According to the American Psychological Association, more than 8 in 10 people are reporting significant stress right now.

Stress is not what happens, as much as it is our response to challenges/demands that causes anxiety, depression, physical symptoms, and problems with memory and concentration. All of these things interfere with our satisfaction and success in life.

And this 30 second breath exercise, that I like to call "Power Breathing," can reset the mind under stress. 

WHY THIS WORKS

When the brain senses danger, even if it's only being late for a meeting, or having an argument with a loved one, the sympathetic nervous system is activated. 

Then we are in fight or flight mode. The heart is racing and blood goes to the limbs so we can run from the tiger on the Savannah—only it's not a tiger, and we are not on the Savannah.

When things go well, we settle down and sanity is restored. But too often the mind wants to get involved with why is this happening, what's wrong with me, where is this going... And then we can get stuck, and when we are stuck we can get sick, and otherwise mess up our lives.

So we have to get out in front of that, and with this tool—to flip us from the sympathetic fight or flight to parasympathetic calm—we can.

WHAT RESULTS TO EXPECT

Physical and emotional calm and well-being bring so many health benefits, and emotional states are contagious so relationships are improved.

Cognitively, with the blood restored to the brain, we are in much better shape to make better decisions for satisfaction and success in our lives. 

HOW TO IMPLEMENT 

This is diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing, which means we take: 

? 3 luxurious breaths

? In through the nose, out through the nose

? Belly out on the in-breath, belly in on the out-breath  

Anxious breathing fills the lungs and makes us more anxious. So for this exercise, the chest does not move. Only the belly moves, all the way out on the in-breath and all the way in on the out-breathe—3 luxurious breaths, closing our eyes or simply gazing downward if you prefer. 

This simple but powerful tool can be used by anyone, anywhere, anytime. The more we use it, the more habitual it becomes, and the more positively it will affect every area of our lives.

Simple instruction is on the "Complimentary…" pulldown as "Power Breathing" at madelaineweiss.com.  Enjoy!

BIO:

Madelaine Claire Weiss, LICSW, MBA, BCC, helps people learn how to master their minds so they can enjoy satisfaction and success in all areas of their lives, maintaining high performance without burning out. She is a Licensed Psychotherapist, Board-Certified Executive, Career, Life Coach, co-author in the Handbook of Stressful Transitions Across the Lifespan, and author of the forthcoming "Getting to G.R.E.A.T: 5-Step Strategy for Work and Life."

Madelaine is former mental health practice Administrative Director, corporate Chief Organizational Development Officer, and Associate Director of the Anatomical Gift Program at Harvard Medical School, where she addressed the Joint Committee on the Status of Women, and designed and delivered training programs for the Center for Workplace Learning and Performance.  

She has been featured on Fox TV, NBC, W4WRadio, Talk4TV, Speakers Without Borders, The Partner Podcast, and Major, Lindsey, & Africa's Erasing the Stigma. Madelaine has written for Thrive Global (weekly), Authority Magazine's Editor's List, UPJourney, Marriage dot Com, My Perfect Financial Advisor — and appeared on webinars for MedSense and the American Bar Association. Her widely well received trainings include Skadden Arps, Vinson & Elkins, Wilkinson Barker, and Cozen O'Connor law firms; Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, National Association of Realtors, DC Academy of General Dentistry, AARP, and the Bureau of National Affairs.

Madelaine C. Weiss, LICSW, MBA, BCC 

202.617.0821, Complimentary Exercises 

At Website: https://madelaineweiss.com

Author of Getting to G.R.E.A.T.

5-Step Strategy for Work and Life

https://madelaineweiss.com/books/

March 2021)