Slow breathing techniques have been used by humans to deal with stress and calm the mind throughout recorded history. Resonant breathing is a slow breathing technique developed by scientists over the last 50 years based on studying these meditators from faith traditions all over the world then testing them in scientifically controlled trials. If you are interested in the technical details I have a lot more information at www.U-Turn.us/breathe .
The is a quick guide to show you how to set-up your smartphone to easily learn this powerful technique. But you can do it even if your phone is not handy after you have trained yourself with your phone.
How often should you do it? Researchers recommend 20 minutes of practice daily. The answer is that the more you practice, the sooner you can learn to do it without your phone. Obviously I recommend at least a quiet 10-20 minute practice session once a day at a time of your choice for the first 2-3 months to thoroughly learn the technique til you can get into the rhythm with just a few breaths.
When should you use it? When you feel a tightening in the pit of your stomach, do it for a few minutes until you feel it loosening up. When you start worrying about things and you just can’t get the worries out of your head. When you are stuck in traffic and late for something important. When you have to be on that high balcony or climb that stairway or face some other fear like getting on an airplane or have to go to the dentist. But the truth is you should switch into it any time you feel yourself getting stressed.
Setting up your Android phone.
Download the App, “Paced Breathing”
- Go to “settings”
- Set the “Ramp” to off and the Timer to the amount of time you want to practice.
- Set “Inhale” to 3 seconds, “Hold” to 0, set “Exhale” to 7 seconds and “Hold” to 0
For iPhone. Download the App “Breathe+”
- Go to settings
- Set “In” to 3 seconds, “Hold” to 0, “Out” to 7 and “Hold” to 0
- Set timer to how long you want to practice and choose sounds if desired