~ 4 – 7 – 8 Breathing Exercise ~
© Margaret Emerson 2014
Published as sidebar with Sitting Meditation and Healing Colors in
Qi Journal Winter 2014-2015
Here’s a brief and simple exercise that I teach to all my T’ai Chi students because of its remarkable benefits. This one comes from Dr. Andrew Weill, a Harvard-educated medical doctor who’s a well-known advocate of complementary and alternative medicine. He says this is the most effective anti- anxiety exercise he knows and he teaches it to almost all his patients. Some students tell me it slows their heart rate; others say it helps them get to sleep or restores their equanimity when they’re anxious or stressed. It can be profoundly calming anytime and is an excellent prelude to meditation.