Color Your Breath
Materials Needed
Feeling
Rushed
How to Do It
Imagine that with each inhale, you are breathing in a calming color like blue or green. As you exhale, visualize expelling a frantic, rushed color like red or orange. Continue this for one minute, imagining the calming color slowly taking over your entire body.
Why It Works
This exercise uses visualization and color association to shift your mental and emotional state from rushed to calm, helping you regulate your breathing and reduce stress.
Guided Practice
Close your eyes, sitting comfortably with your hands resting in your lap. Start by noticing your breath as it moves in and out of your body. Imagine each breath as a different color, bringing a different quality of calm or clarity with each inhale. Feel the air filling your lungs and then gently leaving your body, and notice any changes in sensation as you play with this imagery.
With your breath flowing naturally, continue to visualize each breath you take as filled with a soothing, calming color. Choose a color that represents peace and relaxation for you—perhaps a gentle blue, a soft green, or a warm yellow. As you inhale, imagine this color filling your lungs, spreading throughout your body with each breath, bringing a sense of calm and tranquility. Feel the color moving through every part of you, soothing your muscles, calming your thoughts, and relaxing your entire being.
With each exhale, imagine releasing any tension or stress as a gray mist, dissipating into the air around you. Continue to breathe in your chosen color, allowing it to flow gently through your body, filling every cell with calmness and ease. Visualize the color gently wrapping around any areas of tension, dissolving it away, leaving only a sense of peace and relaxation in its place. Allow yourself to fully immerse in this experience, feeling the calming color infuse every part of your being.
Notice the sensations that arise as the color flows through you—perhaps a gentle warmth, a cooling sensation, or a light tingling feeling. Feel the color flowing through your chest, your arms, your legs, and all the way down to your toes, bringing relaxation and release. As you continue to breathe deeply, allow this vibrant color to deepen its soothing effect, spreading peace and calm throughout your entire body. Feel yourself becoming more relaxed, more centered, as you breathe in this healing color.
As we bring this practice to a close, take a few more deep breaths, allowing the last remnants of the gray mist to leave your body. Feel the vibrant color remaining within you, a source of calm and relaxation. When you’re ready, gently open your eyes, carrying with you the tranquility and peace that this colorful breath has created. Know that you can return to this practice whenever you need to calm your mind and restore balance.