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He's 37. Been lawyering for 10 years. Always tense before a court argument. Anticipating a large, well-publicized upcoming trial, though, he's...well...almost panicked.
Preparing for this blog, I thought I'd see what google had to say about the connection between "lawyer" and "breath." Five million (plus) hits later-and oh yes, like everyone else, I just checked out the first few pages-I decided that the plethora of information on DUIs/DWIs and breathalyzers was not really where I wanted this column to go.
So let me get back to Greg, as I'll call him.
One of the first things that I worked with him on was diaphragmatic breathing. What follows will make much more sense if you first refer back to my initial explanation of breathing, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-edge-peak-performance-psychology/201001/the-breathing-edge-part-i
Greg learned well. Although he had definitely been a chest breather, he was able to adapt to expanding his belly on the inhale, contracting on the exhale, while lying down. He noticed his heart rate slowing; his fingertips no longer felt prickly.
But his thoughts kept jumping around, first from one what-if scenario to another. "Just" breathing wasn't enough.
And here's where the numbers and shapes and colors came into play. I suggested that Greg try out a "smorgasbord" of ways to shift his thinking so that he could give his mind, along with his body, a bit of respite.
Pay attention to the breath itself. Sometimes, one can just put careful attention to the sensations of breathing itself. Notice the cool air coming in through your nostrils on the inhale. Recognize the abdominal expansion and contraction.
A very interesting variation on this is the yoga practice of ujjayi [pronounced oo-JY-ee] or "ocean" breathing, in which you can hear your breath as a low continuous murmur. To learn how to do ujjayi breathing: Open your mouth wide and then yawn on the exhale. Now close your mouth and perform the same action with your mouth closed. Can you find the same nasal passages to inhale this way as well? Is there a gentle murmur of sound?
Breathe to a count. Inhale and exhale while counting slowly: inhale for a slow count of four and exhale for a slow count of four. Since the full exhale is really important, you might vary this by inhaling for four and exhaling for six.
Imagine shapes. The four in/four out can look like a vertical pencil line, going up and going down. Expanding that line into a triangle turns the four count into: a four-count for the inhale, holding for four, and exhaling for four. This does two things: (1) you may make use of a visual image of a triangle, and mentally follow your progress with your eyes; (2) the four-count inhale needs to be more efficient, as there will be eight subsequent counts before the inhale can happen again-the same, of course, is true for the exhale.
Turn the triangle into a square, with a four-count inhale, hold the breath, exhale, and hold the breath. Again, you can "look" at the square as it "forms" and notice that you need to breathe more efficiently for the longer times in between breaths.
Another shape that many people like is a circle. Same use of visual imagery for the shape, but in addition, the circle of inhaling and exhaling can become a way of smoothing out your breath.
Brighten your breath with colors and other images. What happens if you add a color to any of the above? Can you notice a deepening of color saturation on the inhale and a lightening on the exhale? What color is the just right color for this particular moment? Does the sensation or sound or sight lead you to think of waves, gently and inexorably lapping the shoreline and receding back again?
These are just some of the many things that you can do with your breathing as a way of calming your mind and lessening the frustrating round of thought chatter. Experimentation is key: Find out what works for you, when.
What has Greg done with these options? A meticulous and precise person, he pictures a clock face and mentally hears the seconds tick by. Within a minute or so, his mind and body feel clear-and he can get back to effective strategic planning for his upcoming court appearance.
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I know it's been a long time between Parts I and II about breathing. I promise that it won't take as long to get to Part III: what to do if or when you want to breathe right but you don't want your belly hanging out.
As for Part IV? That's up to you: feel free to ask me some questions on breathing, whether as a comment here or by contacting me directly through my website, www.theperformingedge.com
