Let’s face it, we all have stressors in our life, some that we try not to pay attention to, but they are still there. As a Massage Therapist, we are always focusing on de-stressing our clients, but what happens when we don’t focus on our own stress?
For me, one of the biggest ways my stress manifests itself, is sleeplessness. I don’t necessarily have a problem staying asleep, but it’s getting to sleep that becomes the issue. I have a problem with getting my mind to relax and allow myself to fall asleep. Does this sound like an issue you might face too? Read below to find out a quick easy way I found to shut my mind off and fall asleep in no time!
4-7-8
That’s it, 4-7-8. It’s a breathing technique to help regulate your breath, and slow your heart rate. Have you ever gone under anesthesia for a surgery? You know that feeling of slipping out of consciousness and then the next thing you know you are waking up? That is one of the best ways I can describe this. When you do this method, your body is going to want to speed your breathing up, and you’ll feel desperate to get the current breath over with and start a new one, but do your best to focus on the counting and stay on track.
So are you ready to know how you do it? Okay, here we go; Start off by breathing IN through your nose for 4 seconds, now hold your breath for 7 seconds, now exhale through your mouth for 8 seconds. That’s it. Pretty easy, huh? Be sure when you exhale not to force the air out too quickly or you’ll have trouble getting to 8 seconds. You should find that doing this helps relax your mind and body, and if you’re anything like me you’ll be asleep in no time.
Try it out and let me know how it works for you!
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