Three-Minute Breathing Space

Where it comes from

The three-minute breathing space was created for Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, a course developed by Zindel Segal, Mark Williams and John Teasdale. The course was first designed for people who had been through repeated episodes of depression, and it is now taught more widely. The breathing space is its shortest practice. It was made to carry mindfulness out of the formal sitting and into the middle of an ordinary day. It is often described as a way of stepping out of automatic pilot for a moment, so that you can choose what to do next.

The hourglass shape

The practice has three stages of about a minute each. Attention starts wide, narrows, then widens again, like an hourglass.

• Awareness. Ask what is here right now. Notice thoughts, then feelings, then body sensations. Name them without trying to change them.
• Gathering. Bring attention to the breath in the belly. Follow each breath all the way in and all the way out.
• Expanding. Widen attention to the whole body, including posture and the expression on your face, as if the whole body were breathing.

The step people skip

The first stage is the one most often rushed. It is tempting to go straight to the breath to calm down. But the purpose of the first minute is to see clearly what is going on before you do anything about it. It can help to put it into words: ‘there is tightness in my chest’, ‘there are thoughts about the meeting’, ‘irritation is here’. Saying ‘there is’ in place of ‘I am’ gives a little distance. Unpleasant feelings are allowed to stay. You are acknowledging them, not approving of them or getting rid of them.

When to use it

Learn it at set times first, then use it when you need it.

• Scheduled: three times a day at fixed points, such as after waking, before lunch and on finishing work.
• Before something demanding, like a difficult phone call or a presentation.
• After something upsetting, before you reply or decide.
• When you notice you have been on automatic pilot for hours.
• As a bridge between tasks, with eyes open at your desk. Nobody need know you are doing it.

What it is not

The breathing space is not a quick fix or a way to make feelings vanish. Sometimes you will finish it feeling the same, only clearer about what is there. That counts as it working. Three minutes is a guide and not a rule. One breath for each stage is enough when you are short of time. It also does not replace a longer daily practice, which is where the skill of steady attention is built. If low mood or anxiety is persistent or getting worse, please speak to a doctor or a mental-health professional. This short practice can sit alongside care but is not a substitute for it.