Calm
& Controlled
Peter Watt, Counselling Psychologist
Remaining calm in this modern world of technology is a constant task, as many seem
to be bombarded more and more with time pressures and stress between home,
school, and work.
Are you able to identify even half an hour when you were
totally calm and controlled? If so, can you find any activity
on any one day in the past month when you were calm
and controlled?
Now you should naturally regulate your breathing as you
will be more aware of taking a breath in and letting it out
again. Practice deep breathing by breathing in for about 6
secs and the holding for 3 secs, and releasing the breath
for 6 secs. Try this four times. You have now slowed your
Perhaps the closest you were to being this was just
breathing down to 4 breaths a minute and oxygenated
before sleeping or when exercising. During these times your brain.
the mind starts to shut down and breathing is easier...
There is less thinking about thinking and hopefully less
Thich Nhat Hahn states in his book:
stress about what has been or what will come.
Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness,
The need to be present in the moment is paramount to which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your
finding calmness and self-control. This practice is known mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means
as Mindfulness. Being mindful changes the way we live
to take hold of your mind again.
within the world... and it starts with being mindful of our
Peter Watt
breathing... There are times when we think so much that
we actually stop breathing - and we become forgetful and
absent from the now.
Peter Watt is a Counselling Psychologist which means he
has at least six years of training and experience in therapy
techniques. He has been practicing n ow since 1995 and
specializes in providing a service for those adolescents who
get stuck with life issues; those who may be experiencing
difficulty with exercising self-control with their behaviours or
A good start when things are getting overwhelming is to self-regulation with their thoughts and feelings.
Thich Nhat Hahn in his book “The Miracle of Mindfulness”
states that we should all know how to breathe. It is in
taking control of our breathing that we find ourselves
stepping back from the busy thinking in our active mind.
be “grounded”. I learnt this technique from Dr Russ Harris,
Peter Watt practices at SOS Under 18 every Monday and his
author of “The Happiness Trap”, at one of his workshops: books are open for young people aged 10 to 17 years inclusive.
Sit up in a chair with your back straight, have your feet flat Phone 4351 1900 to make an appointment.
on the floor... push your legs to the ground... drop your Information about Peter and Mindfulness is available on his
shoulders... and let all the air expire out of your lungs.
website: www.mindfulnessinpractice.com.au
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