478 Breathing Meditation
Deep breathing has countless benefits including stress reduction, increased focus and improved sleep.
My favorite breathing exercise, 478 Breathing, is simple, discreet and has a natural calming effect on the nervous system. Can you say… immediate stress relief?!
Set Up:
Sit upright with a straight back.
Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth.
Exhale completely through your mouth, allowing it to be audible (don’t be shy).
Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.
Hold your breath for a count of seven.
Exhale completely out of your mouth, giving it sound to a count of eight.
This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.
Note: always inhale quietly through your nose and exhale audibly through your mouth. The amount of time you spend on each phase is not important; the ratio of 4:7:8 is what matters. If you have trouble holding your breath, speed the exercise up but keep to the ratio of 4:7:8 for the three steps. With practice you can slow it all down and get used breathing more deeply.
Want a full explanation of the practice? Check out the tutorial on YouTube!
more mindfulness below
mindful 3-day challenge
Want to learn some simple (and to-the-point) tools to help you manage stress, improve focus, and build self esteem? You're in good hands!
Join me for a free three day mindfulness challenge where I will teach you my favorite practices so you can live your best life possible!