Running head: JUST BREATHE 1
Just Breathe
Anissa Chambers
Liberty University
Dr. Deborah Pinkston
October 11, 2019
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Just Breathe
Therapist’s Overview
Breathe, just breathe
Come and rest at my feet
And be, just be
Chaos calls but all you really need
Is to just breathe
(Jonny Diaz, “Breath)
Goal of the Exercise
1. To help couples connect in an intimate, yet nonsexual way.
2. To help couples stop and recognize the moment.
Types of Problems This Exercise May Be Most Useful For
Couples who are having sexual issues
Couples who are stressed
Couples who need to be rebuild trust
Couples who are experiencing conflict
Couples who are need to slow down and be in the moment
Suggesting For Processing This Exercise With The Couple
1. What was something that stood out to you when you were doing this exercise?
2. When doing the exercise what did you notice about your partner?
3. Would this exercise be helpful at other times? in an argument? when stressed? when
tired?
4. Did it help calm you and/or your spouse?
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Enjoy the Moment: Just Breathe
Exercise
Watch this Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnjeMwxFuBA
Breathe by Jonny Diaz
Life today is fast and crazy full of deadlines, demands and drama. Many of us do not
take the time to just breathe and take in the moment. We do not take quality moments to just be
with our spouse, children and others. If we do take the time, we have our eyes on our phones or
other electronic devices rather than enjoying the moment. This exercise can help you take a
moment, recognize the moment, calm down and reconnect.
How to do this exercise.
You and your partner should sit on the floor back-to-back. No talking but take the next three to
five minutes to feel the rhythm of your partners breathing. Continue without speaking and try to
align your breathing with your partners breathing in and out at the same time.
Other Variations:
Try doing the exercise when having an intimate conversation.
Try doing it when having a heated or challenging conversation.
Try complementing the exercise by telling your partner what you appreciate most about
them, giving them a complement.
Try telling a silly story or funny joke so you can laugh together. (The Bible says that
laughter is like medicine Proverbs 17:22 “A is good medicine, But a broken joyful heart
spirit dries up the bones” (NASB)
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Purpose
The purpose of this exercise is to really look at the moment. Look at the person you are with and
enjoy the moment with them. Remember why you are with this person, remember the fun you
had and remember the joy that God has given you with them. Take the moment to relax and
calm yourself, and de-stress with your partner. When you take time to relax it is amazing how it
can give you a new and different perspective.
Summary
“Just Breathe” worksheet is a recreated worksheet called ”Breathing” from the Couples
Therapy Homework Planner.(Schultheis, O'hanlon, & O'hanlon, 2010). The purpose of
recreating this worksheet is to help couples enjoy a moment with each other. Help them take
their stress down a notch so that they can gain a different prospective. It helps them connect and
maybe laugh together. The Bible talks about how a joyful heart is like a good medicine many
couples need a good dose of a healthy medicine in their lives. Many of them have forgotten what
it feels like to laugh together. They do not remember what it was to laugh together about
something funny or silly in a moment. Most have forgotten how to just enjoy a moment without
their phones and electronic devices with their partners. This exercise will help them reconnect
with each other and learning to just breathe and take a moment together.
This worksheets strengths has to do with helping people remember to do something that
many people have forgotten to enjoy the moment and just breathe. The weakness might be that
some will have a harder time than others to accept this and learn to do it but hopefully they will
keep trying.
Throughout the years in working with people, I found that most people have forgotten
how to enjoy a moment. They are so busy looking at Facebook, Twitter or some other social
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media they do not remember how to just be. In a marriage, it is important to have moments with
your partner to help you grow, It is those moments that eventually build memories that you hold
onto in the future. If you ignore moments with them, you have nothing good to remember and
lose footing which can allow you to fall. The Bible says, “Therefore see that you walk carefully
[living life with honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who tolerate and enable evil], not
as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people], making the very most of your
time [on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom
and diligence], because the days are [filled with] evil. Therefore do not be
foolish thoughtless, but understand firmly grasp what the will of the Lord is” and and
( Ephesians 5:15-17, Amplified Bible).
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References
Schultheis, G. M., O'hanlon, A., & O'hanlon, B. (2010). Couples Therapy Homework Planner
(Second ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
