A Breathing Technique To Calm Your Anxiety
The 4-7-8 Breathing Technique
“Practicing a regular, mindful breathing exercise can be calming and energizing and can even help with stress-related health problems ranging from panic attacks to digestive disorders.”
Andrew Weil, M.D.
Breathing techniques allow you to manage your internal state when you’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed out. These kinds of practices help you consciously regulate your nervous system, shifting from sympathetic nervous system (fright or flight) to parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest). With regular practice, you can gain mastery over your physiological responses to external stimuli or what is happening in your environment and maintain peace within, in the midst of chaos.
The 4-7-8 breathing technique, promoted by Dr. Andrew Weil, is known to induce relaxation and decrease anxiety. You cannot be anxious and breathe deeply and slowly at the same time, so when you master this with regular practice over time, at least 2 months, you’ll gain mastery over anxiety and feelings of panic. As you practice over time, you train your involuntary bodily response to be more calm and less anxiously reactive to situations. It requires regular daily practice for the full benefit of this technique.
In this video, Dr. Andrew Weil tells a story of a man who had the worst panic disorder he’s even seen and was totally dependent on psychotropic meds to manage his panic. After two years of practicing this breathing technique, this man was able to recalibrate his nervous system and get off all medications. This is the power of conscious breathing, with dedication it is truly transformational.
How to do 4-7-8 breathing:
First, get ready by placing your tongue on the roof of your mouth and hold it there, as you exhale the air will pass by your tongue which may feel strange at first.
Exhale all the air through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.
Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose, count to four in your mind.
Hold your breath for a count of seven.
Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight.
This is one breath cycle. Inhale and exhale again to repeat the breathing cycle three more times for a total of four breathing cycles.
Important Notes:
Begin by practicing at least twice a day. You can do it as frequently as you’d like, but do not do more than four breath cycles at one time for the first month of practice. After you’ve gained practice, if you feel to, you can extend it to eight breath cycles. If you feel a lightheaded when you first do this technique, it is ok, it will eventually pass.
Enjoy the 4-7-8 breathing practice and all the benefits it can bring to your life!
