A Brief Hiatus.

An exercise that I regularly turn to when I’m feeling stressed, anxious, or need to focus my mind, is the Three-minute Breathing Space.

It’s a technique that was suggested to me by my mediation teacher, who pointed me in the direction of the recording above, which I have saved on my phone in case of emergencies (e.g. when I need to work up the right state of consciousness to levitate across the Ganges). What’s great about it is it doesn’t take long, hence the time span in its title; it’s something you can fit in at any point in the day, without getting in the way of your schedule, so you can’t use busyness as an excuse. 

As someone who is used to breathing exercises and vocal warm-ups, it was no big stretch to add a technique of this sort into my forte. It’s very useful when you need a moment to reset your brain or focus on a task ahead. While the guided meditation clip above is excellent and perfect for the job, you don’t always need to listen to it; you can go through the same process in your head – though like many things in life, you get more out of it if you do it regularly.

Next time you need to take a quick mental breather, why not give it a go? I recommend it wholeheartedly. I did it before all of my stand-up shows in Brighton and, by God, did it make me funnier. I even did it before writing this blog knowing I’d go on to discuss it. See: I practise what I preach.

Tomorrow, I’ll teach you how to improve your posture with a process I've devised, called the Ephgrave Technique.  The estate of Frederick Matthais Alexander had better have their lawyers at the ready.