4-0-6-3 BREATHING

Breathing exercises and techniques promote mindfulness, wellness, can help ease pain, and supports mental health.

• Taking a moment to pause, return to the present, and find your center.

• Sit or stand up straight to align your diaphragm.

• Take a deep inhale for a total of four seconds, breathing slowly through the nose, filling the chest and lower abdomen with air.

• Exhale slowly for a total of six seconds, slowly pushing the air back out through your mouth.

• Repeat.

BENEFITS

Intentional breathing refocuses thought and gives the mind a brief retreat from normal stresses. Deep, slow breath signals the nervous system to respond with calm rather than the fight or flight response* triggered by stress.

*The portion of the brain responsible for the fight or flight response is the amygdala. In evolutionary terms, it is the most ancient part of the brain, and is also known as the lizard brain.

HOW TO USE THIS ANIMATED GIF

Copy the included animated GIF into your own PowerPoint presentation. You can also download the GIF in an editable PowerPoint slide by clicking here. The animation will play and repeat when the PowerPoint is in presentation mode. Include the animated GIF as a part of a welcoming “landing page:” the first thing participants see when they arrive at an online meeting. It will serve as an intentional mindfulness practice for early-arriving participants to try while they’re waiting for others to join.