One Minute to Reset: A Simple Breathing Exercise for Your Changing Brain

Dogs breath deeply too.

Your 20s can feel like a massive identity earthquake.

Maybe you just left a relationship, graduated, quit a job, or had a moment of ego death that cracked your old self wide open. And now? You’re floating in the in-between. Not who you were, not quite who you’re becoming. Just... undone.

It’s disorienting. Confusing. Lonely. But it’s also a doorway.

In these moments, your breath can anchor you—not to a fixed identity, but to the present moment. The only place where clarity ever really starts.

Try This: “4-2-6” Grounding Breath

This technique calms your nervous system and reconnects you with your body—especially helpful when your mind feels like it’s spinning in existential circles.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Inhale slowly through your nose for 4 seconds

2. Hold for 2 seconds

3. Exhale gently through your mouth for 6 seconds

4. Repeat for 5 rounds (or more, if you'd like)

Why It Works:

• Longer exhales activate your parasympathetic nervous system (the calming, grounding one)

• Holding briefly after the inhale gives you a sense of control when everything else feels uncertain

• Coming back to breath reminds you: you exist, here and now. You are allowed to not have all the answers yet.

When to Use This:

• When you feel like you're falling apart

• After crying or spiraling in overthinking

• When you're tempted to numb out with distractions

• Anytime you ask, “Who am I even anymore?” and feel the panic rise

Gentle Reminder:

You don’t have to rebuild your identity all at once. You’re not broken—you’re becoming.

Every breath you take is a quiet act of staying. Of being here, even when you don’t know who “you” is yet. That’s brave.

Yours Truly,

Jorge @jorgeisliving