Mindful Breathing Exercise

Focusing on the breath offers a quick method to calm your body during stressful situations, and bring peace and clarity to your mind. The first step in mindful breathing is to become aware of each breath. Breathing through your nose, repeat silently: Breathing in: “I know I am breathing in.” Breathing out: “I know I am breathing out.” After a few breaths, you may choose to shorten the phrase to “In” and “out”. When performing this exercise, it is not necessary to pay attention to the duration or depth of your breath. However, you may find that during mindful breathing, your breath naturally becomes slower and deeper as your mind and body calm.

Whitney Seibert, PA-C

This exercise was developed by Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk, and author of many books including “You Are Here”, and “Peace In Every Step: the path of mindfulness in every day life”.