You don’t have to be an expert meditator to benefit from a breathing practice! In fact, just five minutes of mindful breathing can decrease your stress and anxiety.

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Mindful Breathing Study Key Take-Away Points

A study was conducted to compare the effects of a 5-minute mindfulness-based breathing practice with a longer 20-minute practice.

  • Participants had limited prior experience with mindfulness practices.
  • All participants, including a control group, participated in 4 sessions over the course of 2 weeks.

Results showed both mindful breathing practices significantly:

  • Increased trait mindfulness (tendency to be aware of the present moment in a nonjudgmental, nonreactive way).
  • Decreased depression, anxiety and stress levels.

Participants in the shorter, 5-minute practice experienced a significantly greater:

  • Increase in trait mindfulness.
  • Decrease in stress.

How to Practice Mindful Breathing:

Check out my Guided 5-Minute Mindful Breathing Practice below or follow the instructions on your own!

  1. Find a quiet, comfortable space where you can sit or lay down.
  2. Close your eyes or look down and soften your gaze.
  3. Start to pay attention to your breath.
    • Notice how the air feels when it enters your body.
    • Follow the air down into your lungs.
    • Notice how it feels when you exhale.
  4. When your mind wanders away from the breath, which it will:
    • Remind yourself that this is natural.
    • Recognize that you were “thinking” or “distracted” in a non-judgmental way.
    • Return your focus back to your breath.
  5. Continue in this fashion for 5-minutes.

Helpful Links

Research Abstract (Breathing protocol is in the “Electronic Supplementary Material” tab on the right.)

Guided 5-Minute Mindful Breathing Practice

Small Changes, Big Transformation

A 5-miute mindful breathing practice is one small change we can make to prioritize our health and build resilience. Wellness doesn’t have to feel so overwhelming. Give this practice a try this week and let me know how it goes!

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