Author: Steve Bavoysi
Yoga for Mental Health
Founder & CEO of Grounded_by_yoga
Hey there! I’m Steve! And through my teaching, I guide professionals who rely on unhealthy coping mechanisms and often feel stressed, overwhelmed, or disconnected from themselves. Using yoga, philosophy, and mindfulness, I guide them to slow down and regulate their nervous system naturally. If this resonates with you, you’re welcome to follow me on social media for gentle guidance, support, and practical tools to bring more calm and balance into your day.
Have you ever said something in an argument and immediately wished you could take it back?
Or sent an email while angry, only to reread it 20 minutes later and think:
“Why did I respond like that?”
Most of us know the feeling.
But what if the reaction wasn’t actually the first thing that happened?
What if there was a moment 60 seconds earlier when your body was already telling you that you were heading toward escalation?
Maybe your breathing changed.
Your jaw tightened.
Your shoulders rose.
Your stomach contracted.
Your thoughts became faster and more rigid.
You suddenly felt the need to defend yourself, prove your point, leave the conversation, or say something—anything—to make the discomfort stop.
Those moments are easy to miss.
We’re often so absorbed in what’s happening around us that we don’t notice what’s happening inside us.
And that’s the opportunity.
Because emotional regulation doesn’t always begin with learning how to calm yourself down.
Sometimes it begins with something much simpler:
Noticing that you’re escalating before you actually react.
The 60 second that can change everything
In this article, I’ll show you a simple 60-second practice you can use to recognize those early warning signs, reconnect with your breath and body, and create a little more space between what you feel and what you do next.
It usually starts smaller than you think.
A comment from a colleague.
An email that rubs you the wrong way.
Your partner asking a question when you’re already exhausted.
A meeting that isn’t going the way you expected.
At first, you might not even think you’re angry, frustrated, anxious, or overwhelmed.
But something has changed.
Your breathing becomes a little shallower.
Your shoulders tighten.
Your jaw clenches.
Your thoughts start moving faster.
You feel the urge to defend yourself, explain yourself, withdraw, send the message, say something you might regret, or simply get away.
And then, seemingly out of nowhere, you react.
But here’s the thing:
The reaction probably wasn’t out of nowhere.
Your body was giving you signals.
You just weren’t listening yet.
The 60-second window
One of the most useful skills you can develop when dealing with stress is learning to recognize the moments before emotional escalation takes over.
That small window might be 60 seconds.
It might be 30 seconds.
It might only be 10.
The exact amount of time isn’t important.
What matters is learning to notice the shift while you still have some choice about what happens next.
Because once you’re fully caught up in the reaction, it’s much harder to step back and choose a different response.
This is where awareness becomes practical.
Not as an abstract idea.
Not as something you only practice while sitting quietly on a meditation cushion.
But right in the middle of an ordinary Tuesday afternoon when someone sends an email that makes your blood boil.
Your body often knows first
When we’re stressed, we tend to look for the emotional label:
I’m angry.
I’m anxious.
I’m overwhelmed.
I’m frustrated.
But sometimes the first clues aren’t emotional at all.
They’re physical.
You might notice:
- Your breathing becoming quicker or shallower
- Tension building in your shoulders
- Your jaw tightening
- Your stomach contracting
- Your hands becoming restless
- Your heart beating faster
- A sudden feeling of heat
- The urge to move, speak, defend, escape, or shut down
- Your attention narrowing onto the thing that’s bothering you
These sensations don’t necessarily mean you’re about to lose control.
They’re simply information.
Your body may be telling you:
“Something is happening. Pay attention.”
And that moment of noticing can be incredibly valuable.
Don’t immediately try to change your breath
This is one of the simplest practices I teach.
When you notice yourself beginning to escalate, stop whatever you’re doing, if you safely can, and notice your breathing.
Don’t force it to become slower.
Don’t take a huge deep breath.
Don’t try to make yourself calm.
Just notice.
Where do you feel the breath?
Is it moving into your belly?
Is most of the movement happening around your chest?
Is the breath fast or slow?
Smooth or uneven?
Shallow or deep?
You can keep your eyes open, or, if it feels appropriate and you’re somewhere safe, gently close them.
The goal isn’t to fix anything.
The goal is to interrupt the automatic pattern long enough to become aware of what’s happening.
That’s a very different practice from telling yourself:
“Calm down.”
You’re not fighting the emotion.
You’re becoming aware of it.
Try placing one hand on your belly
If you want to deepen the practice, place one hand gently on your belly and the other on your chest.
Then simply notice the movement underneath your hands.
You don’t need to breathe in a particular way.
You’re just reconnecting with something that is happening right now.
Your breath.
Your body.
This moment.
For someone who spends much of the day inside their head, this can be a surprisingly powerful shift.
Instead of being completely absorbed in the story running through your mind, you have another point of reference.
You can feel what’s happening.
And sometimes that’s enough to create a little space.
Take the break before you think you need it
There’s another simple intervention that we often underestimate:
Take a break.
If possible, step away from the situation.
Go outside.
Get some fresh air.
Walk for a few minutes.
Change your environment.
Put some physical distance between yourself and whatever is triggering the escalation.
This isn’t about avoiding difficult conversations forever.
It’s about recognizing that sometimes continuing the conversation while you’re highly activated isn’t the most skillful choice.
You don’t have to finish the conversation right now.
You don’t have to send the email right now.
You don’t have to make the decision right now.
Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is create enough space to come back to the situation with a little more awareness.
The goal isn’t to never get triggered
This is important.
The goal isn’t to become someone who never gets angry.
Never gets frustrated.
Never feels anxious.
Never becomes overwhelmed.
That’s not realistic.
And trying to eliminate difficult emotions can become another source of stress.
The goal is different.
Notice earlier.
Feel what’s happening.
Recognize your patterns.
Create a little space.
Then choose what to do next.
That’s what responding instead of reacting can look like in real life.
You still might be angry.
You might still need to have the difficult conversation.
You might still need to set a boundary.
But you have a better chance of doing it consciously rather than being completely driven by the emotional momentum of the moment.
Start looking for your early warning signs
Here’s a simple practice you can try this week.
Don’t wait until you’re completely overwhelmed.
Instead, start paying attention to the first few signs that stress is building.
Maybe it’s your jaw.
Maybe it’s your breathing.
Maybe you start tapping your foot.
Maybe you notice yourself rereading the same email over and over.
Maybe your thoughts become more black-and-white.
Maybe you start mentally rehearsing an argument that hasn’t even happened.
Maybe you suddenly want to reach for your phone, food, alcohol, work, or another familiar way of escaping discomfort.
These are your personal warning signs.
You don’t have to judge them.
Just learn them.
Because the earlier you recognize the pattern, the more opportunity you have to interrupt it.
A 60-second reset
The next time you notice yourself beginning to escalate, try this:
1. Stop.
If you can, pause whatever you’re doing.
2. Notice your breath.
Don’t change it. Just observe it.
3. Feel your body.
Notice your jaw, shoulders, chest, belly, hands, and feet.
4. Place one hand on your belly and one on your chest.
Feel the movement of the breath.
5. Create some space.
If possible, step outside or take a short walk.
6. Wait before reacting.
You don’t need to immediately send the message, answer the question, or solve the problem.
Then ask yourself:
“What is actually needed here?”
Not:
“How do I get rid of this feeling?”
Not:
“How do I win this argument?”
But:
“What response would serve me and this situation best?”
That question can change what happens next.
Awareness is the skill underneath it all
The more you practice noticing your breath and body when you’re calm, the easier it can become to recognize those same signals when you’re under pressure.
This is one reason practices like yoga, breathwork, and meditation can be so valuable.
They’re not simply ways to relax.
They’re opportunities to develop a relationship with your own experience.
You learn to notice.
You learn to stay.
You learn that a thought is a thought.
A sensation is a sensation.
An emotion is an emotion.
And none of them necessarily require an immediate reaction.
Over time, that awareness can begin to show up in the moments that matter most.
The difficult meeting.
The stressful commute.
The challenging conversation.
The email you really want to fire back at.
The moment when an old stress-driven habit starts calling your name.
You begin to catch yourself earlier.
And that is where change becomes possible.
The next time you feel yourself escalating…
Don’t wait until you’re already at the point of no return.
Look for the first signal.
The tightening jaw.
The shallow breath.
The racing thoughts.
The clenched stomach.
The sudden urge to react.
Then pause.
Notice your breath.
Feel your body.
Take some fresh air if you can.
Give yourself a little space.
You may discover that the most important moment isn’t the moment when you decide what to do.
It’s the moment when you first notice what is happening.
That’s your window.
And sometimes, 60 seconds of awareness can be enough to change what happens next.
Thank you for being here and taking a moment to pause.
Feel free to explore the links below for more inspirational and educational content. If it resonates with you, you’re also welcome to sign up for my weekly newsletter to receive fresh insights and guidance every week.
I hope something in these words gave you a reason to breathe a little deeper or feel a little less alone.
Your presence in this space means more than you know.
With warmth,
Steve Bavoysi
Founder & CEO of Grounded_by_yoga
Come and join me on social media! Share! And thrive!
