Tackle Stress Successfully via Breathing Exercises

 

Every day we are faced with a cascade of potential stressors. Meeting near-impossible deadlines, fear of being laid off, a mountain of household chores, family pressures, seeing the latest disaster on the news – all these make our adrenals go into an overdrive, leaving us stressed and depressed. It is hard on our body, horrid for the psyche and tough on our emotional self. Thus, we need to find super helpful stress management techniques to counter stress effectively. Breathing exercises specially designed to relieve psychological stress are restorative and give your nervous system a chance to rest and recuperate. Take a deep breath. Take one more. Do you feel a wee bit less stressed out? Yes, it does work! You've probably already been told, and you've probably also read – ‘take a deep breath and calm down’. Now, while it is very sound advice, the advice is incomplete! You’ve been told to take a deep breath, but you haven’t been told how to take a deep breath! A good breathing technique is easy and effortless, but super potent and tells you how to breathe right, and that's what I'm going to show you! Breathing right – a sharp weapon in your stress-buster armory! Breathing exercises are the most vital coping techniques to manage your stress well. In fact, they can become your key to peaceful repose! All the traditional relaxation methods - Yoga, Tai Chi, and Meditation highlight the significance of breathing right. So, come on, let’s breathe right! Put one hand on the belly button, the other on your chest. Inhale; you’ll discover that you tend to use your chest muscles only while breathing, rather than the muscles of the belly. When you breathe in a shallow manner, it promises you all the air that you need to live, but when under undue stress, when you breathe shallowly, you tend to develop hyperventilation, light-headedness and anxiety. This stems from taking short and shallow breaths! The first and foremost thing I ask my patients who have been diagnosed with panic disorders and undue stress to do is to learn and imbibe abdominal breathing.

Deep Breathing Exercises to combat anxiety    

         

Deep breathing exercises help grapple with stress effectively. Here are 3 exercises that’ll help you calm down and center yourself:

The Abdominal Breathing

·         Place one palm over your chest and the other over your tummy. Your hands will guide you as to which muscles are coming in to play when you breathe.

·         Exhale slowly through your mouth.

·         Close your mouth and hold your breath for 5 seconds.

·         Now, inhale slowly through the nose and push the tummy out when you take the air in. Use the muscles of the belly to pull in the air. Once you've taken in as much air as you possibly can; stop.

·         Now hold your breath. For how long? Well, it’s for you to decide. Pause for as long as feels comfortable and easy.

·         Exhale through your mouth and suck the abdomen inwards. Hold your breath again for couple of seconds.

·         Learn to breathe more slowly and steadily than you used to.     

The Equal Breath – Sam Vritti Pranayama

·         Sit comfortably; and focus on your breathing.

·         After a few minutes, integrate a mental count; and make the inhalation as well as the exhalation each 4 beats. Maintain this for 5 rounds.

·         Gradually increase the inhalation and exhalation to 5 beats each. Slowly and steadily proceed to 10 beats. This may not be possible the first time you start, but will most definitely happen with regular and sustained practice.

·         Try to understand how your body and mind feel. The body tends to hold on to a lot of tension at various places; try to relax and unwind.

·         When you feel like ending the session, start breathing normally. Once again check with how your body and mind feel. Do you feel less distraught and calmer, compared to when you started? Try to integrate this practice in to your everyday schedule for fabulous results.

The Humming Bee Breath – Bhramari
The Humming Bee Breath or Bhamari is exceedingly effective in the successful management of anxiety.

·         Sit comfortably. Gently close your ears with the thumbs. Close your eyes and place the other fingers over them; and relax your shoulders.

·         Inhale slowly; when you exhale make a humming sound in the palate of the mouth.

·         Perform 10 rounds.

·         It is very essential that you inhale and exhale slowly and unhurriedly.

·         You will feel the vibrations in the brain, face, throat, chest and the rest of the body. Sit still after 10 rounds for about 5 minutes; slowly open your eyes and end the session.

Pranayama or the Yogic way of breathing correctly is controlled and regulated breathing; it helps increase vitality and boosts mental focus. Deep breathing has the potential to perk up our mood and psychological state. It calms the nervous system and helps defy physical and mental tension. Deep breathing techniques help you unwind when you get uptight and helps de-stress proactively.

Reference: The Yoga Bible