptions do happen - we are not talking about those), so you do not have to react. You are more than welcome to take your time to respond.
So to breathe:
You want to breathe into your stomach area to activate your parasympathetic nervous system – the system that says “I am safe”.
- Walk away if you feel anger rising.
- Find a spot where you can breathe.
- Pull your breath in from above your head, about arm's length above, into your stomach. Hold it there, and then push your breath out into the ground about an arm's length beneath your feet. Hold it there. Then pull your breath in from beneath your feet, into your stomach, and then push out above your head.
- Do this on a four-count – in for four, hold for four, out for four, hold for four, in for four … you get it.
- You cannot overdose on this; do this as much or as often as you need.
- The breath returns you to you. You regroup, you calm down, you can think clearly, and now you are ready to speak.
