P.E.A.C.E. Breathing: A 5 Minute Strategy To Calm

Hello and welcome to Peace Breathing.

Sometimes at the end of a workday,

I can feel spaced out or numb.

If I've been in autopilot mode all day,

I might not notice that something has triggered a mood shift or there is overwhelm in my nervous system,

Maybe taking me into hyperarousal or hypoarousal.

Here's a quick activity that helps me to emotionally and physically shift.

I learned and adapted it from Guillaume R.

Campbell,

My shiatsu and acupuncture therapist for many years.

It's a favorite of mine because it includes mindfulness and self-compassion concepts and its acronym makes it easy to use.

I'm going to go through it as a guided meditation,

But just know what the acronym stands for.

P is for pause,

E is for exhale,

A is acknowledge,

C is being compassionate,

And E is exhale again.

Okay,

So get comfortable.

You can be standing or sitting or lying down.

Let's take a couple of minutes to do some peace breathing.

All right,

First pause for five seconds.

Just stop whatever you're doing and tune into your body and mind.

Now,

E is for exhale.

Breathe,

Allowing your exhalations to be twice as long as your inhalations.

Let's do that now.

Breathe in for three,

Breathe out for six,

And let's repeat that two more times.

In for three,

Out for six.

Again.

Now,

A is for acknowledge.

Acknowledge any feelings or sensations that are in your body.

Greet them non-judgmentally.

For example,

Hello sadness or hello tightness in my shoulders.

Don't go into any stories or evaluations or analysis or problem solving.

Just acknowledge feelings and sensations right now.

Okay,

C is be compassionate.

Be compassionate to yourself the way a best friend might respond to you and your struggles.

Or if it's easier,

Imagine what you'd say to your best friend.

You might say,

Oh honey,

I'm sorry you're feeling sad.

Or you might visualize sending love from your heart to whatever part of your body needs it most.

Do that now for about 10 seconds.

The last step is another E for exhale.

So we'll do another round of breathing three in,

Six out.

So let's start.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

And inhale.

And exhale.

So that was peace breathing.

I hope it was helpful to you.

Thanks for listening.