Three minute breathing space

The ‘three minute breathing space’ is the kind of exercise you can do quickly in between the many other things in your busy day. We show you how to do it in three steps. 

As a metaphor for this exercise we are using the hourglass: Wide at the top, narrow in the middle and wide again at the bottom.

1. The wide part at the top is your life at the beginning of this exercise: Busy with lots of things and your attention focused outward. The first minute is used to make a so-called weather report, reporting how things are inside you right now: Your thoughts, your body, your feelings and your mood. Only observe; do not change anything.
2. In the second minute, as you are going toward the narrow part of the hourglass, you start by paying close attention to your body: Is there any tension anywhere? Where can you feel your breathing most clearly? (Nose, chest, stomach?) Next, focus your attention on that spot for a minute: You are now in the narrowest part of the hourglass.
3. Slowly expand your attention by allowing your breathing to go through your whole body. At the end of the three minutes, you notice the place where you are sitting and the space around you, take it in with all your senses. When you open your eyes and continue with your life, you often feel different: more relaxed and alert, for example.