Release Negativity This Week
Watch The Video Below To Relax and Unwind With A Breathing Listening Technique…BLT
Stress can wreak havoc on our bodies and our health – and sometimes, taking a moment to breathe deeply and listen can help you regain your sanity. There’s an exercise you can do, right here, right now, to help you battle stress and curb your anxiety levels. It’s a surefire technique that could help slow your heart rate, lower blood pressure, flush out extra feelings of anger or frustration, and even re-train your brain, so that you shift away from the limbic part of the brain, where emotional, irrational thinking takes place, toward the frontal cortex: the logical part of the brain that helps you make slower, calmer, conscious decisions. And it’s called a BLT.
BLT stands for Breathing Listening Technique, and it’s just as simple as it sounds. You can try it right now, wherever you are:
- Get comfortable in your chair. Make sure your shoulders are relaxed, down and back, and that your chest is nice and open.
- Take a nice, steady inhale on a count of 6.
- When you reach the top, try and hold it there for a count of 6. And while you’re holding your breath, listen. Try and identify any sounds around you, however distant or faint they may be: An air conditioner rumbling…A dog barking down the street…A car driving down the street…Or maybe just the soft song of a bird nearby. Whatever it is, be specific and mentally pinpoint the source of each sound.
- And then, slowly, exhale on another count of 6.
- Repeat this cycle 4-5 times.
The great thing about this exercise is that it forces you to be in the moment. When your sole focus is inhaling, listening, and exhaling, it stops the incessant chatter that we all have in our minds. I’ve often referred to it as the “Itty Bitty Sh*tty Committee” – that chorus of voices we all have in our heads. The voices that tell us we’re not good enough, not smart enough, not thin enough, or just simply not enough in general. Sometimes we get those voices from the criticism of our parents or a loved one – and sometimes we simply get them from our own neuroses or lack of self-esteem. Wherever they came from, most of us have them – and when that committee is in full session, a BLT is a surefire way to quiet them back down.
Thank you, Kathy, for sharing this technique. I like the fact that it only takes a moment and can be done anytime – at work, on my commute, or at home – when I’m feeling stressed.
Thanks, Kathy ~ you always seem to know the right things to present to us at just the right time! Thanks for sharing this quick and easy technique that we can use anywhere, anytime!