How breathing techniques can tackle your anxiety

                                 

Highlights

Breathing is a very useful exercise. While breathing the blood cells receive oxygen and release carbon dioxide that helps in relaxing and lowering stress.
Improper breathing leads to panic attacks, anxiety, fatigue, and other physical and emotional disturbances.
Deep breathing has many health benefits like improved immunity, calms down anxiety, better sleep quality, and others. 

                              

Anxiety is the body’s natural response to stress and it is a response when someone faces a real or perceived physical or emotional threat. Anxiety is helpful as it makes people alert and aware about the danger.

Breathing is necessary for living and it usually occurs without much through. When you breathe blood cells receive oxygen and release carbon dioxide.  Breathing exercises can help one calm down and lower stress levels as deep breathing sends note to your brain to unwind and settle down.

Improper breathing can reduce the oxygen level and enhance carbon dioxide in the blood cells and leads to panic attacks, anxiety, fatigue, and other physical and emotional disturbances. When a person is stressed heart rate, breathing and blood pressure increases and it all decreases as you take deep breath to relax.

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Doctors, experts and scientific studies often recommends deep breathing exercises to relax and cope with anxiety as it helps in slowing down their heart rate and feel calm.

Also read: How to manage your anger 

Benefits of Breathing Exercises

• Improves immunity
• Clams down anxiety
• Increases sleep quality
• Decreases toxicity of the body
• Improves digestive system
• Good for cardiovascular health
• Improve concentration and cognitive properties
• Gives healthy and glowing skin
• Reduces inflammation in the body
• Makes the body and joints strong
• Helps sinusitis
• Strengthen lungs

Also read: How Instagram is influencing our fitness and lifestyle goals

There are various breathing techniques that you can do at any point during your day, it includes:

1. Lengthen your exhale

Deep inhaling may not relax you always as it is actually linked to the sympathetic nervous system which controls the fight-or-flight response. However, exhaling is linked to the parasympathetic nervous system which actually helps our body and mind to relax and calm.

Breathing too fast can cause Hyperventilation, which decreases the amount of oxygen level in blood that flows to the brain.

So before taking deep breaths try through exhale instead and then try spending a little bit longer exhaling than you do inhaling.

2. Abdomen Breathing

Experts usually recommend abdomen breathing for people with lung condition known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as it can help reduces anxiety and the amount of work your body needs to do in order to breath.

You may either sit or lie down on the floor then:

• Put one hand on your tummy and the other on the upper chest
• Inhale and exhale through your nose and focus on the tummy rising
• Pursed your lips and exhale through your mouth. Try engaging your stomach and abdomen muscles.
• Repeat the cycle.

3. Breath focus

It is a breathing technique done while sitting or lying down and taking deep breaths slowly and in focused way. Then:

• Take a slow deep breath though your nose
• Put your one hand on your stomach
• Exhale in whatever way is most comfortable, noticing the hand rise
• Breathe out through the mouth, noticing the hand fall.

4. Equal breathing

Equal breathing stems from the ancient practice of pranayama yoga. In this technique you inhale doe the same amount of time as you’re exhaling. You can practice equal breathing in any comfortable position.

• First close your eyes and take note of your normal breathing.
• Slowly start counting as you inhale through your nose
• Exhale for the same amount of time
• As you inhale and exhale, be mindful of the feeling of fullness and emptiness in your lungs.
• Then repeat the process.

5. Resonant breathing

Resonant breathing, known as coherent breathing can help relaxing and calm anxiety.

• Lie down and close your eyes
• Count for six seconds and breathe gently
• Don’t fill your lungs too full
• Exhale for same amount of time gently and repeat the process for 10 minutes.

6. Pranayama breathing or Yogic breathing

Yoga is an ancient wellness techniques and breathing is at its heart. Pranayama consist for various breathing variations that may help with anxiety. Some of the Pranayama breathing includes equal breathing, lion’s breathing, lengthened exhale and alternate nostril breathing.  

7. Alternate nostril breathing

For practicing Alternate nostril breathing sit down, lengthen your spine and open your chest. Take the right hand and place pointer and middle fingers on your forehead, in between the eyebrows and rest your left hand in your lap. Then start taking deep breath.

• Close your right nostril with right thumb and inhale slowly through left nostril.
• Close your nose between your right thumb and ring finger and held the breath for a moment.
• Close your left nostril with right figure and exhale through the right nostril and wait for few seconds before you inhale again.
• Repeat this for few minutes.

8. Lion’s breath

Lion’s breath technique involves exhaling forcefully. You need to get into kneeling position, crossing your ankles and resting bottom on your feet and if you are not comfortable with this position try sitting crossed legged.

• First put your hands on your knees and stretch out your arms and fingers.
• Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth and open your mouth wider, allowing yourself to vocalize “ha” and stick your tongue out.
• Focus on your third eye (middle of your forehead) while exhaling
• Relax your face while inhaling again
• Repeat the process for some time.

Also read: How Stress Can Affect Your Workout, Fitness

Bottom line

Everyone at some point of time in their life experience anxiety as it is a natural part of the body’s reaction to threats or danger. Use one or two breathing techniques to relax your mind and calm down your anxiety. If your anxiety issues are getting worse, talk to your doctor about the symptoms and possible treatments.