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For the past month, I’ve been practicing a breathing meditation my Chi Kung teacher, Renate, gave me.
Each time, I’m amazed how calm, relaxed and alert I feel after about five minutes of this controlled deep breathing. Like, really peaceful. And for someone who’s recently been as anxious as a hummingbird on cocaine, this is pretty cool.
Then, just last week, I went to see my GP, Dr. Yee to get my medications renewed. While there, she also reminded me about Box Breathing (also called 4 square or tactical breathing).
“Tell me about it again,” I said.
“Pretty simple. Breathe in through your nose for 4, hold for 4, exhale through your nose for 4, hold for 4. And repeat it a few times. There’s good evidence it kicks your parasympathetic nervous system into gear and you’ll feel relaxed.”
Huh? A little light bulb went on for me. That’s almost identical to my 9 Breathings Tibetan Meditation. I got home and went on ‘The Google’ (as my husband and I like to call it).
Box Breathing, or controlled deep breathing, activates the parasympathetic nervous system (the "rest and digest" system) and regulates the autonomic nervous system. In other words, it helps get me out of the stress response when my anxiety is high, my trauma is triggered, or I’m heading into a challenging work project even.
It’s called tactical breathing because—get this—Navy Seals are trained to use it.1 Special forces, law enforcement, and first responders use it when there’s a crisis or a threat is perceived. When their stress response is activated, they need something that will bring them back to calm and clear their head so they can act effectively.
You’re probably quite familiar with the fight or flight response, yes? Or the lesser known “fight, flight, or freeze” response. Heart rate increases, adrenaline and cortisol flood the body, eyes dilate, muscles tense and senses sharpen.
Military personnel, even athletes, learn box breathing to calm their system so they can think more clearly and operate effectively in high-stress situations.
Who knew ancient yogis and Navy Seals shared a common practice to reduce anxiety?
The Mayo clinic has found deep breathing effectively helps with PTSD, generalized anxiety, depression, even insomnia and pain management.2, 3 It’s also been shown to decrease the release rate of cortisol, triggered the release of pleasure-inducing neurochemicals and eliminate toxins by bringing more oxygen into the bloodstream.4
Box Breathing in a nutshell:
After some practice, it can be used anywhere, anytime if you’re feeling stressed, say before giving a presentation, about to have a difficult conversation, if you feel a panic attack coming on or feel yourself triggered. Do this while seated comfortably.
- Close your eyes or soften your gaze. Inhale through the nose for a count of 4 until your lungs and belly are full.
- Hold for a count of 4. Try not to clench your jaw or muscles.
- Exhale through the nose for 4, emptying your lungs and belly.
- Hold for 4.
- Repeat at least 3 times or as much as you like.
Tip: If counting to 4 is too difficult, use a count of 3. If it’s too easy, increase to what feels right. As you get practiced, increase the length of the breath and hold.
My meditation includes additional elements: hand and finger postures (mudras) and visualization with colour, but the basic framework is the same. As are the results: clarity and calm.
I highly recommend using this practice when you feel generally stressed, or for more acute stress if a traumatic memory has triggered reactivity or panic.
Try it yourself or share it with your clients. Tell me if you found it effective. I’ll be practicing it most mornings as part of my meditation and prayer practice (and if my computer crashes or I can’t find my cell phone!
For a great video on box breathing watch Mark Divine, former Navy Seal teach his version in this video here: https://sealfit.com/box-breathing/
© Victoria Maxwell
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