Welcome back to Monday Focus Check. One idea to start your week. Something you can use before the chaos kicks in.
This week we’re keeping it simple. And we’re including a bonus.
The breath you’re ignoring right now
You breathe about 20,000 times a day.
And almost none of those breaths are intentional. They just happen. Your body runs on autopilot, you stay alive, and you never think about it.
Which is fine. That’s how it’s supposed to work.
But did you know the way you breathe affects your nervous system in real time. Shallow, fast breathing tells your body something is wrong. Slow, controlled breathing tells your body you’re safe. And your body believes whatever signal you send it.
This is why “just breathe” is terrible advice. Everyone breathes. The question is how.
Box Breathing: The Simplest Protocol That Actually Works
Box breathing is used by first responders, surgeons, and anyone else who needs to stay calm when things get loud. I used it for years in the SEAL Teams. Still use it today.
Here’s how it works:
Inhale for 4 counts. Hold for 4 counts. Exhale for 4 counts. Hold for 4 counts. Repeat.
That’s a box. Four sides, four counts each. Simple enough to remember when your heart rate is through the roof.
Why it works: the exhale and the holds activate your parasympathetic nervous system… the “rest and digest” side. You’re manually overriding the stress response by controlling the one thing you can always control: your breath.
When to use it:
Before a difficult conversation. Before a presentation. When you’re stuck in traffic and already running late. When your kid does something that makes you want to lose your mind and you have three seconds to decide how to respond.
Any time you need to create space between stimulus and response, box breathing buys you that space.
BONUS: Watch the video above!
We put together a short guided box breathing video for you. No fluff, no long intro. Just the practice.
Try it once today. See how you feel after.
The So What
You can read about stress management all day. You can understand the science. You can know exactly what you’re supposed to do.
None of that matters if you don’t have a tool you can actually use in the moment.
Box breathing is that tool. It’s free, it’s portable, and it works whether you believe in it or not. Your nervous system doesn’t care about your opinions. It responds to the signal you give it.
Give it a better signal.
One thing to try this week
Use box breathing once a day for five days. Doesn’t have to be a crisis. Could be before your first meeting. Could be in your car before you walk into the house after work. Could be right now, before you read the next paragraph.
4 in. 4 hold. 4 out. 4 hold.
That’s it.
One more thing…
Will and I have been building something for a while now. A course called Awareness to Action. It goes deeper on everything we cover in these newsletters… breath work, attention training, stress response, the gap between stimulus and response.
We’re launching it at the end of May.
If you want to be first to know when it opens, get on the list here:
https://focusnowtraining.com/a2a-course-interest
No spam. Just a heads up when we open the doors.
What situation are you going to use box breathing in this week? Reply and tell us… we actually want to know.
Jon and Will, Focus Now Training and The Men Talking Mindfulness Podcast.
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