How it works.

To do the Breathing into Balance Technique, cross your hands over your chest with your fingers under your collarbones. Breathe halfway in and hold, then breathe all the way in and hold; breathe halfway out and hold, then breathe all the way out and hold. 

Then repeat the breathing sequence, this time with your knuckles under your collarbones. Go ahead and give it a try and see how you feel! 

Why it works.

By using energy techniques like  Breathing into Balance  (modified Collarbone Breathing), you help your energy system to rebalance. This allows you to get un-stuck quickly and easily. There are a few things happening in this deceptively simple technique. 



By crossing our arms over our midline, we are sending neurons across the corpus callosum. That helps us feel grounded. By placing our hands across our chest with hands under collarbones, we are activating our meridian system ― particularly the K-27 point, which helps reduce anxiety. By breathing slowly, we are slowing our brainwaves, which helps us relax. 

This technique is also helpful when you feel confused or disorganized.

More techniques to use when you are feeling scrambled.

If you found Collarbone Breathing helpful, here are a couple more tools you can use when you feel scrambled: the Brain Balancer, also called the "9-gamut"; and the Cross Crawl. 

All the videos and techniques in our "Try This" series were created by ACEP's Humanitarian Committee to help people heal by spreading the word about the powerful effects of energy psychology techniques. We invite you to help by sharing this information!

Need Help from a Professional?

Many people are looking for holistic ways to let go of anger and other upsetting emotions. ACEP is a nonprofit, 501c3 dedicated to the research, education, and sharing of energy psychology.  Check out the ACEP practitioner directory to find a certified ACEP therapist in your area or online.

Author:  Sarah Murphy, LPC

Sarah Murphy is a licensed professional counselor and coach in private practice. She is on the board of and serves as communications committee chair for ACEP and staff therapist for Unite for HER. She specializes in energy psychology, including EFT, as well as mindfulness and hypnotherapy. 

Video Resources Provided by the ACEP Humanitarian Committee

The mission of the ACEP Humanitarian Committee is to develop and implement humanitarian projects that alleviate emotional distress caused by catastrophic natural and man-made events around the globe. We do this by encouraging and assisting ACEP members in developing humanitarian projects that utilize recognized energy psychology and other modalities that meet ACEP’s standards and guidelines. Learn more here.

Photo by Crawford Jolly on Unsplash