Centered Breathing

For those of us that have some experience in this department, you probably found that deep breathing has a calming effect and can help reduce the emotional anxiety and nervousness that we face as speakers on stage. In most cases, it can prevent us from going into fight or flight mode, a useful instinct when we get in the way of a tiger and have to run as fast as we can to avoid being eaten. Most audiences these days are pretty tame or preoccupied with their smartphones so most of us don’t experience this kind of threat on a regular basis. Yet the instinctual reaction is getting in the way of what we want to accomplish. The fight or flight mode most of us experience when we face a large audience promotes an adrenaline rush that gets us ready to respond to a threat to our survival. It shuts down our cognitive thinking and gets our limbs ready to fight or flee. Using deep breathing techniques, we can get a grip and keep ourselves from going into this mode. It does wonder for managing our nervousness and body responses such as sweaty palms and blushing.

The full technique of Centered Breathing is more involved and beyond the scope of this book. I will, however, teach you the first part of Centered Breathing, which deals with the physiological skill.
In itself, the first part of this skill is just as effective as most Centering skills you are likely to find in books or on the internet. I suggest that you begin with Centered Breathing level 1 as described below. This is because there are so many different skills available online, I cannot ensure the one you choose will be effective and suited to your needs. Practice the Centered Breathing skill until you become very comfortable with it. On its own, it is a highly effective Centering skill.

You will learn:

• Skill: Enhancing your Deep Breathing

• Skill: Developing your Abdomen

• Skill: Developing sensitivity to your center

• Tips on Centered Breathing