Box Breathing

Box Breathing

Todd Brossart
Mindfulness, Mental Health

“Just breathe.” Depending on how stressed you might be, hearing those words may not be well received. Enter box breathing! It's a proactive breathing exercise aimed to help you regulate your nervous system.

Box breathing is a common breathing technique used by Navy Seals, mindfulness practitioners, and recovery programs. During my time as the lead facilitator of the mindfulness group at the Veterans Administration, I would lead the group through box breathing.

If you can envision drawing a box in your mind, and follow your breath to the count of four, then you can do box breathing.

This week's podcast episode outlines what box breathing is, and I'll walk you through a brief box breathing exercise toward the end of the episode.

LISTEN HERE.

The Just World Belief

The Just World Belief

Todd Brossart
Mental Health, Emotional Health, Trauma, Mindfulness

Do good things only happen to good people? Do bad things only happen to bad people? And are all honorable actions eventually rewarded? The Just World Belief states that your actions are inclined to bring morally fair and just consequences to you, or others. But what happens when something unexpected and traumatic happens to you? To be honest, I'm not so sure where I fall with this belief/hypothesis? Nonetheless, in this episode I try and make sense of the Just World hypothesis, while leaving you with a few thoughts to ponder.

Natural and Manufactured Emotion

Natural and Manufactured Emotion

Todd Brossart
Mindfulness, Mental Health, Emotional Health

There are two kinds of emotions. The first kind of emotions are those that happen naturally. We often experience natural emotions as they unfold after something happens. The second kind of emotions are the manufactured type. They're not based on the facts of an event, but on your interpretations of it. Push play to learn more about how you might be manufacturing emotions, and how to stop adding kindling to the fire!

Being with Less Self | Remembering Mindfulness

Being with Less Self | Remembering Mindfulness

Todd Brossart

Our human lives are inundated with the needs of the Self. The self (I/me/my) has many preferences, needs, biases, desires, and conditioned habits. While we're often unaware of how we are being controlled by the causes and conditions of our needs and wants, remembering mindfulness offers a path to greater awareness and choice. When remembering mindfulness we remember to come back to our present state. In this space of awareness we can be present-minded participants and live with more mindful action.

Setting Expectations for the New Year | Recalibrating Mindfully

Setting Expectations for the New Year | Recalibrating Mindfully

Todd Brossart
Mental Health, Mindfulness

New Year’s tends to bring about a newfound motivation for change. After a taxing 2020, I think we're all ready to turn the page! When making New Years resolutions we tend to hope for the best. Behind our desire for change there's a hope for the quick fix. Unfortunately, (myself included) we set ourselves up for disappointment, forgetting to update our expectations. With mindful living, we realize there are no quick fixes, only ways to simplify the over-complicated.

2020 in a word

2020 in a word

Todd Brossart
Mental Health, Mindfulness

What word would you use to describe the past year? I asked 70 people that very question and received many different responses. But I also asked a second question. What did you learn to value about the experience from the pandemic? Tune in to hear how the two questions elicited different responses, and why it's vital to reflect on difficult experiences. After all, you may not realize how the things you're saying to yourself could be impacting your mood and behavior!

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