Summer is beautiful, but summer can also be a lot — family in town, packed schedules, travel logistics, heat, and the slow creep toward the end of the season. In this Healing Moments episode, Jessica closes out July with a simple, clinical, and highly effective nervous system tool: box breathing.
Also known as square breathing, this technique is used by athletes, surgeons, and Navy SEALs to stay regulated under pressure — and Jessica leans on it herself, often right in her car between one thing and the next. It's four equal sides of a breath: inhale, hold, exhale, hold, each for a count of four. Jessica walks you through it live, guiding you through three full rounds so you can feel the shift in real time.
You'll learn why it works — how the rhythm interrupts anxious spiraling, slows your breathing rate to signal safety to your brain, and brings you back into your body and the present moment. And you'll leave with a tool you can use anywhere: in the car, mid-family-dinner-escalation, when travel plans fall apart, or when you're in a crowded space and your chest starts to tighten.
In this episode:
What box breathing is and why it's used across high-pressure professions
The importance of nose-in, mouth-out breathing
A live, guided practice of three rounds of box breathing
box breathing, square breathing, nervous system regulation, anxiety tools, stress management, summer stress, breathwork, grounding techniques, Navy SEAL breathing, panic response, present moment awareness, healing moments, self-regulation, mindfulness practice, trauma-informed breathing, quick calming techniques, anxiety relief, nervous system toolkit
Transcripts
Jessica (:
Hi, welcome back. I'm Jessica Clarco, and this is Healing is My Hobby. Welcome to our summer series, Healing Moments. We're wrapping up July together, and I thought the perfect way to close out this month was another tool for your nervous system toolkit. Because summer is beautiful, but summer can also be a lot. Family in town, packed schedules, travel logistics, heat, the end of the slow season creeping closer. And today we're doing
Box breathing. It's simple, it's clinical, and it works. And it is one of my favorite techniques that I do a lot of times in my car when I find myself running all over the place and feeling pretty stressed out. Box breathing, sometimes called square breathing, is used by everyone, from athletes to surgeons to Navy SEALs to regulate their nervous systems under pressure. It's called box breathing because you're creating four equal sides of a breath.
Inhale, hold, exhale, hold. Each side is four counts. That's it. Let's do it together. Find a comfortable position, soften your shoulders, and if it's safe, close your eyes.
Before we begin, I want to note that it is important that on the inhalation, we are inhaling through our nose, holding, and exhaling through our mouth. That does matter. Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth. I saw like a sports coach or someone say, smell the roses, blow out the birthday candles. So here we go.
Inhale, two, three, four, hold two, three, four. Exhale, two, three, four, hold, two, three, four. That's one box. Let's do it again. Inhale, two, three, four, hold, two, three, four.
Exhale, two, three, four, hold, two, three, four. One more. Inhale, two, three, four, hold, two, three, four. Exhale, two, three, four, hold, two, three, four. Take a natural breath and let your body settle.
Box breathing works by giving your mind something concrete and rhythmic to focus on, which interrupts the spiral of anxious thought. It slows your breathing rate, which signals your brain that the threat has passed. It brings you back into your body and into the present moment.
Use this one when summer gets loud, when the family dinner escalates, when the travel plans fall apart, when you're standing in a crowded place and your chest gets tight. Four counts, four sides, one box. That's all it takes to start shifting things. You made it through July. I'm proud of you. I'll see you in August with more healing moments. Take care of yourself this week.
If you'd like to read my blog or stay up to date, you can sign up for the newsletter at healingasmyhobby.com. You can follow me on Instagram or YouTube at Healing is My Hobby. And if you'd like to know more about my clinical practice, you can visit JessicaCalarcoLCSW.com or follow me on Instagram at JessicaCalarcoLCSW.
