Banish Anxiety

Here is another breathing exercise that can be used to help quell anxiety when trying to sleep at night.

• Lie flat on your back in bed with your arms by your sides. Take a few deep, cleansing breaths, concentrating on keeping your breathing even and steady.



• Acknowledge one stressful or anxious thought each time you breathe in, and release it with the air as you breathe out. As you breathe out, imagine that thought to be a miniature bubble that just floated out of your body.



• When your anxiousness has abated, keep focusing on steady breathing and slowly get into your normal sleeping position.



• Now switch to acknowledging the thoughts of things that you are grateful for. This time, pull these thoughts in with each breath and, as you breathe out, be thankful for each thought. Do not "release" the thought as you breathe out, simply acknowledge it.

This form of breathing exercise uses a very simple form of visualization (the miniature "thought" bubble), and represents a simple form of meditation (acknowledging your thoughts). We will discuss more involved versions of these exercises in the following pages.

Relaxation Exercises >>>