Responding mindfully / calmly: Box-breath (A4-EN)

During this activity, participants will experience how they can easily calm the nervous system in situations where aggression is encountered by using a breathing technique. Participants will learn how aggression most commonly leads to a fight-flight-freeze response. They learn how this technique helps to reduce this response and how it helps to access the more evolved, more empathic part of our brain.

Breathing technique, short meditation, calming the nervous system.

• Experience what the effects of aggression is on our nervous system are and how aggression can be met in a calmer / more mindful way;
• Learning how to apply the box-breathing technique;
• Learning how it helps to access the more evolved, more empathic part of our brain;
• Experience what effect of this technique is.

Adults in a work environment

An individual or group will start exploring what aggression does to our nervous system. As an indicator, we will use the breath since it is directly related to the number of stress hormones that are being produced in the body.

The participant(s) will then learn more about how stress affects the brain and how this stress might negatively influence our ability to respond productively.

After this, the participant(s) will learn how the Box-Breath technique works and directly apply it.

Lastly, the participant(s) will gain insight into how this technique helps them in dealing with aggression. 

• Stopwatch
• Pen & Handout

• Experimenting with the breath
• Teaching the benefits of this technique

• Let the participants experiment with their breath, this often is the most convincing way of making people aware.
• Give clear instructions to the participants that they should find their own breathing rhythm. Each body is different. It is not a competition!
• For safety reasons, please tell participants to practice this technique only while sitting down. NOT whilst moving (e.g. driving) or in the vicinity of water.

(Stinson, 2018)

(Gotter, 2019)

Hogeschool Utrecht

Yes