The sunshine over the last few weeks has been amazing and has left many of us with proud tan lines and rosy faces. The sunshine can help us to boost our vitamin D levels, change our sleep patterns, and enhance our immune system as well as our mood. Not to mention all the summer events popping up everywhere to keep us out and active. What’s not to love about the sunshine?
If you’re like me and you’ve been trying to squeeze every second of sunshine you possibly can into your evenings, you might find yourself needing to slow down and cool down from time to time. This really simple breathing technique is one that’s fantastic for reducing anxiety, cooling down, and centreing yourself when you’re mind and body is all a-buzz.
Box Breath:
- Sit with your spine long and your hips comfortable. Make sure your belly is free, and not being held in at all. Close your eyes and roll your shoulders back to open your chest only to the point that it’s comfortable and not forced.
- Close your mouth and breathe in through your nose for a slow count of 5
- Hold your breath for 5 counts
- Breathe out for five counts
- After your exhale, hold for a count of 5
- Repeat – breathing in for 5, hold for 5, out for 5, hold for five
- Do 5 more cycles
- Allow your breath to return to normal
- Open your eyes
Once you finish up – notice how you feel. Tune in to your body, your mind and your breath. The beauty of this technique is that it’s really subtle – you can do it on the bus, at your desk or just about anywhere you can find a few moments to yourself.
Enjoy the sunshine yogis!
