Counseling in Katy, TX: Sensory Breathing

Have you ever been caught in a storm? There’s thunderclaps that rattle the windows, lightning will light the sky up with glowing streaks, and the rain hammers down, loud on the rooftop. Life can feel the same way when your anxiety is triggered. Counseling in Katy, TX can help you learn how to help calm yourself down when the anxiety storm is raging. This deep sensory breathing exercise engages all of your senses, forces you to slow down, and can bring a sense of calm to a stressful environment. 

Before starting this breathing exercise, let’s talk about how to take deep, diaphragmatic breaths. Place your hand on your stomach and inhale deeply. Your stomach should expand when you inhale. If your shoulders are rising, and your stomach is not expanding, you are not breathing deeply enough, and the air is getting caught in your chest. Please, take a few practice breaths, and focus on breathing deeply. This exercise will walk through each of your five senses, while concentrating on one deep breath for each sense.

• Breath One: Sight

As you breathe in, take in the sights around you. In this stressful setting, can you find something calm with the storm to focus on? Are you able to find something near you that you enjoy seeing? What are your eyes drawn to? What can you visibly focus on?

• Breath Two: Touch

Can you touch anything? What can you feel? How many different textures can you feel right now? Temperature is a feeling too! Are you touching something warm, or chilled? Can you feel something smooth, or bumpy? Really focus on what you can physically feel during this second deep breath.

• Breath Three: Sound

Inhale deeply. What do you hear around you? If you are in a loud environment, can you pick out individual sounds? If it’s quiet, can you still hear sounds, or are you hearing silence? Are you able to hear something you consider pleasant? Do the sounds you are hearing make you feel any particular way? Can you pick out a sound that is quieter than the rest of the noise?

• Breath Four: Smell

What can you currently smell? Can you smell your shampoo, or your laundry detergent? Do you enjoy the perfume that you are wearing? Are you able to smell some food cooking or baking? Is there an air freshener in the room you are in, or maybe even a campfire if you are outdoors? Can you smell a scent that seems to be more lingering than all of the others?

• Breath Five: Taste

When you take your last deep breath for this sensory breathing exercise, try to determine if you can taste anything. It seems like a strange thing to sense, especially if you aren’t eating anything, so you might have to use some extra concentration on this breath. Maybe you can still taste your toothpaste or mouthwash from this morning, or maybe the coffee you drank on your way to work?

As you complete this breathing exercise, take one more good, deep breath at the end, and use that moment to reflect on your senses, and how you are feeling in your own body. Really focus on being present in the moment, and readily welcome the calm that comes checking in on yourself and how you are feeling. You should feel in a calmer state because you were able to concentrate on getting oxygen to your brain, slowing your heart rate, and focusing on the moment at hand. Enjoy the way you feel in that moment, re-ground your thoughts, and take on your day with more focus and confidence.

Don’t let stress and anxiety consume your day. Counseling in Katy, TX can help you focus on coping skills that will help you control depression, anxiety, and stress management. Begin your journey to a happier, healthier you by reaching out today!