Relax & Focus in 3 Steps

Mental · Date: ________________

1. Breathe deeply

  1. Sit or lie down. One hand on your belly, one on your chest.
  2. Breathe in through your nose into your belly first, then your ribs, then your chest.
  3. Breathe out slowly through pursed lips, chest first, belly last, until it's all out.
  4. One breath counts. A minute is better.
Today:

Slow breathing shifts the body toward its calming side, visible in heart-rate measures (Zaccaro and colleagues, 2018).

2. Be mindful

  1. Keep breathing slowly and put your full attention on one sensation: the breath, or a sip of coffee.
  2. When a thought pulls you away, notice it without judging it: "I'm aware of…"
  3. Bring your attention back. The coming back is the rep.
Today:

Attention is trainable. Counting breaths is a practice researchers have validated as a measure of mindful attention (Levinson and colleagues, 2014).

3. Imagine vividly

  1. Close your eyes and picture the next important thing you have to do today.
  2. Run it start to finish: where you are, what you say, what your hands do.
  3. Add the senses, then the feeling of finishing it well.
Today:

Rehearsing a task in your head improved real performance across dozens of studies, with a modest effect (Driskell and colleagues, 1994).

Thriving · app.thriving.org · The studies behind each step: app.thriving.org/guide/mental. Educational wellness program, not medical care.