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Mini-Meditation: The Three-Minute Breathing Space




The oversaturated, hypermarketed, and superadvertised space of mindfulness and meditation apps makes choosing techniques that are actually helpful a daunting task. In this context, the three-minute breathing space offers a proven and simple mini-meditation comprising of three steps, each step lasting about a minute. It is one of the core practices of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), an evidence-based psychotherapy (Williams et al., 2007). The purpose of this exercise is to allow you to step back from a stressful situation, which helps you discern newer perspectives and alternatives that may not have been that apparent. It is hypothesized that mindfulness rewires our brain toward resilience and is considered a cornerstone of resilience (Graham, 2013). Although this exercise is called the three-minute breathing space, you can use it for shorter or longer duration depending on your comfort level and the situation. The steps of the technique are as below (Neff, 2011; Williams et al., 2007):

1. Becoming aware: Close your eyes to bring awareness to your inner experience and ask yourself the following questions:

  • “What thoughts are going through my mind?” Try to put these thoughts into words.
  • “What feelings am I experiencing?” Acknowledge the presence of any sense of emotional discomfort or unpleasant feeling and give it a name. For example, “anger – yes,” “annoyance – yes,” “fear – yes,” and so on.

Once you have identified the thoughts and feelings, place your attention to the body sensations that are associated with those thoughts and feelings. For example, “I feel a little tightness in my chest,” or “I have this sinking feeling in my stomach.”

2. Gathering: The second step of this mini-meditation entails redirecting your attention to focus on the physical sensations of breathing as in mindful breathing. Feel the sensation of your belly wall expanding with each in-breath and falling back with each out-breath. if it helps, keep your hand on your belly. Follow the breath all the way in and all the way out, using it to anchor yourself in the present.

3. Expanding: The final step involves expanding your horizon of awareness beyond your breathing to include a sense of the body, your posture, and your facial expression. If you become aware of any sensations of discomfort, tension, or resistance, home in on them by breathing into them on each in-breath and breathing out of them with each out-breath while maintaining a compassionate frame of mind. You can silently repeat the phrase “soften, soothe, allow” to help you accept the physical sensations as they are, softening any resistance to them, while actively soothing yourself for any discomfort you feel.

Each of the three steps in this exercise plays a key role in enhancing your mindfulness experience (Teasdale et al., 2014). By deliberately bringing our attention to your thoughts, feelings, and body sensations, you not only overcome avoidance, the default coping style in anxiety and depression, but also treat these experiences at face value, without judgement or interpretation. It helps you switch from "doing" to "being" mode and treat thoughts as mental events rather than facts. The second step of focusing on the physical sensations of breathing helps you not dwell on ruminations, worries, and obsessions by giving you a break from your thinking mind. Finally, expanding your awareness beyond your breath eases you into reconnecting with your day while accepting any unpleasant experiences with an open mind.

The key in any type of meditation is to let go of all expectations and any apprehensions. As you begin to practice this mini-meditation, it is natural to worry – “Am I doing this the right way?” or “Why am I wasting my time just sitting here?” This is merely your mind replaying stories that you have created around past events and future apprehensions. Gently acknowledge these thoughts without any judgment and keep focusing on the inner experience and breathing. In addition, the intent of this meditation is to be compassionate with your unpleasant feelings and not to "get rid" of them. Following the three-minute breathing space exercise, notice if there is any lessening of or relief from the uncomfortable sensations. Notice if there is a change in the negative emotions you were experiencing prior to the exercise.

You can anchor the three-minute breathing space practice to certain daily events, such as before going to bed or after waking up in the morning. Also, a good time to use this tool would be when you are experiencing unpleasant feelings, ruminating about past, worrying about the future, having unpleasant body sensations, or struggling with avoidance.

To learn more about evidence-based self-management techniques that promote mental health and well-being, check out Dr. Duggal's Author Page.

HARPREET S. DUGGAL, MD, FAPA

REFERENCES

Graham, L. (2013). Bouncing back. Novato, CA: New World Library.

Neff, K. (2011). Self-compassion. New York, NY: William Morrow.

Teasdale, J., Williams, M., & Segal, Z. (2014). The mindful way workbook. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Williams, M., Teasdale, J., Segal, Z., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (2007). The mindful way through depression. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.




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