RELAXATION TECHNIQUES II October 8, 1989 DEEP BREATHING Close your eyes...Get yourself comfortable. Pay careful attention to your breathing. Recognize how slow and deep breathing will help to induce relaxation. Exhale, then take a deep breath in through your nose and blow it out through your mouth. Breathe from your abdomen, deeply and slowly. Allow your abdomen to rise and fall as you breathe. With each inhale and exhale, count your breaths. count ONE on the inhale and TWO on the exhale. Focus only on the breath and your counting. If a thought comes into your mind which causes you to lose track of your counting, just return to the count. If a thought comes into your mind, look at it as though it were someone else's. Neither grab hold of it nor chop it down. Neither stop it nor pursue it. Simply watch it come into view and disappear. Then continue your counting. Count your breaths until you feel deeply relaxed. Breathe in and out slowly, counting each breath, until you feel quiet, relaxed, and still alert. EOF>