Breathe Through the Bustle

The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is exciting, but it can also drain your energy as you venture from store to store, attend events, spend hours in the kitchen and fit in all your favorite holiday activities. It’s important to stay grounded and check in with yourself, especially through the busiest days. If you find yourself short of patience or feeling stressed, we asked Meghan Henley, Blackberry’s assistant director of wellness, for her advice on what to do to recenter.

“My two favorite, key tips for lowering stress and anxiety using the breath are to focus on lengthening the breath and breathing through the nose when possible.

Many breathwork techniques ask people to slow their breath too quickly, or put too much pressure on how long they’re supposed to inhale or exhale. If someone gets hung up on doing it “perfectly,” it may actually create more anxiety in the moment.

I prefer to gently slow the breath. Notice the length of the inhale by counting to yourself with your eyes closed. Notice the length of the exhale. Next, introduce the idea of a longer exhale than inhale. So, if you are counting to 4 on the inhale, aim to exhale for at least 5 or 6 counts.

Gradually increase the length of the exhale. If this isn’t working, you may find it helpful to introduce a short retention of breath between each inhale and exhale. Many people follow the 4-7-8 breaths: inhaling for 4, retaining the breath for 7 and exhaling for 8 through pursed lips.

Unless you are in a relaxed state to begin with, I believe it is usually easiest to work your way to this by slowly adding length to each breath.”

We hope you’re soaking in all the joy and energy of the season, but we also hope you find moments of peace when you need them. If you find yourself a bit too wrapped up in the commotion of the season, be intentional about your breath and allow yourself the time you need to slow back down.