Mini relaxation exercises are focused breathing techniques which help reduce anxiety and tension immediately!

You can do them with your eyes open or closed (but make sure that your eyes are open when you are driving!).

You can do them any place, at any time, no one will know that you are doing them.

Ways to "do a mini"...

Switch over to diaphragmatic breathing; if you are having trouble, try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth, or take a deep breath. You should feel your stomach rising about an inch as you breathe in, and falling about an inch as your breathe out. If this is still difficult for you, lie on your back or on your stomach; you will be more aware of your breathing pattern. Remember, it is impossible to breathe diaphragmatically if you are holding your stomach in! So... relax your stomach muscles.

Mini Version 1

Count very slowly to yourself from ten down to zero, one number for each breath. Thus, with the first diaphragmatic breath, you say "ten" to yourself, with the next breath, you say "nine", etc. If you start feeling light-headed or dizzy, slow down the counting. When you get to "zero", see how you are feeling. If you are feeling better, great! If not, try doing it again.

Mini Version 2

As you inhale, count very slowly up to four; as you exhale, count slowly back down to one. Thus, as you inhale, you say to yourself "one, two, three, four," as you exhale, you say to yourself "four, three, two, one." Do this several times.

Mini Version 3

After each inhalation, pause for a few seconds, after your exhale, pause again for a few seconds. Do this for several breaths.

Good times to "do a mini"...

While being stuck in traffic... when put on "hold" during an important phone call... while waiting in your doctor's waiting room... when someone says something which bothers you... at all red lights... when waiting for a phone call... in the dentist's chair... when you feel overwhelmed by what you need to accomplish in the near future... while standing in line... when in pain... etc., etc.
The only time that mini's do not work is when you forget to do them!!! so go do a mini...

Copyright (c) 1996 Ann Webster, Ph.D., Director, The Mind-Body Medical Clinic for HIV-Positive and AIDS Related Disorders, offered by The Division of Behavioral Medicine, Beth Israel/Deaconess Medical Center, 110 Francis Street, Ste 1A, Boston, MA 02215. For further information, please call (617) 632-7373. Visit our website at http://mindbody.harvard.edu/.