Materials & extras
Downloads
Handouts, flashcards, and note cards from your instructor. Print any of them.
HandoutHandout 1: Supply & Shopping List
Handout 1: Supply & Shopping List
Heck yes, you signed up. Before our first class, here's what you actually need. Short version: almost nothing. Long version below.
The truth up front
I built this whole class around the idea that you don't need gear to breathe better or move better. I learned this stuff broke, in a garden, on porch steps and kitchen tile. The gear industry wants you to think you need the right pants before you can start. You don't. So take this list as options, not requirements.
Budget tier (what you actually need)
- A towel or old blanket. For the floor work. That's it, that's the mat. I use a beach towel from the linen closet.
- Clothes you can move in. Nothing that binds at the waist or shoulders. Whatever you'd wear to weed a garden bed.
- A patch of floor. Kitchen tile, garage floor, bedroom carpet, grass in the backyard. I do a lot of this on my kitchen tile at 11pm, it works fine.
- A wall. For a couple of the shoulder stretches. Every house has one. Free.
- Water. Regular tap water is fine. Our water's hard here in American Fork, doesn't matter for this, you're drinking it not doing chemistry with it.
That's the whole budget list. If all you bring is a towel and yourself, you're 100% ready for week one.
Nice-to-have tier (if you want to spend a little)
- A yoga mat. More cushion for knees and wrists than a towel. Costco and Macey's both carry cheap ones in the seasonal aisle this time of year. I don't own one. Not a knock on them, just telling you my preference.
- A small pillow or rolled towel. Nice under the knees or lower back for a couple of the floor stretches, especially if you've got any hip or back stuff going on.
- A timer you like. Your phone works. Some people like a simple kitchen timer, no notifications popping up mid-breath. I use the one on my watch.
- A notebook. Not required, but I keep one. Not fancy, just tracking what I did and how it went. You don't have to write a journal entry. A line a day is plenty.
What you don't need
An app. I tried a guided meditation app once, a voice told me to "release my journey into the universe," and I closed it and never opened it back up. You don't need an app telling you how to feel. You need four seconds in, eight seconds out, and a little patience with yourself.
You also don't need special breathing pants, a subscription, or an essential oil diffuser. If you've got those things already and enjoy them, great, bring them. Just don't go buy anything on my account.
One local note
If you're picking up a mat or a towel on the way to class, both Macey's and Costco have basic ones cheap, no need to drive up to Orem or across the point of the mountain for anything fancier. This isn't gear-dependent work. Save your money for something that matters more.
Before class
Just show up in comfortable clothes with a towel under your arm. We'll do the rest together. If your body says no on any particular stretch that first day, skip it, no big deal. We'll figure out what you need as we go. 👍
HandoutHandout 2: The Quick-Reference Sheet
Handout 2: The Quick-Reference Sheet
Print this, stick it on the fridge or the dash of the truck. This is everything we cover, boiled down. No app needed, no mat required.
The Core Breath: 4 In, 8 Out
This is the one that started it all for me, in the tomato bed, not knowing what I was doing.
- Breathe in through your nose for a slow count of 4.
- Breathe out through your mouth or nose for a slow count of 8.
- No hold at the top. That's the mistake I made the first time and it made me dizzy. The hold isn't the point. The long exhale is the point.
- Do 5 to 10 rounds.
When to use it: before a hard conversation, in the truck before you walk inside, lying in bed when your head won't quit.
The Can't-Sit-Still Breath
For the days your mind is doing eleven things at once and counting to four feels impossible.
- Breathe in for 4.
- Breathe out for 4, but say a word in your head as you exhale — "down," "loose," whatever fits. One job for your brain, that's all.
- Don't chase an empty mind. That's a trap. You're not clearing anything, you're just giving your head one small task so it stops running the other eleven.
Move Before You Stretch
Cold tissue doesn't lengthen, it complains. Two minutes minimum before any hold.
Warm-up moves (30 seconds each): - Easy marching in place - Arm circles, big and slow - Gentle hip circles
Then stretch: - Tight-shoulder stretch — arm across your chest, other arm hugs it in, hold 20-30 seconds each side. - Cat-cow — hands and knees, round your back up on the exhale, dip it down on the inhale. Slow. This is the one that got Cameron off my garage floor and back to normal. - Hip opener — feet wide, hands on thighs, gentle rock side to side. If your body says no on this one, skip it, no big deal.
Timing Cheat Sheet
Situation What to reach for Stressful morning before work 4-in/8-out, 5 rounds Can't focus, mind racing Can't-sit-still breath, 1-2 minutes Back or shoulders locked up from lifting Move 2 min, then stretch sequence Lying awake at night 4-in/8-out until you lose count (you will, that's fine) Kid has a test, big meeting, anything nerve-wracking 4-in/8-out, done standing, even in a hallway Ground Rules
- You don't need a mat. Kitchen tile, garage floor, grass. All fine.
- Five minutes most days beats one long session once a week. Same as a garden — you show up or it dies.
- This is a tool, not a fix. It won't pay a bill or fold the laundry. It just gives you a steadier version of yourself to go do the actual thing.
- Flexibility isn't the goal. I still can't touch my toes. Function and calm, that's what we're after.
Heck yes. Now go do five minutes on your own floor tonight. 💪
WorksheetHandout 3: Your Breath & Movement Check-In
Handout 3: Your Breath & Movement Check-In
Print this out. Use it however you want — daily for a week, or just when things get tight. No grading here. If you skip a day, skip it. This isn't the garden, it won't die on you.
---
Part 1: Quick Body Check
Before you do anything, notice where you're at. Circle what fits.
Shoulders: relaxed / creeping up toward my ears / already up there
Breath right now: slow / shallow / holding without meaning to
Where I feel it today: chest / shoulders / jaw / stomach / hips / somewhere else: __________
That's it. You're not fixing anything yet. You're just noticing, same as checking soil before you decide what it needs.
---
Part 2: The Exhale Drill
In for four. Out for eight. That's the whole thing.
Do it sitting, not lying down, so you don't drift off (unless it's bedtime, then drift away).
- Round 1: ______ (how'd it go — fine / hard to slow down / got dizzy, stopped)
- Round 2: ______
- Round 3: ______
If you got dizzy or lightheaded, you're probably holding your breath at the top instead of just easing into the exhale. Back off, breathe normal for a minute, try again slower. I did this exact thing in a tomato bed once and ended up sitting on a bucket. Not a big deal, just adjust.
---
Part 3: Move Before You Stretch
Cold tissue complains. Two minutes of easy movement first — walk around the room, roll your shoulders, march in place, whatever gets a little blood moving. Check the box once you've done it.
☐ Moved for two minutes before stretching
Then pick one stretch from class and hold it through two full exhale cycles (that's the four-in, eight-out from Part 2).
Stretch I did: _______________________
How it felt: better after moving first / same / worse, needed more warm-up time
---
Part 4: The One-Job Breath
Remember — you're not clearing your mind. You're giving it one small job so it has somewhere to land.
Pick a job for today: ☐ Count the breaths (in-2-3-4, out-2-3-4-5-6-7-8) ☐ Notice where the breath moves — chest, belly, ribs ☐ Say one word on the exhale (I use "steady." Pick whatever works.)
How long I lasted before my mind wandered off: ______ (30 seconds is fine. Nobody lasts forever. I don't either.)
---
Part 5: Tonight's Homework — Five Minutes, Your Floor
No mat needed. Kitchen tile's fine. Garage floor's fine. I've done both.
- Move for two minutes (walk, shake out arms and legs, whatever)
- Two stretches, held through the exhale count
- Five rounds of the four-in, eight-out breath, sitting or lying down
☐ Done. Wrote down what I noticed: _______________________________
---
One honest note: this won't fix the actual hard thing in your week. It just gives you a steadier person to go deal with the hard thing. That's the whole ceiling on this, and I think it's worth knowing going in.
If your body says no on anything here, skip it. No big deal. 👍
HandoutHandout 4: Troubleshooting Guide
Handout 4: Troubleshooting Guide
Every beginner hits the same handful of snags. Here's what I see most, and what actually fixes it.
1. "I get dizzy or lightheaded." Usually means you're holding your breath at the top instead of moving through to the exhale. I did this exact thing my first week, got dizzy in the tomato bed, had to sit on a bucket. The fix: stop trying to hold. In-four, out-eight, keep it moving. No pause at the top.
2. "I can't make my exhale last eight counts." Don't force it. Start at in-four, out-six. The exhale just needs to be longer than the inhale, that's the whole rule. You can work up to eight over a few weeks. Nobody's grading the number.
3. "My mind won't stop racing during the breathing part." Good. Normal. Nobody's mind actually goes blank, and chasing that just gives you one more thing to fail at. Give your mind one small job instead: count the breath, or just notice it moving in and out. That's enough. It's not supposed to feel like a candle commercial.
4. "The stretches hurt more than they should." Nine times out of ten, you went in cold. Tissue that hasn't moved yet doesn't lengthen, it complains. Do two minutes of easy movement first, march in place, roll the shoulders, whatever, then stretch. Warm it up before you ask it to lengthen.
5. "I'm not flexible enough for this." You don't need to be. I still can't touch my toes and never could. This class isn't chasing bendy, it's chasing calm and function. If your hamstrings are tight, they're tight. Do the version that fits your body today.
6. "I don't have time for a full session." Then don't do a full session. Five minutes on your kitchen floor most days beats one long session on a Sunday. Same as a garden. You show up a little, regularly, or the whole thing dies. Consistency's the actual engine here, not intensity.
7. "I forget to breathe on purpose during the movement parts." Everybody does this at first. Movement takes over and breath gets forgotten. Try tying the breath to the motion, exhale on the effort part (standing up, reaching, folding forward), inhale on the easy part. It clicks after a few tries.
8. "I feel silly doing this at home." Do it anyway, quietly, on your own tile or carpet. You don't need a mat, an app, or special pants. I learned this broke, in a garden, between rows of weeds. The gear is mostly there to sell you out of just doing the thing.
9. "One of the moves flat out doesn't feel right in my body." Skip it. No big deal, truly. If something says no, listen to it. There's always another option, and I'd rather you modify than push through something your knees or back are telling you not to do.
10. "I did all this and I still feel stressed." This is a tool, not a cure. It won't pay a bill or fold your laundry. What it gives you is a steadier version of yourself to go handle the actual thing in front of you. Some days that's enough, some days it isn't, and that's honest, not a failure of the technique.
---
If you only remember one fix from this whole sheet: the exhale is the point. Longer breath out than in. Everything else is details. 👍
podcast_scriptClass podcast — episode 1
Audio coming soon — show notes below.
JESS: —okay but the bucket. You have to tell people about the bucket, because I've heard you mention it twice now and never finish it.
MATTHEW: The tomato bucket.
JESS: The tomato bucket.
MATTHEW: Alright. So this is early on, when I first learned the breathing thing. Four in, eight out. I did it wrong the very first time. I held it at the top like I was about to lift something heavy off a truck. Full breath in, clench, hold.
JESS: Why?
MATTHEW: Because that's what you do when you're bracing for something. Nobody told me not to. So I'm out in the tomato bed doing this, holding my breath like I'm about to deadlift a fridge, and I get dizzy. Legit dizzy. Had to sit down on an overturned bucket for a minute so I didn't tip over into the plants.
JESS: In front of anybody?
MATTHEW: Just me and the tomatoes. Which is honestly the best way to find out you're doing something wrong.
JESS: So what was the actual mistake?
MATTHEW: The hold. I thought the breath in was the important part. It's not. The exhale is the whole point. Breathing in for four counts doesn't do much on its own. It's breathing out for eight, nice and slow, that tells your body to stand down. I was skipping the part that mattered and doing extra of the part that didn't.
JESS: That's such a — I feel like that's a metaphor for a lot of things.
MATTHEW: Maybe. I just know it made me dizzy in a tomato bed.
JESS: Okay, for people listening who are not signed up for the class and are just, I don't know, sitting in traffic at the point of the mountain right now stressed out of their minds — what's the one thing they can do today?
MATTHEW: Four seconds in, eight seconds out. That's it. You don't need to count perfectly, you don't need an app, you don't need to sit cross-legged on a mat somewhere. You can do it at a red light. In for four, out for eight, and just make the out-breath longer than the in-breath. Do it five or six times. That's the whole tip.
JESS: That's it?
MATTHEW: That's it. People want it to be complicated. It's not. The exhale does the work. Everybody's obsessing over the big dramatic inhale, filling up the lungs, and meanwhile the slow exhale is the thing actually flipping the switch. I couldn't tell you the fancy nervous system term for it if you paid me. I just know I tested it on myself for two years in a truck and a garden and it works.
JESS: I love that your test group was just... you.
MATTHEW: Mostly me. Occasionally my neighbor Cameron, against his will.
JESS: We'll get to Cameron another episode.
MATTHEW: Heck yes we will.
JESS: So in the actual class — session one — what are people walking into? Because I know some folks are nervous it's going to be yoga-mat, incense, sit-still-and-clear-your-mind stuff.
MATTHEW: It is not that. I can't do the clear-your-mind thing myself, so I'm not going to stand up there and pretend I can teach it. Nobody clears their mind. Your brain's going to wander no matter what. What we do instead is give the mind one small job — count the breath, or just notice it moving in and out. That's enough. Chasing an empty head just gives you one more thing to fail at, and nobody needs that on top of everything else.
JESS: So it's movement-based.
MATTHEW: Movement first, then breath, then a little stretch at the end. We move a bit before we stretch anything, because cold tissue doesn't lengthen, it just complains. I learned that one the hard way from years of squatting in the garden and then trying to stretch cold right afterward. Warm it up first, then lengthen it.
JESS: And people don't need to be flexible.
MATTHEW: I can't touch my toes. Never could. Tight hamstrings my whole life. That's not what this is measuring. If you're waiting to get bendy before you start, you'll wait forever. This is about function and getting a steadier version of yourself for the rest of your day, not touching your toes.
JESS: Okay, last thing — next session, what are we doing?
MATTHEW: Next time we're doing what I call the tight-shoulder stretch and pairing it with the breathing from a chair, for anybody whose knees or back don't love the floor. Katie's been asking me to do a chair version for months, so this one's basically for her.
JESS: Chair version. Good. Some people were asking about that.
MATTHEW: Bring a folding chair if you've got one you like, otherwise we'll have some there. No mat required. Never has been.
JESS: Never has been. Alright, that's episode one 👍
podcast_scriptClass podcast — episode 2
Audio coming soon — show notes below.
MATTHEW: —so I told her, fine, count it out loud then, and she starts counting way faster than a real second.
JESS: Wait, who's counting?
MATTHEW: Jesse. My eight-year-old. She was timing my plank and just straight up lying about the numbers to make it last longer. "Forty-one, forty-two"—girl, that was not one second, that was point-three seconds.
JESS: That's a menace move.
MATTHEW: A total menace. I ended up laughing so hard I collapsed, which, honestly, ended the plank, which is probably what she wanted the whole time. She's not dumb.
JESS: Okay so for people just joining us on the podcast feed, this is episode two of Managing Stress Through Breath and Movement. I'm Jess, I run the program office, and this is Matthew, who teaches the class down at the rec center on Tuesday nights.
MATTHEW: Heck yes.
JESS: Last episode you talked about the four-count breathing, in for four, out for eight. People have been asking me, in the sign-up emails, "do I need to be doing some kind of stretch routine too, or is breath enough?"
MATTHEW: Good question. Short answer, both, but in the right order. This is actually one of the bigger things I got wrong early on and had to relearn the hard way.
JESS: What'd you get wrong?
MATTHEW: I used to go stretch first thing, cold, straight out of bed or straight off the porch. And it hurt. Not in a good way, in a "why am I doing this to myself" way. Took me way too long to figure out that cold tissue doesn't lengthen, it just complains at you.
JESS: So what do you do instead?
MATTHEW: Move a little first. Two minutes, easy stuff. Roll the shoulders, walk in place, whatever. Warm it up, then stretch it. Same idea as a garden hose in December, you don't just crank it straight, you let it sit in the sun a minute or it cracks.
JESS: That's the tip, right there. People can do that tonight without taking the class.
MATTHEW: Absolutely. Two minutes of movement before any stretching. Doesn't matter what movement. Kitchen tile's fine. I've done it on the garage floor plenty.
JESS: You're very anti-fancy-equipment.
MATTHEW: I don't own a mat. Never have. I got into this broke, doing it in the tomato bed, and I think a lot of the gear out there is just a way to sell you out of actually doing the thing.
JESS: Okay, so, breath and movement together. Walk me through an actual bad night. Like, real example.
MATTHEW: Last winter. Kaylee's sick, furnace is acting up, nobody's slept in like three nights. It's eleven at night and I'm just done. So I get down on the kitchen tile and do a full ten-minute stretch sequence, slow, breathing the whole time.
JESS: Did it fix the furnace?
MATTHEW: Did not fix the furnace. Did not fix Kaylee's cough. Fixed nothing that was actually wrong.
JESS: So what was the point?
MATTHEW: I slept better anyway. That's the whole pitch, honestly. This isn't gonna solve your problem. It's gonna give you a steadier version of yourself to go deal with the problem. I'm real blunt about that with the class. If you're looking for something to fix the furnace, this isn't it.
JESS: I like that you lead with the limits instead of overselling it.
MATTHEW: Well, it doesn't hold up otherwise. My wife called me out on that early on, actually. Rough shift, I tried to teach her my breathing thing and she just looked at me and said "I don't need to breathe better, I need you to fold the laundry."
JESS: Oh no.
MATTHEW: So I folded the laundry. Sometimes that's the intervention. Breath's a tool, not the answer to everything. I teach it that way now.
JESS: Okay, last thing, what's coming up in session three?
MATTHEW: We're doing the tight-shoulder stretch properly, the one I originally learned for a bum shoulder from hauling soil. And we're gonna hit what I call the point of the mountain, which is basically the first thirty seconds of holding something uncomfortable. Everybody wants to bail right there. We're gonna practice not bailing.
JESS: Sounds rough.
MATTHEW: It eases. After the point of the mountain it eases, every time. That's kind of the whole lesson.
JESS: Great. See everybody Tuesday.
MATTHEW: Heck yes. Bring a towel, not a mat. 👍
podcast_scriptClass podcast — episode 3
Audio coming soon — show notes below.
JESS: —and I feel like every time I ask you a science question you just deflect to gardening.
MATTHEW: Because gardening's what I know. You want the technical term for what happens in your nervous system, I'm gonna fumble it. You want to know how to get through a Tuesday, I got that.
JESS: Fair. Okay, for people just joining us, this is episode three, we're partway through the class, and last week you had everybody on the floor doing something with cats.
MATTHEW: Cat-cow. Yeah. Warms up the spine before you go asking it to stretch further than it wants to.
JESS: Which brings me to the actual thing I wanted to ask about, because you told a story in class that I've been thinking about all week.
MATTHEW: The laundry one.
JESS: The laundry one.
MATTHEW: So Katie'd had a rough shift. Real rough, the kind where she comes in the door and you can just tell. And I'm feeling pretty good about my breathing stuff at that point, I'm a few months into it, I've read some things, I'm basically an expert in my own head.
JESS: Uh oh.
MATTHEW: So I go, hey, let me show you this exhale thing, four in, eight out, it'll settle you right down. And she looks at me and says, "I don't need to breathe better, I need you to fold the laundry."
JESS: (laughing) Brutal.
MATTHEW: Completely fair. So I folded the laundry. And that was the actual fix. Not a breath drill. A guy doing the thing that needed doing.
JESS: So why do you still tell that story in a breathing class?
MATTHEW: Because I don't want people walking out of here thinking this is gonna solve their whole life. It's a tool. A good one, I use it most days, but it's not gonna pay a bill or fold a basket of towels. Sometimes the intervention is just doing the dish. Breath is for the stuff you can't fix by doing a task. The tight chest, the can't-sit-still feeling, the three a.m. brain.
JESS: That's a pretty honest thing for an instructor to say about his own class.
MATTHEW: Well, I got into this broke and stubborn, not enlightened. I'm not gonna oversell it now.
JESS: Okay, give me something people can actually use tonight. Not the class, just — a person listening in their car right now.
MATTHEW: Four in, eight out. That's it. Breathe in through your nose for a count of four, then let it out slow for a count of eight. Twice as long going out as coming in.
JESS: Why the eight?
MATTHEW: The exhale's doing the real work. Everybody focuses on the big inhale like they're about to lift something. It's the long exhale that tells your body to stand down. You can do it at a red light. You can do it folding laundry, actually, if you want the full circle.
JESS: (laughing) There it is.
MATTHEW: Three or four rounds. You're not trying to clear your mind or float away anywhere. Just count. Give your head one small job so it stops running six other ones.
JESS: And if somebody gets dizzy?
MATTHEW: Don't hold your breath at the top like you're bracing for something. I did that my first try ever, out in the tomato bed, made myself lightheaded and had to sit on a bucket for a minute. The hold isn't the point. The slow exhale is the point.
JESS: Good to know before I try this in my car.
MATTHEW: Maybe don't close your eyes doing it in the car.
JESS: Noted. Okay — next session. What are we building on?
MATTHEW: We're moving into stretches you can actually do after a long day standing or sitting, whichever one's wrecking you. Tight hips, tight shoulders, the usual. And we'll do it the right way, which is move a little first, then stretch. Cold muscle doesn't lengthen, it just complains at you.
JESS: You've mentioned that a few times now.
MATTHEW: Because I learned it the hard way, squatting in the garden for hours and then trying to touch my toes cold. Which — I still can't touch my toes anyway, tight hamstrings forever, that's just my body. But at least now I don't hurt myself finding that out.
JESS: I love that your class bio is basically "the guy who can't touch his toes teaches stretching."
MATTHEW: Function and calm, that's the goal. Nobody needs to be bendy. They need to get through the week a little steadier. 👍
JESS: Alright. See everybody next Tuesday, floor space, comfortable pants, no mat required.
MATTHEW: Heck yes. Kitchen tile works fine.
Videos worth your time
Hand-picked by your instructor, with notes on what to watch for.
- Yoga To Heal Stress | 20-Minute Yoga PracticeYoga With Adriene
Watch how Adriene links slow breath to gentle movement, and try to keep your exhale longer than your inhale throughout the flow.
- Box breathing relaxation technique: how to calm feelings of stress or anxietySunnybrook Hospital
Pay attention to the four equal counts of inhale, hold, exhale, and hold, and notice how your shoulders relax by the third round.
- 4-7-8 Calm Breathing Exercise | 10 Minutes of Deep Relaxation | Anxiety Relief | Pranayama ExerciseHands-On Meditation
Focus on making your exhale twice as long as your inhale, and notice how the pace gradually slows as the ten minutes progress.
Practice corner
6 quizzes and 2 games. Playable by anyone, no account needed.
Open the practice corner →