
Your heart starts beating faster. Body temperature begins to increase. Your muscles start to tense up. The world is caving in and redness is blinding your vision.
This is anger and it's taking you over and control is slipping through your fingertips. This feeling is far too common for most of us. At some point in our lives we are faced with moments that knock off us our zen horse and into the pits of the flames of anger. Once fully engulfed in flames, it's almost impossible for us to keep control of our rational minds. Not only is our psychological state shook but our physiology is working against us as well.
If you can start to notice your patterns when your anger is arising you can stop the spark before it turns into a forest fire. One of the most powerful tools I have found to work is as simple as 3 deep breaths.
Anytime something happens where you feel triggered or agitated, stop whatever it is you're doing, take a moment for yourself and focus on 3 deep inhales. The inhale should happen through the nose, long, controlled and by inflating the belly then the chest. Once your lungs are filled to capacity slowly exhale the air out the mouth at a moderately slow speed till you've emptied your lungs. Repeat this cycle for a minimum of 3 breaths. By doing this you are not only calming the mind down but you're interrupting the physiology mechanisms that are symptoms of anger, which can make a world of a difference.