Tracee Ellis Ross Shares The 3 Breathing Exercises She Swears By To De-Stress In Instagram Video

20:17 - 20 August 2024

Tracee Ellis Ross Swears By 3 Breathing Exercises

As conversations about race and the Black Lives Matter movement continue to happen nationwide, Tracee Ellis Ross is here to remind us all that we can't totally forget about self-care.

Tracee shared some of the breathing exercises she swears by in a new Instagram video that features her looking completely calm and zenned out while she explains the exercises.

As these necessary tectonic shifts are happening in our world and as we are leaning into difficult, complex and sharp yet necessary conversations , we must also be active about our self care, she wrote in the caption. We are at the beginning of transformation. And we have a movement to hold and guide us. But, its a lot to feel and hold for the body and spirit. We want to honor where we are and also be able to lift up and through."

Tracee said she made this video a few days ago when her back seized up. "I use breath to connect me to the present moment and to create space in my body. I use sound as a way to release vibrationally and energetically," she says.

In the video, Tracee says she wanted to check in with exercises that are simple and gentle. I feel like its toughI keep feeling so disrupted in my nervous system. So fried, so easily knocked off my center, so I thought I would share these three things that might be helpful, she says.

Here are her exercises:

Sit in a chair, close your eyes, and allow your body to soften and let go. Do it at a pace and in a way with the gentleness that feels comfortable for you, she says. Then, focus on breathing into different areas of your body, like your shoulders, lungs, heart, jaw, and your armpits. Just let it hang out, she says. See if you can let it soften.
Once your body feels softened, allow your body to feel the weight of itself. Can you actually allow the substance of who you areto be supported by the floor under you, the ground, dirt, or Earth, to actually take your weight, she says. For just a moment, you can feel the support.
Fill your body up with air. Breathe in through your nose. Get it all in there, Tracee says. Then, sigh it out with sound, she says, before releasing with an aaaaaahhhh sound. Just let that sigh out, she says.

You can follow along yourself here: