Use Deep Breathing to Soothe Stress, Anxiety

Deep Breathing

Mindful, deep breathing is powerful.

You’ve probably been told to stop and take a deep breath a time or two in the past when people have noticed you upset, angry or anxious.

And while it doesn’t always seem like the most effective solution to your problems, it IS an effective way of coping with stress and anxiety. Using it minimize your symptoms can be a life changer.

Here’s how it works:

Have you ever noticed that anxiety mostly occurs in relation to events that have happened in the past or will happen in the future, and these things are usually out of your control? While we can’t fix things from the past, and we can’t worry the future away, we can choose to control our breathing. By consciously choosing to breathe slower, you’re communicating to your brain that all is well in your world, and your brain will communicate that back to your body with both a slower heart rate and slower brain waves.

A recent article from the Harvard Medical School points out that “deep abdominal breathing encourages full oxygen exchange — that is, the beneficial trade of incoming oxygen for outgoing carbon dioxide. Not surprisingly, it can slow the heartbeat and lower or stabilize blood pressure.”

By choosing not to give in to your emotions and by remaining mindful, you can overcome the negative side effects of your body’s “fight or flight” reaction and enable yourself to use your mind which gives you a better chance to overcome difficult situations.

Try This

The Sense of Self Method (SoS Method) suggests using both mindful meditation and breath control  as a way to remain grounded and connected to your Self. As a breathing exercise you can do basically anywhere, try breathing in and out slowly, while focusing intently on how taking each breath slowly calms your whole body. You’ll be amazed at how just becoming aware of your breathing  for a small period of time can slow you down, change your emotions and your day; start with 3-5 minutes and adjust as you feel is needed. Let us know how deep breathing helps you in the comments below!

A Tip from the HEALTHYSENSEOFSELF Author and CEO, Antoinetta Vogels:

Antoinetta Vogels“To whatever extent you can, and as often as you can, actively put aside your work, or whatever ‘doing’ provides you with a sense of identity, and for a time, experience ‘nothing.’ That might involve being physically still, breathing slowly, and allowing your mind to slow down or at least shifting into observing it rather than being trapped in it as it. In other words practice being more than your mind. Incorporate all other aspects of yourSelf, you have a notion of by now.” – Antoinetta Vogels

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