Breathe to Shift Your Mood

Great tip by Dr. Andrew Weil from his book Natural Health, Natural Medicine

"By simply putting your attention on breathing, without even doing anything to change it, you move in the direction of relaxation. There are many worse places to have your attention - on your thoughts for one, since thoughts are the source of much of our anxiety...Get in the habit of shifting your awareness to your breath whenever you find yourself dwelling on upsetting thoughts.
 

The single most effective relaxation technique I know is conscious regulation of breath.  I will teach you a yogic breathing exercise I give to most of my patients. It is utterly simple, takes almost no time, requires no equipment, and can be done anywhere.

Although you can do the exercise in any position, to learn it I suggest you do it seated with your back straight. Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth, and keep it there through the entire exercise.  You will be exhaling through your mouth around your tongue; try pursing your lips slightly if this seems awkward.

First exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.  

Next close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.

Next hold your breath for a count of seven.

Then exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight.

This is one breath.  Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths."

(It doesn't matter how many seconds this takes, just that you keep the ratio 4:7:8)

"This exercise is a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system...I would like you to do it at least twice a day.  You cannot do it too frequently.  Do not do more than four breaths at a time or the first month of practice. Later you can extend it to eight breaths."

Dr. Andrew Weil