Beat the Holiday Blues through Breathing

Your body has a built in balancing mechanism – your breathing. It’s the easiest way to get calm rapidly.

• The first step is to get your breathing under control by exhaling completely and releasing your stress through the exhale:
• Then slowly breathe in through your nose and gradually fill your lungs from bottom to top and expand your chest and let your shoulders rise.
• Briefly pause your breathing and your thoughts.
• Then relax and let the air flow out of you as if you were releasing a puff of steam through your mouth.
• Enjoy the emptiness and clarity (hold your thoughts).
• (In a couple of seconds) Begin again.
  

The increased oxygen to your brain will make you feel happier and you will feel a calm settling of your thoughts.