Guided Breathing Technique with Elaine Schardien: 4-7-8

In this episode, Elaine Schardien guides you through 4-7-8 Breathing which has been found to be helpful  for relaxation, anxiety relief, and falling asleep. The prolonged exhale naturally slows your heart rate and activates your parasympathetic nervous system (your body's 'rest and digest' mode). 

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Transcript

Speaker 0:09

Welcome to the Healing Waves Reiki Podcast. I'm your host, Cathy Scarpitto, Ricky Master teacher, spiritual mentor, intuitive, and physical therapist. Let's begin.

Speaker 1 0:26

Hey there, it's Elaine Schardien, and I'm bringing you a technique that is very common for people who have anxiety. You may or may not have heard of it. It's called the four, seven, eight technique. And what it requires is your diaphragmatic breathing, inhaling for four, retaining for seven, and then exhaling slowly for eight. Okay? So bring your feet flat on the ground, bring the shoulders up to the ears and let them drop back. Sitting up as straight as you can. We are going to try this technique. So if you have not done diaphragmatic breathing, you may want to listen to the podcast on the diaphragmatic breathing. So we will begin. You inhale and expand that diaphragm. Two, three, four, and then retain the breath for seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, and exhale. Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Okay, before we go on, let's talk about that. So the inhalation is four, the retention is seven, and the exhalation is eight. Now, when you're retaining that breath, you do not want to, if you can visualize your breath, you don't want to be retaining it so that it's at the top of your throat. You want to retain it more in the chest area. So that expansion, when you breathe in, maybe between the top of the diaphragm and below the throat area is where you would want to retain the breath. If you could visualize those lungs expanding. And if at any time that retention feels like it's too much, well, my friend, exhale. Okay. We are going to do three more rounds. When doing this breath, you may have a couple of questions. One of the most common questions that comes up is how high am I holding the breath when I retain? It's a great question. So, where you want the breath for retention, if you can visualize the expansion of the diaphragm and those lungs, so that the breath you're holding at the top of the diaphragm and maybe right underneath the throat. So it's not in the throat, it's not super high, it's more, it's lower down. Let's see if we can practice three rounds together and just do your best. If you feel that the retention is too much, well, my friend, just breathe and then start the count with us again. Remember, feet flat, shoulders back, and we will inhale, two, three, four, retain six, five, four, three, two, one, exhale, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Inhale, two, three, four, retain six, five, four, three, two, one, exhale, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, stick with me. Last one, inhale, two, three, four, retain, six, five, four, three, two, one, exhale, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Wow. That wasn't so easy. It's not so easy.

Speaker 5:17

The exhalation. I think I breathe out too fast.

Speaker 1 5:21

Ah, it sounded I have nothing left. It sounded a little fast. So there's uh many people who use this, and you again may have heard of this for anxiety. It resonates with many. If it doesn't resonate with you, that's fine. Uh, it may also mean that you're not used to using your lungs to the expansion that we're putting it to use here. So it may be something that you want to practice.

Speaker 5:50

Okay. All right. No, that was great. Thank you.

Speaker 1 5:53

You're welcome.

Speaker 5:56

Thank you for listening to the Healing Waves Reiki podcast. This episode resonated with you. Share it with someone who may need it. Subscribe and leave a review so more people can find this work. Until next time, stay grounded, stay open, and keep healing. This podcast is intended for informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The content shared on this podcast is not medical, psychological, legal, or professional advice, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any condition. Always seek the guidance of a qualified health care provider, mental health professional, or other licensed professional regarding your specific needs. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host. Listener discretion and personal responsibility are advised.