Attitude Breathing: A 3-Minute Reset for Your Heart

A technique that will help you move from depleting emotions to renewing emotions.

Stress doesn’t just live in your mind—it shows up in your heart rhythms, your breathing, and your body’s ability to recover.

The good news: Short, simple practices can help your system reset, even on busy, stressful days.​

Here is the 3-minute heart reset called “Attitude Breathing,” excerpted from The HeartMath Experience program.

ATTITUDE BREATHING™

Start by pausing to pay attention to what you are feeling now, or today—feelings that you would like to shift (frustrated, judgmental or self-critical, down/sad, angry, etc.).

STEPS:

1. Recognize the feeling or attitude you would like to change and what you would rather feel—a feeling you’d like to replace it with. Examples:
   1. You are feeling stressed…you’d rather feel calm.
   2. You’ve been feeling overloaded…you want to replace it with a feeling of ease.
   3. Feeling judgmental? Consider replacing it with kindness or compassion.
2. Practice heart-focused breathing.
   1. Focus your attention on the area of your heart.
   2. Imagine your breath is flowing in and out of your heart/chest area—breathing a little slower than usual.
3. Practice breathing in your new replacement attitude.
   1. Stay with it until you start to feel the shift.
4. Anchor and maintain the practice.
   1. Practice maintaining your new attitudes and perceptions as you move through your daily interactions. Commit to practicing once a day for the next few weeks to create a habit.