Just Breathe
Georgiana Danet SAYge Pro & Holistic Life Coach
Anti-Stress Strategies for Tranquility
The relationship between stress, anxiety, and overall health is complex and multifaceted. While stress and anxiety are often viewed as separate phenomena, they frequently interact and exacerbate one another, leading to a cascade of negative effects on physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
One of the key ways in which stress and anxiety impact overall health is through their influence on the body's stress response system. When individuals experience chronic stress and anxiety, the body's stress response becomes dysregulated, leading to sustained activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. Over time, this chronic state of hyperarousal can lead to a range of health problems, including cardiovascular disease, immune dysfunction, and gastrointestinal disorders. Moreover, stress and anxiety can also affect individuals' behaviors and lifestyle choices, further exacerbating their impact on health. For example, individuals experiencing chronic stress may be more likely to engage in unhealthy coping mechanisms such as smoking, overeating, or excessive alcohol consumption. These behaviors can contribute to the development of chronic health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.
To break the cycle of stress and anxiety and promote overall health and well-being, it is essential to adopt healthy coping strategies and lifestyle habits. This includes engaging in regular physical activity, practicing relaxation techniques such as deep breathing and meditation, maintaining a healthy diet, and prioritizing adequate sleep and rest.
Anti-Stress Exercise: Deep Breathing
Deep breathing is a simple yet effective technique for reducing stress and promoting relaxation. To practice deep breathing, find a quiet and comfortable place to sit or lie down. Close your eyes and take a slow, deep breath in through your nose, allowing your abdomen to expand fully. Hold your breath for a moment, then exhale slowly and completely through your mouth, letting go of any tension or stress with each breath. Continue this pattern of deep breathing for several minutes, focusing on the sensation of your breath moving in and out of your body. As you practice deep breathing, you may notice feelings of calmness and relaxation washing over you, helping to alleviate stress and anxiety.
What Are Breathing Exercises & What Are They For?
Breathing exercises and techniques sound a little funny at first: after all, don’t we all know how to breathe? Using specific breathing techniques and breath control from Holistic Yoga, however, means that you’re being mindful about the way you breathe in and out. By purposefully changing the way we breathe, we can change the way we feel and how our bodies react to what’s going on around us. Under normal circumstances, we inhale to absorb oxygen and exhale to rid our body of carbon dioxide through the lungs, with the help of our diaphragm muscle. But when we’re stressed, anxious or upset, for example, the way we breathe changes. Instead of deep, lung-filling breaths, we start over breathing and taking short, shallow breaths. Instead of our diaphragm doing the heavy lifting, we use our shoulders to inhale and exhale, which can make anxious feelings even worse.
By using breathing exercises, we send a signal to our nervous system, the part of our body managing things like our heart rate and our stress response, that things are all right. In turn, the physical effects of anxiety – racing heartbeat, shallow breathing, and sweaty palms – are reduced, and our minds calm down. Best of all, unlike yoga poses or meditation (which are absolutely recommended!), you can do breathing exercises when you’re commuting to work, before a stressful meeting or even in the midst of an argument when you want to calm down.
Benefits of Holistic Breathing Exercises
Sure, changing the way you breathe can transform the type of breaths you take and maybe help you feel better right then and there. But does it really change your body for the better? Although researchers aren’t quite sure of the how, they all agree that it definitely does.
Lower Blood Pressure
For folks with high blood pressure, practicing breathing techniques and breathing exercises for anxiety can help naturally lower blood pressure, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. In fact, breathing exercises are included in a 2013 recommendation made by the American Heart Association as an alternative beyond medicine and diet to controlling blood pressure.
A major study out of Japan also showed evidence that deep breathing exercises are beneficial for reducing blood pressure. In a study of 21,563 subjects, researchers found that blood pressure was significantly lower after doing six rounds of deep breathing exercises for 30 seconds each time.
Reduce Anxiety
Whether you suffer from an anxiety disorder, are just confronting a nerve-wracking, anxious experience, or you just are a high-achiving leader woman, breathing exercises for anxiety can be really helpful.
One study conducted among musicians discovered that when they practiced breathing techniques for 30 minutes before performing, it had a positive impact on their heart rates and also left them feeling less anxious and tense than beforehand. This is impressive, and means that just one session of slower breathing can have positive effects on anxiety.
Improve Sleep and Lower Stress
If you’re lying in bed with thoughts racing and have run out of sheep to count, breathing exercises for sleep can help send you to dreamland. Slow, deep breathing actually helps the body override the sympathetic system, which controls our fight-or-flight response, and lets the parasympathetic system – which controls our ability to relax – take the wheel instead. When you practice deep breathing while in bed, you’re giving the body permission to quit being on high alert and, instead, to relax. Focusing on your breathing also forces your mind to concentrate on the task at hand, and not on whatever you’re lying in bed thinking about, which can often be enough to lull you to sleep.
Breathing exercises when you’re stressed act in the same way. Activating the parasympathetic system directs your body away from the fight-or-flight response that flares up when we’re stressed about something, and reminds it to chill out instead. The result is a slower heart rate, deeper breathing and a greater sense of calm.
Five Different Types of Holistic Breathing Exercises to Relax
Not all breathing exercises are the same, the ones that help the body relax and quiet a busy mind are many people’s favourites. The interesting thing is that aside from helping you unwind and distress, breathing exercises also strengthen the lungs. You might find that after you’ve been doing the techniques for some time, your “normal” breathing is more effective, too.
Remember, that just like any type of exercise, practice makes perfect with breathing techniques. You might not nail them on the first try, but as you keep incorporating them into your wellness routine, you’ll eventually find that you can do them without much effort.
1. Pursed lip breathing
This one is simple and easy to do, but extremely effective. The general idea is to breathe out for double the amount of breaths you inhale. Pursed lip breathing helps release air that’s trapped in the lungs, and decreases the amount of breaths you take, while extending exhalation.
With relaxed shoulders, take a normal breath for about 2 counts. Then pucker your lips up (think of your mouth when you’re about to whistle – that’s what your lips should look like!) and exhale for 4 counts. Do this for a few rounds.
2. Diaphragmatic breathing
Also known as belly or abdominal breathing, this is the granddaddy of breathing exercises, as you’re training the body to let your diaphragm do all the work. Your goal here is to breathe through your nose and focus on how your belly fills up with air.
You can do this one either sitting up or lying down; it’s nice to do while in bed to help wind down. With your shoulders back, keep one hand on your chest and the other on your belly. As you breathe in deeply for about 2 seconds, your belly should stick out a bit. Feel the air expanding your stomach and then breathe out slowly through the lips.
3. Holistic Yoga breathing
Controlled breathing is an important part of a yoga practice. One of yogis’ favorites is alternate nostril breathing. This is a great one when you want to keep your mind from jumping around, like when you’re stressed at work or trying to fall asleep, because you’ll need to focus to remember what nostril you’re working on.
To practice this one, start on the right side. Place your right thumb over your right nostril as you breathe in through the left nostril. Then take your right ring finger and place it over your left nostril as you exhale from the right one.
Leaving your ring finger where it is over the left nostril, inhale from the left, then switch to the right side, putting your thumb over the right nostril and exhaling through the left. It sounds a little funky, but you’ll get the hang of it. You can easily see why people do it to help focus on the present – it’s hard to think of anything else when you’re wondering which nostril is next!
Lion’s breath is another common one that allows you to exhale out bad energy and invite in a more relaxing state. Here, you take a deep breath through the nose. When it’s time to breathe out, tilt your head back, close your eyes, stick out your tongue and let the air out through your mouth, like a lion would! You can take this one to the next level by raising your arms on the inhale and then doing cactus arms (holding your arms up at 90 degrees) while you exhale.
4. The breathing 4-7-8
This simple breathing technique is lauded as one of the best ones to help you fall asleep. In theory, it’s easy. You exhale through your mouth and then close it and inhale through your nose for 4 counts. You hold the breath in for 7 counts, then release it in 8 counts, and repeat at least three times. Because you have 8 counts to get the breath out, you’re forced to slow down your breathing which, in turn, slows down the heart rate and helps you relax.
5. Breath counting
This is another relaxation technique that will keep your mind from wandering too far. Sitting comfortably with your eyes closed, take a few deep breaths, then settle into a pattern of “normal” breathing. When you exhale, count “one”. The next time, count “two”. Do this until you have exhaled (and counted to) five, then start the pattern over. Don’t count past five, and if you find you’ve lost count, start again at one. You’ll be surprised at how much concentration it will take to keep yourself on count.
Precautions
Breathing techniques are generally a safe, inexpensive way to strengthen your lungs, relax and decrease stress and anxiety. However, if you do have COPD or another type of lung disease, you should speak with your doctor about incorporating breathing exercises into your lifestyle – just don’t hold your breath forever!
Final Considerations
Breathing exercises from holistic yoga help us more effectively inhale and exhale, using our diaphragm. By changing the way we breathe, we can better control our emotions. What makes breathing exercises even more useful is that you can do them anywhere, at any time. Using breathing techniques can ease the symptoms of stress, anxiety, sleep problems, blood pressure and COPD. There are a number of breathing exercises you can do to help you relax. Pursed lip is the easiest – once you master that one, move on to the more advanced versions to help calm your mind, reduce anxiety and live more happily your holistic life.
And if you want to learn more holistic yoga techniques, you have come to the right place!
The light in me sees and loves the light in you!
