Balloon Breathing I Arizona Trauma Institute I Somatic Exercises

Often times when we start to use words with our breathing, it allows us to have a way to connect with our breathing and what is going on with us mentally. By adding a connection to the language side of your brain, helps create a sense of safety when you are trying to down regulate. So in this exercise, you are going to imagine that you are blowing up a balloon, inhaling and exhaling on a count of 5. First, inhale counting up from 1 to 5. Then exhale, counting down from 5 to 1. As you continue this breathing exercise and you feel comfortable, you can add another step, which is to think about how your using your breathing to calm your body. The first phrase is, “I am breathing in and I calm my body”. The second step is to say, “I am breathing out, and I smile”. The second phrase to this is, “I am breathing in and I calm my mind, I am breathing out and I am back in control”. Then do the same as what you were doing before, counting while breathing in and out, although this time you will be saying those words instead of counting. Now, you can change the words to fit you, but this exercise is a nice way to start to connect your body with your brain.