Breathing Technique

How can a breathing technique change the state of your emotions within minutes? It is easy when you understand your primary emotions.

As there are three primary colours - yellow, blue and red, there are three primary emotions - fear, sorrow and anger.

YELLOW - fear (if you are afraid - people call you "yellow")

BLUE - sorrow (if you are sad - you say "I'm feeling blue")

RED - anger (if you are angry - you say "I saw red")

It is an interesting exercise to consider breaking these primary emotions down into sub-emotions. For example:

anger can be broken down into - jealousy, envy, revenge;

sorrow can be broken down into - melancholy, depression, grief; and

fear can be broken down into anxiety, terror, phobias.

Journal your observations

If you are having trouble identifying your primary emotion in any given moment, start by considering what colour you relate to rather than identifying and naming your feeling. This will give you a clue as to what you are really feeling.

Another clue to understanding what your primary emotion is in any moment is to take a minute to observe your breathing.

Anger - you will be taking a shallow breath in, but a long, hard, fast breath out;

Sorrow - you will be taking a long, hard, fast, breath in, but barely breathing out;

Fear - you will be barely breathing in or out.

Keep a journal of your observations about your emotions for at least a week before beginning this technique.

Click here to find out more detailed information about fear and how to manage it.

Simple breathing technique

Become conscious of your breath.

Focus on a point at the front of your nose and your top lip.

While focusing on this part of your body:-

• breathe steadily in filling your lungs from the bottom to the top to the count of 10; and
• steadily let the breath all the way out, completely emptying your lungs to the count of 10.

Continue this process for 5 minutes.

You will be amazed at how this simple breathing technique will balance your emotions. With practice you will be able to control any out of control emotional outbursts, and calmly and effectively deal with any situation life delivers to you.

By practicing this technique every day for five minutes, you will be delighted at how every area of your world changes for the better.

DO NOT RE-READ WHAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN FOR A MONTH

At the end of a month (ie., 1 week before and 3 weeks after commencing the breathing technique), re-read your observation journal and you will be astounded at how you have changed.

I have asked you to continue recording your observations for 3 weeks, because it is known that any habit can be created in 21 days. You will have created the habit of breathing fully in this time.

Do you agree with the following?

It is no accident that the "old wives tale" tells you to count to ten before speaking in anger.

Think about it!