Breathing is a necessity of life that usually occurs without much thought. But the way you breathe affects your whole body and both research and ancient wisdom has confirmed that controlling our breathing is a powerful tool for quieting our racing minds and entering a state of calm.
In today’s blogpost I want to show you some simple and easy to learn breathing exercises that can make a big difference if you make them a part of your daily routine.
Warning: if you have a lung condition such as COPD or asthma or if you’re experiencing pain or difficulty breathing, please ask your doctor or healthcare provider for advice before trying any type of breathing exercise.
Deep belly breathing
When you breathe in, your blood cells receive oxygen and release carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide is a waste product that’s carried back through your body and exhaled. Improper breathing such as short, rapid or shallow breaths or chest breathing can upset this oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange and contribute to anxiety, panic attacks, fatigue and other physical and emotional disturbances while deep belly breathing can help you relieve feelings of anxiety and stress. And there's more good news: deep belly breathing (also known as abdominal breathing or diaphragmatic breathing) doesn’t take much time to be effective: according to the American Institute of Stress, it only takes 20 to 30 minutes of deep belly breathing each day to significantly reduce your levels of stress and anxiety.
Interested in giving this a try? The following 4 steps will help you get started with belly breathing
Find a comfortable and quiet place where you can sit or lie down. If you decide to do this exercise in a chair, remember to sit with your shoulders, head and neck supported against the back of the chair. If you prefer lying on your back, you can use a small pillow under your head/neck and another one under your knees to give your body some extra support.
Place one hand on your belly and the other one on your chest.
Feel your belly rise as you breathe in slowly through your nose.
Feel your belly lower as you exhale slowly through your mouth (you know you’re doing it right when your belly expands and contracts with each breath and when the hand on your belly moves more than the hand that’s on your chest).
I advise you to start doing this exercise three times in a row and then gradually working up to five to ten minutes, one to four times a day.
Other breathing techniques and exercises for managing stress
Belly breathing is probably the most used and known technique to ease stress but it definitely isn’t the only one. There are numerous other breathing exercises you can try but the following 5 exercises and techniques are some of the most popular and effective ones. And remember: what works best for me might not be the most effective technique to help you manage stress so feel free to experiment and see which one works best for you.
MINDFUL DIAPHRAGMIC BREATHING
Mindful breathing is a practical and straightforward way to make helpful breathing changes by allowing you to breathe just the way you do without a struggle. Here ‘s how to get started:
Find a comfortable place to sit upright (make sure it’s away from noise) and close your eyes. Begin by noticing physical sensations such as your body’s contact with the seat and your feet on the floor. Then gently focus on your breath. Pay attention to the pace and depth. For instance, are you taking deep breaths or shallow ones? Are you breathing quickly or slowly? Don’t try to alter your breath: simply notice and acknowledge the thoughts, emotions and sensations that accompany each breath without engaging and let them pass with kindness and compassion. And if your mind wanders, you gently return your focus to each breath – just as it is.
The reason for doing this particular exercise is that simply becoming more aware of your breathing can help you become more mindful of your body’s response to stress and can help you to notice when you need to deliberately relax your breathing.
VISUALIZATION BREATHING
There are several visualization breathing techniques to help you breathe deeply from your diaphragm rather than engaging in shallow breathing but these two are my favorite ones
Inflating the balloon: get into a comfortable position and close your eyes. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. As you inhale, imagine that your abdomen is inflating with air like a balloon. As you exhale, imagine that the air is escaping the balloon slowly. You don’t have to force the air out: it simply escapes on its own and in its own time.
Releasing your stress: get into a comfortable position, close your eyes and start with belly breathing. As you inhale, imagine that all the stress in your body is coming from your extremities and into your chest. Then, as you exhale, imagine that the stress is leaving your body through your breath and dissipating right in front of you. Slowly and deliberately repeat this process until you feel your stress decrease.
BREATH FOCUS
Breath focus is a technique that combines deep breathing with words and visualization to help you feel more relaxed. Here’s how you get started:
Close your eyes and take a few big deep breaths.
Breathe in and imagine that the air you’re breathing in is filled with a sense of peace and calm. Try to really feel it throughout your body.
Breathe out and imagine that the air leaving your body is taking all your stress and tension away.
Now switch to using words instead of images. For instance, when you breathe in you say in your mind the phrase “I breathe in peace and calm”. As you breathe out you say “I breathe out stress and tension”. Continue doing this for 10 to 20 minutes.
DEEP CLEANSING BREATH
Sometimes all we need to release stress from our shoulders, back or the rest of our body is a few big cleansing breaths. This is very easy to do: simply breathe in deeply through your nose and take in as much air as you comfortably can. Then release it and really focus on emptying your lungs. Repeat this breathing exercise for a few breaths and release the tension in your back, shoulders and anywhere else it tends to reside.
PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION (PMR)
The PMR technique combines breathing and muscle tensing. It helps you to relax both mentally and physically. Here’s how you get started:
Lie comfortable on the floor.
Take a few deep breaths to relax.
Breathe in and tense the muscles of your feet.
Breathe out and release the tension in your feet.
Breathe in and tense your calf muscles.
Breathe out and release the tension in your calves.
Work your way up your body and tense each muscle group. This includes your legs, belly, chest, fingers, arms, shoulders, neck and face.
Do you have any experience with breathing exercises?
©HolisticHappiness2024
Kommentare