How to Breathe to Reduce Stress

INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO BREATHE

What do you mean? You just breathe, right???

Seems like a pretty obvious answer but we “Westerners” are notorious shallow breathers. We take short breaths just enough to keep us alive. Deep breathing involves the entire lung capacity and uses our diaphragm. Conscious breathing involves paying attention to how we are breathing, focusing on the air going in and coming out.

Seems pretty straight forward, but why don’t we do it? Short answer….we are just too busy! Long answer, we don’t believe we are worthy of spending 5mins a day nourishing ourselves with deep cleansing breaths.

But of course, you are! You ARE worthy and you HAVE TIME to nourish yourself with conscious breathing, it takes less than 5mins! So here’s how you do it.

STEP 1:

Stop what you are doing & give yourself permission to do this (probably the hardest part of this exercise).

STEP 2:

Place both feet flat on the floor, back relatively straight, close your eyes.

STEP 3:

First just notice your natural breathing – is it short and shallow? Is it rapid? Is the inhale longer than the exhale? Are you holding your breath?

STEP 4:

Take a slow breath in through the nostrils, consciously paying attention to how much you are taking in, then exhale through the mouth. Pay attention to what you are doing. Consciously feel the cool air coming into your nostrils as you breath in, follow the breath down into the lungs, see your belly expanding slightly and feel the warm air as you exhale through your mouth. This takes practice. If you find that your mind is wandering, that’s ok, when you notice you are doing this simply bring your attention back to your breath. Try not to get mad at yourself, this is normal after so many years of unconscious breathing.

STEP 5:

Do this again, this time make your exhale longer than your inhale. Continue to do this for as long as you have time. Aim for 3-5 breaths initially.

You may begin to yawn. This is a good sign that the oxygen is flowing into your brain.

NOTE: Don’t force the breath or hold your breath between inhaling and exhaling, with practice your lung capacity will increase, but initially just pay attention to your breathing and add in longer breaths as you go.

BENEFITS OF CONSCIOUS BREATHING

• Reduces stress, anxiety and tension.
• Calms you down (especially when you are feeling nervous, when you are rushing, when someone has upset you and you need time to calm down before you address them).
• Reduces blood pressure
• Gives your mind a mini holiday as you are focussing on one thing, breathing.
• Allows your brain to receive more oxygen. You are then better able to make clearer decisions, feel calmer and less likely to yell at the kids (or your husband!)

GO ON, GIVE IT A TRY!

I would love to hear how you went with it, please share your experience in the comments section.

For more helpful tips, go to www.marybobokis.com

Mary Bobokis is a Holistic Counsellor & Energy Healer who focusses on teaching people how to reduce stress, worrying & anxiety and eliminating the thoughts and feelings that cause them. Based in the Illawarra region, south coast of NSW, Australia, Mary works face to face and via Skype.