One perk of taking your exercise or movement habits into a community setting is the opportunity to meet interesting people. For me, Dr. Sadie Rose Adado is one of those connections. After just a few conversations at the gym, I actually asked her, “Will you be my fitness friend?” No joke.

That simple question led to much more than just a fitness bond. Dr. Adado has become one of the rare friendships where I feel safe to explore ideas and share failures openly. That's why she’s the "guinea pig" (her words) for launching the GIG Your Home blog and video series.

The first contributed practice to this series is Box Breathing, part of a broader meditation practice. Dr. Adado offered a variety of insights so you may accomplish and create a sense of calm anywhere in your home.

Doctor Sadie Rose Adado - Doctor of Athletic Training and Owner of Valkyr Clinic practicing box breathing in her Grand Rapids Michigan home office

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“Our minds are constantly running half the time. We don't even know what we know we're thinking about something. And (box breathing) is a really good method to be able to tune in and kind of take it back a little bit and get back to the roots of all you have to do in this moment. “

“A lot of people have issues with meditation, because they feel like they're doing it wrong, or they can't turn off their brain. And I think that this is a common misconception, because if you're dedicating any amount of time, even one breath, to you - and connecting with yourself, you have achieved what you needed to achieve.”

“I personally really like box breathing, which you essentially take a number of breaths on your inhale, you hold for that number of breaths., you exhale for that number of breaths, and you hold at the bottom for that number of breaths. And you just repeat.”

“There's no capstone to this. There's no, ‘I did it. I meditated or I boxed breathed’, or you ‘just do it. it's in.’ “

“Awareness of surroundings is really important. Again, just tuning in to notice: I have some plants over here, and there. And there's a light in this room that feels soft right now.”

“I still do breathing at night before I go to bed as a tool to relax myself…So interestingly my bed is one (meaningful) object when I see it.”

TASK Relax, Self-awareness

INTERACTION

• Offers unconditional acceptance

• Respects privacy

• Respects need to regroup

ENVIRONMENT Contained without restraint

The above conditions Dr. Adado highlighted achieves optimal states of relaxation and self-awareness. She referred to this state as “connectedness” to oneself and further defined that a single boxed breath in any condition can deepen both the experience and its impact.

You can also intentionally setup conditions to personalize a meaningful outcome. For example, Dr. Adado wanted to stimulate sleepiness and the satisfaction of quality sleep. You can see below how she crafted task motives, interaction and environment efforts to meet her needs for sleep management.

TASK Rest, Relax, Self-awareness

INTERACTION

• Emphasize physical contact

• Respects privacy

• Closeness

• Offers unconditional acceptance

• Respects privacy

• Respects need to regroup

ENVIRONMENT

• Whole physical contact

• Resist to move

• Low light and sound

• Minimal motion

• Flexion with low energy

• Contained without restraint

GIG Your Home explores design practices to help you align your home environment with what you want to do, be, and become. Drawing on insights from designers and medical professionals, the series aims to inspire meaningful action in your daily life.

REFERENCES

Environmental Matrices for Sensory Integrative Treatment, E. Richter MPH, OTR, FAOTA, P. Oetter MA, OTR, FAOTA. Environment: Implications for Occcupational Therapy Practice. Merril, S., Ed. American Occupational Therapy Association, Rockville, MD 1990.

DeGrandpre, R. J. (2000). A science of meaning: Can behaviorism bring meaning to psychological science? American Psychologist, 55(7), 721–739. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.7.721

de Bloom, J., Vaziri, H., Tay, L., & Kujanpää, M. (2020). An identity-based integrative needs model of crafting: Crafting within and across life domains. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(12), 1423–1446. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000495

Fulton Suri, J., & Hendrix, R. M. (2010). Developing Design Sensibilities. Rotman Magazine, Spring, 58-63.