Whenever I work with students, I have a routine I ask them to do: I call it the “Warrior’s Repose” in line with the idea of Mental Martial Arts.

The Warrior’s Repose

1. Inhale deeply through your nose
2. Hold your breath for 3 counts
3. Exhale for for 10 counts

As you breathe, occupy your mind by noticing your surroundings.

• Scan the area around you and simply pick something to look at, notice small details: the colors, a small intricate detail you never noticed before, what is it next to.
• Focus on the noise around you, can you pick out a specific sound–perhaps a bird chirping or a voice in the crowd?
• Feel the wind blowing toward you. Notice how the patch of sweat begins to cool as the liquid evaporates.

Repeat this process until you lose track of what you were thinking about before. For me, it takes about 5-10 breaths.

The key is to allow thoughts to pass by. They will be there, and you simply have to acknowledge them as they pass. There will be time to deal with them later, and if they are important they will arise again later. For now, the best thing you can do is to position yourself to think well.

The Rationale

We perform this practice to temporarily unburden our minds of anxious thoughts, worries, and stressors. Besides the relief, this act of freeing our mind also has other benefits. It allows us to approach our problems in a more structured way.

• We can develop a better perspective: We are able to focus on both the good alongside the bad. Not everything is done for.
• We can use our freed-up mental space for problem-solving: Rather than simply tracking our worries, we can use that space to look at what we can do. Anxiety is there to remind us of important things, our job is to identify what we can do.
• We can appreciate life: Sometimes we are so caught up in “what we need to do” that we forget to look around us. Life doesn’t happen “in the future” it happens now. When we “time-travel” we are letting life pass us by.

I like the quote from Brazilian motivational speaker Junia Bretas:

“Depressão é excesso de passado em nossas mentes. Ansiedade excesso de futuro. O momento presente é a chave para a cura de todos oa males mentais.”

“Depression is an excess of the past in our minds. Anxiety is an excess of the future. The present moment is the key to healing all mental ailments.”

Alternatives to the Warrior’s Repose

There are actually many ways to create this mental space. I use the “Warrior’s Repose” because it is simple and effective to teach and perform.

For some people, the simple act of attending to their breathing is enough to quiet their mind, but for others they need to be more active in occupying the mind.

A good alternative is a simple routine task:

• This could be counting (forward or backward)
• Reciting the alphabet (forward or backward).
• Reciting the lyrics of a familiar song.
• Reciting the times tables
• Driving on a familiar road
• etc…

These tasks occupy your mind, and create space from anxious thoughts. The key is to pick a task that is easy enough to perform somewhat automatically, but requires attendance to ensure everything goes smoothly. This means it will be different for each individual.

Concluding Thoughts

Techniques for quieting the mind are important and easy to employ. I believe it is beneficial for everyone to take a moment and live in the present and appreciate the good that still exists.

It should be, however, accompanied by other practices that take advantage of the mental space we created.