The breath you use when it goes wrong

Breathing exercises are easy to do on a mat, in a quiet room, with someone telling you what to do. They are less easy in a car park before a meeting you are dreading. The trick is to practise the one you will actually reach for, in the calm, enough times that your body knows the shape of it.

Mine is simple. In through the nose for four. Out through the nose for six. The out-breath is the important half: longer out than in tells your nervous system that whatever is happening, you are not running from it. Four rounds. Under a minute.

Do it once a day when nothing is wrong. Waiting for the kettle is good. Then, the first time something goes sideways, you will find your body already knows the pattern, and you will get four rounds in before your mind has caught up with what you are doing.