The zen garden aims to promote calmness and a place of tranquility for our community. In pursuit of this goal, here are some ways to keep a healthy mind and body.
Breathing Techniques
Mindful breathing is a crucial part of relaxation. Mindful breathing helps calm the body and the mind and helps you when you become stressed or overwhelmed. It helps with focus, winding down, and improved sleep. In this section, a few breathing exercises and techniques are explained to help you calm and focus the mind and reduce stress and negative emotions.
4-7-8
The 4-7-8 breathing exercise is a very simple technique. Find a comfortable position, sitting, standing, or lying down
| 4 | 7 | 8 |
| Breathe in through the nose for 4 seconds | Hold breath for 7 seconds | Breathe out through mouth for 8 seconds |
Box Breath
Box breathing should be done sitting or standing.
Hold out one hand and place the pointer of the other hand on the top left corner of the palm. Trace a square around your palm as you breathe – breathing in for 4 seconds, holding for 4 seconds, breathing out for 4 seconds, and holding 4 seconds, Repeat.
Heart Stomach Breath
With eyes closed, place hands over heart and stomach. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, slowly feeling your stomach rise and fall and your heart beating.
Shoulder Roll Breathing
Slowly take a deep breath in through your nose while raising your shoulders, then breathe out through your mouth while lowering your shoulders. Repeat.
Shoulder Roll Breathing (youtube.com)
Hot Chocolate Breathing
Pretend you are holding a cup of hot chocolate in front of you. Take a deep breath in through your nose like you are smelling the cocoa, then blow out through your mouth like you are cooling off your hot chocolate. Repeat several times.
Deep Breathing Exercise: Smell the Cocoa, Cool the Cocoa (youtube.com)
Snake Breathing
Take a deep breath in through your nose, then exhale through your mouth while making a hissing sound.
Bumblebee Breath
Close off your ears with your fingers. Close your mouth. Breathe in through your nose and quietly hum while exhaling. It should sound like a bumblebee in your head.
Bumble Bee Breathing (youtube.com)
Additional Resources
Loving Kindness Meditation Video (youtube.com)
Basic Mindful Breathing Meditation Video (youtube.com)
Resources | Shanthi Project
Yoga Poses
Yoga offers physical and mental health benefits for people of all ages. It improves strength, balance, and flexibility, and can reduce pain. Regular yoga practice may reduce levels of stress and inflammation. Several of the factors contributing to heart disease, including high blood pressure and excess weight, can also be addressed through yoga. Yoga relaxes you and helps you sleep better. You may feel increased mental and physical energy, a boost in alertness and enthusiasm, less stress, and fewer negative feelings after routinely practicing yoga. Participating in yoga classes can also ease loneliness and provide an environment for group healing and support.
Mountain Pose and Extended Mountain Pose
Stand with feet slightly apart.
Shoulders back and chest lifted.
Arms down with palms facing forward.
Chin slightly lifted, with eyes looking forward.
Legs engaged with knees lifted.
Breathe slowly in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Hold and repeat for several breaths.
Breathe in and raise arms to extend mountain pose, shoulder down and away from ears. Hold stretch.
Breathe out and lower arms.
Beginner Yoga – Mountain Pose – AARP
Forward Fold
Start in MOUNTAIN POSE, with feet together
Place hands on hips. Inhale.
While exhaling, elongate the spine and fold forward from the hips, without rounding back.
Slightly bend knees if needed. Grab toes or place hands on the floor, if able.
Hang head down, gaze to shins, crown to the floor.
Breathe slowly in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Hold for several breaths. Inhale and rise.
Standing Forward Bend (youtube.com)
Variations include Forward bend with wide legs and seated forward fold:
Yoga for beginners | Wide-angle standing forward bend | Mercy Health (youtube.com)
Eliminate Low Back Pain with the Forward Fold Yoga Pose (youtube.com)
Plank
Lie face down on the mat.
Place hands on the mat directly under your shoulders. Extend fingers.
Flex feet and tuck toes under.
Extend arms fully to push up the body. Keep flat back and body from shoulders to feet.
Bend elbows and return to the floor.
Variations include keeping knees on the floor or lifting and balancing on forearms/elbows (Dolphin/low/elbow plank).
Planks for Beginners | Bowflex® (youtube.com)
Core Exercise: Plank – YouTube
Cobra Pose
Lie face down on the mat.
Place your hands on the mat, directly under your shoulders. Extend fingers.
Point toes so they lay flat on the mat.
Breathe in and extend your arms to push up your body, keeping elbows slightly bent.
Arch back and expand chest.
Pull shoulders down and back, away from the ears.
Keep an eye gaze up.
Hold pose and then bend elbows and lower to return to the mat.
How to do Cobra Pose | Yoga Tutorial Day 3 | 30 Poses 30 Days (youtube.com)
Downward Dog Pose
Come to your hands and knees with your wrists underneath the shoulders and your knees underneath the hips.
On an exhalation, curl your toes under and push back through your hands to lift your hips and straighten your legs, coming into an inverted V-shape position.
Spread your fingers and use your hands to press firmly into the mat, and make sure the feet are hip-distance apart and parallel.
Outwardly rotate your upper arms to broaden the collarbones.
Relax your head and gaze toward the navel.
Move your shoulder blades away from your ears towards your hips.
Rotate your thighs inward, keep your tail high, and sink your heels towards the floor.
Exhale and bend your knees to release and come back to your hands and knees.
Yoga for beginners | Downward-facing dog | Mercy Health (youtube.com)
Sun Salutation
To complete a SUN SALUTATION, connect the 5 previous poses in series as explained in the diagram.
10 Min Morning Sun Salutations | Beginner Friendly Yoga Flow (youtube.com)
Tree Pose
Balance on one foot, arms out to the side
Slowly, slide one foot up the standing leg as far as can keep balanced, without placing foot on the knee.
Raise arms above head if able.
Keep standing leg straight.
Tree Pose – active sequence (youtube.com)
Corpse Pose
Lie flat on your back, with feet together and relaxed.
Place arms by your sides, with palms facing upwards.
Close your eyes.
Take deep, slow, calming breaths.
Additional References
- Kira Willey. Breath like a Bear, 2017, New York, USA, Penguin Random House, LLC., 84 pages.
- 9 Benefits of Yoga | Hopkins Medicine