Hey guys. Welcome to Episode 34 of Not Another Anxiety Show. I'm your host, Kelly Walker,

and today I'll be leading you through a simple breathing exercise called

square breathing. And you can use square breathing when you start to notice tension, stress,

or anxiety rising in your body. Now, I'm sure many of you have heard me joke that breathing

exercises weren't my thing. And while that's mostly true, everyone is different. Many people find breathing

exercises really helpful, and research supports this claim. Keep in mind, though, it's much

easier to start practicing and playing with this breathing exercise while in a calm and relaxed

state. This way it'll feel more natural as anxiety or panic starts to rise. As a gentle reminder,

when you're giving this breathing exercise a try, the goal isn't to escape or avoid the feelings of

anxiety. We're simply choosing a focus amidst the anxiety storm to ground ourselves. And grounding

just means doing our best to stay with the present moment as anxiety tries to ground ourselves. And grounding just means doing our best to stay with the

present moment as anxiety tries to steal us away. If this idea is new to you and you haven't heard

episode three yet, then give it a listen. So, you can be sitting, standing, or lying down with your eyes open or closed.

If they're closed, sometimes it's helpful to visualize an actual square.

And each side is a step in this square breathing exercise.

So here we go.

Inhale for four counts. Hold for four counts.

Exhale for four counts.

Exhale for four counts.

And hold for four counts again.

And you can repeat this exercise as many times as you'd like.

Sometimes it just takes a round or two.

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