Five-Minute Stress Reset

Mid-day, when stress has built up. Before opening the next email.

1. 1Set a timer for five minutes. Sit comfortably.
2. 2Notice five things you can see, four you can hear, three you can feel.
3. 3Take one slow breath in for 4, out for 6. Then another. Then another.
4. 4Continue gentle 4-in / 6-out breathing until the timer ends.
5. 5Open your eyes. Notice how the body feels now.

Persian sages valued small pauses through the day — a cup of tea, a moment in the garden — as essential as food.

Grounding (5-4-3-2-1) interrupts the stress loop by drawing attention out of rumination and into the senses. Combined with slow exhale, it lowers heart rate within minutes.