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Every staff meeting at Myosin Marketing begins with a simple, unusual ritual. When everyone gathers on Zoom, and before they get to the gist of the agenda, CEO Sean Clayton leads his team through a deep breathing exercise. This practice sets the tone for the meeting, he said, and helps his employees, most of whom work remotely, feel safe, grounded and ready to take creative risks.
“At first they thought it was really weird, like, ‘What are we doing?'” Clayton said. “There were a lot of cameras off and I’m sure a lot of people were saying, ‘This is weird.'” But after a few weeks, there was a change, saying, ‘It feels good.’ It is,” he said.
Why does deep breathing work for stress relief?
Studies show that deep breathing can be an effective way to reduce stress at work. But at work, many people don’t think about how they’re breathing in and out. Desk workers sitting at computers take shallow breaths as their shoulders roll upward. Workers who spend days on their feet in retail or health care may be too busy to focus on breathing.
But it’s a good reason to remember to pause for deep breaths. According to the American Heart Association, chronic, uncontrolled stress, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, can be as harmful to our health as passive smoking. Research shows that deep breathing exercises can lower a person’s blood pressure and reduce anxiety.
Other benefits: Deep breathing is free, can be done anywhere, and doesn’t require half an hour to meditate. Experts say just taking a minute or two of deep breathing can help calm racing thoughts. “It puts my mind at ease. It puts me at ease,” said Lisa Marie Delevaux, a marketing professional and mother of five. “It brings you back to the present moment.”
Delevaux was fired from his job several months ago and is struggling to find a new job. She wakes up at 4 or 5 most mornings before the kids to do breathing exercises. One is a technique known as alternate nostril breathing, a yoga exercise that involves breathing in through one nostril and breathing out the other, using the thumb or index finger to hold one nostril closed at a time. Is done.
Easy Breathing Techniques to Try at Work
“If you prioritize yourself … you can make time,” Delevaux said. Cardiologist Glenn Levine said, “Focusing on breathing for one to five minutes can help you wipe the slate clean and get all these things out of your mind… and help you focus on that thing.” ” “The best example is when you have 37 programs (open) and it freezes when your computer shuts down,” said a professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
A good way to practice deep breathing is to sit on a bench outside, Levin said. If that’s not an option, doing it at a desk will work. “Either turn off your screen or have something blank on the screen so people feel like you’re still working,” Levin said. ,
There are other ways to fit in breathing exercises, too. To relieve anxiety before starting a day of cold calls, sales development representative Lindsay Carlisle does breathing exercises with her 7-year-old daughter on the way to school. They inhale seven times, hold the breath five times, exhale seven times and then repeat this cycle several times. “During that whole process, my shoulders automatically start to droop and it’s really calming,” said Carlisle, who lives in Flint, Michigan. “I am not a yoga instructor. I don’t know what I’m doing, but it works.”
Suze Yalof Schwartz was an overworked fashion editor when her mother-in-law taught her a three-minute meditation technique, which she says changed her life. She left her fashion career and founded Unplug Meditation, a Santa Monica, Calif., company with a meditation studio, an app, and programs for corporate clients. “When we slow our breathing, we send a signal to our brain that everything is OK, even if it’s not,” she said.
The 16-second breathing technique he has taught to firefighters, police officers, doctors and others is called the box breathing technique. You inhale for four counts, hold your breath for four counts, exhale for four counts and hold for four counts. “It’s the best thing you can do before having a meeting at work, before sending an email you wish you hadn’t sent, before having a difficult conversation, because it calms you down, relieves Your negative energy,” Yalof Schwartz said.
Employers like Coca-Cola, Mattel, and Netflix have hired Unplugged Meditation to teach breathing or meditation. It’s not always easy for workers to find space to do deep breathing exercises. For example, in retail jobs, employees often mingle with customers. Yalof Schwartz recommends doing breathing exercises while calling sales or folding laundry. You can also take a deep breath right before you walk through a door.
Office workers can set a timer on their phones to remind themselves to take deep breaths. That’s what sales rep Carlisle does. She also places a Post-it note on her monitor that reads “Breathe.” “There will always be concerns,” Carlisle said. “But at least I know I have a little tool. …It sounds so simple and silly, but it works.”
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