Manage your stress - Take a deep breath!
You may not realize that most of us breathe normally in a rather shallow way. This is sufficient to give us enough oxygen and to expel carbon dioxide from our lungs, but it does not fully utilize our breathing capacity. When we are nervous or stressed, we tend to take shorter and even shallower breaths, and some of us may even have a sensation of “not being able to breathe”. Breathing exercises cannot fundamentally change our breathing rhythm, but they are important for relaxation, for muscle stimulation and for generating a sense of mental calm.
Exercise
Start the breathing exercises by lying on the floor on a blanket with a pillow under your head. Your knees should be bent and touching each other, with feet apart. Now inhale through the nose, letting your abdomen rise as far as possible. Exhale slowly, again through the nose, allowing your abdomen to sink in. Repeat this breathing exercise for two minutes.
The next exercise is to help you exhale as far as possible - though even when “empty” the lungs still retain about a little of air. Stand up with your feet spread apart the same distance as your shoulders. With legs slightly bent and body leaning forward, hands on knees, breathe out as far as possible. At the end of this outward breath, open your rib-cage as if to inhale, but do not draw in breath. Hold this position for a few seconds, then exhale once more, closing your rib-cage again. Repeat the expansion of the rib-cage until you cannot expel any more air. Then allow the abdomen to rise slowly, relax and draw in breath.
Now you can refill your lungs to maximum capacity. Breathe in fully while raising your arms, then lower the arms without exhaling and breathe in again raising your arms. Continue this pumping action of the arms, breathing in as you raise them and retaining air as you lower them, until your chest cavity feels fully expanded.
Now stand really straight with your abdomen tucked in, your back straight and your chest high, arms at your side. Keeping your right arms at your side. Keeping your right arm straight, raise it slowly forward, inhaling as you do so. Move your arm ii a circle back down to your side, exhaling as it begins the downward sweep. Repeat the whole cycle with the left hand, then again with the right until you have done five complete swings with each arm.
Now Kneel on the floor with your buttocks touching your heels, arms at tour sides with hands touching toes, and head tucked in towards your knees. As you inhale deeply, lift your body from the knees upwards, moving your head and hold your breath for a few seconds. The return to the crouching position, exhaling as you do so. Repeat this breathing exercise twice.
Do these breathing exercises for a half hour every day, preferably in the morning and any time you feel tense or need to calm down: they should leave you feeling relaxed and stimulated.
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[...] Breathing exercises and muscle relaxation techniques can be valuable weapons in the battle against stress. Here’s a simple breathing exercise that can help induce feelings of well-being: breathe in slowly through your nose for a count of six, hold the air in your lungs for a count of six and then breathe out slowly through your mouth for a count of six. Repeating this two or three times helps to oxygenate your blood and when this oxygenated blood reaches the brain, it can trigger the release of chemicals that help to relax you – no drugs required! [...]