`Feet Breathing' NB: this page is about to be completely revised - check back in a few weeks This is a method of dealing with anxiety by taking a short relaxation break in which you link slower and more even breathing with mental imagery. Why use Feet Breathing Using Feet Breathing enables you to take a short relaxation break whenever and wherever you wish. Relaxation/meditation is not a mysterious or mystical experience available only to a select few adepts. It is a natural and valuable ability which we all possess, even though we may not have practised the skill for many years. Relaxation is the bed-rock of effective anxiety management and with a little persistence you can quickly become skilled at it once again. You can use Feet Breathing with eyes closed or open. In company or alone. At work, at home, while travelling on public transport. You can use it to take a break on long car journeys (although it is not suitable for use whilst driving). Regular relaxation breaks even if only for a couple of minutes at a time interrupt the daily accumulation of tension. They also remind you how it feels to be calm and, in doing so, create a desire to feel like this more of the time. Temporarily attaining this calmer state reminds you that you can manage your own state and do not have to be a victim of daily pressures. You can also use this method to help you get to sleep or, if you awake during the night, to get back to sleep. How to use Feet Breathing 1. Let you body relax. Use Easy Breathing - in which you simply pay attention to your natural in- and out-breath. As you do this imagine that with each in-breath you are drawing the air in though the soles of your feet, up through your legs, and into your torso. 2. As you let go and exhale imagine the reverse happening. The air leaving your torso, flowing down through your legs and out through the soles of your feet. 3. Then add whichever additional refinements you personally find work best for you:  | On the in-breath silently think I am... and on the outbreath think ...taking a break or ...letting go or ...becoming calmer or use any other calming phrase that suits you. | | On the inbreath feel your body tensing slightly and on the outbreath feel it letting go more and more with each breathing cycle. | | On the in-breath imagine the colour of calmness flowing into your body. On the outbreath imagine the colour of tension flowing down through your body and out through your feet. |
The Breathing pages | 
