A two-minute reset for stressful moments

This is the practice I use most, and the one I’d teach if I could only teach one. It takes two minutes and nobody needs to know you’re doing it.

Follow along

1. Sit up and put a hand on your chest. Feel it rise and fall for three breaths.
2. Lengthen the out-breath. In through your nose for 4, out through your mouth for 6.
3. Drop your shoulders on every out-breath.
4. Keep going for ten breaths. That’s about two minutes.

Use it before a difficult call, after a tense email, or when you notice you’ve been holding your breath. The more you practise when you’re calm, the faster it works when you’re not.