2 – Breathing exercise

Learning to control your breathing is a simple way to reduce stress and tension. The secret is not deep breathing, but slow breathing. Encourage your family member to do the excersise with you on daily basis, it takes only 10 minutes to do. Try the following technique:

1.Take a normal breath in through your nose, keeping your mouth closed.
2.Exhale slowly through your mouth.
3.While  you  exhale,  silently  say  to  yourself  the  word  “calm”  or  “relax”  very slowly.  For example: c-a-a-a-a-a-alm.
4.Pause and count to 4 before you inhale again.
5.Repeat for 10 minutes.

Not only will the breathing excersise improve well being, it is something that can be done together. This activity will enhance the feeling of family cohesiveness.