What is the easiest way to relieve anxiety, that we almost always forget to do? Yes, you guessed it is breathing!! So, we often hear, breathe, just breathe it will be OK. But how often do we actually do this? I mean, really breathe.
Learning To Relieve Anxiety Through Breathing, My Story
First Lesson Learned
I remember the first time someone asked me, and I thought, OK, I will breathe instead of already breathing.
My supervisor asked me to look at the clock for 7 seconds and make my one single breath take that whole amount of time. I remember staring at the clock, then staring at him, then staring at the clock again thinking I will surely die in the next 3 seconds. There was no way I could get the breath to take the whole 7 seconds. For me at the time, that was an eternity.
From then on, when I would go to work, my supervisor would ask me, ” Are you breathing ” I would say yes. Then, he would look and ask again, and say BREATHE! I would stop, take a deep breath and wait for a second to feel something relax. Then realize that maybe, just maybe (kinda like the grinch), I had not been breathing. I mean really breathing, entirely down in my belly or diaphragm. I had not been giving myself a chance to slow down, get oxygen, and process what was going on in the moment.
Still Using the Breathing Skill Today
It was the first skill I learned that changed how I did things. It was something that I needed to practice a lot. I would forget to breathe quite frequently before I started this practice. I would hold my breath, which showed up in everything I did, from riding to work with clients to my relationships with friends and family. It’s amazing how much anxiety and stress not taking time to breathe can add to your daily life.
That was 12 years ago, and now I take that deep breath all the time as routinely as the sun rises. I even try to take breaths that are even longer and make sure that I breathe before I respond to challenging situations. But, it was not always like that.
What Breathing Does
That is what breathing actually does; it allows us, people, to have time and ability to go through all kinds of really cool medical terms that I do not fully understand to take oxygen out of the air, put it in the blood, run it around in our body give our body energy then push out carbon dioxide. That is pretty darn amazing if you ask me, yet we take it all for granted. We do it without thought and without consideration of anything. So, what if we thought about our breathing for just a minute and tried a few different types of breathing out that could be helpful to reduce the anxiety and stress of the day?
3 Effective Techniques to Relieve Anxiety Through Breathing
You can look up all different types of breathing; however, these are a few of my favorites, and they are easy to do and can even be fun.
Box Breathing
Also known as four-square breathing, box breathing is effortless to learn and practice. If you’ve ever noticed yourself inhaling and exhaling to the rhythm of a song, you’re already familiar with this type of paced breathing. It goes like this:
- Exhale to a count of four.
- Hold your lungs empty for a four-count.
- Inhale to a count of four.
- Hold the air in your lungs for a count of four.
- Exhale and begin the pattern anew.
- This one is like singing in the Rain just singing in the rain happy as can be I am singing in the rain. You can sing your way to better breathing or play your favorite air instrument and breathe.
The 4-7-8 breathing exercise
Also called the relaxing breath, this exercise acts as a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system. At first, it’s best to perform the exercise seated with your back straight. However, once you become more familiar with this breathing exercise, you can perform it while lying in bed.
- Place and keep the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue behind your upper front teeth for the duration of the exercise.
- Completely exhale through your mouth, making a “whoosh” sound.
- Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.
- Hold your breath for a count of seven.
- Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight.
- This one you may want to think about being on a hammock or swing sitting at the ocean. Something that goes swoosh. So that you can feel that relaxation swinging back and forth. Swish swish swish swish.
Lion’s Breath
Lion’s breath, or simhasana in Sanskrit, during which you stick out your tongue and roar like a lion, is another helpful deep breathing practice. It can help relax your face and jaw muscles, alleviate stress, and improve cardiovascular function. The exercise is best performed in a comfortable, seated position, leaning forward slightly with your hands on your knees or the floor.
- Spread your fingers as wide as possible.
- Inhale through your nose.
- Open your mouth wide, stick out your tongue, and stretch it down toward your chin.
- Exhale forcefully, carrying the breath across the root of your tongue.
- While exhaling, make a “ha” sound that comes from deep within your abdomen.
- Breathe normally for a few moments.
- Repeat the lion’s breath up to seven times.
You feel a bit silly breathing this way, but you can pretend that you are a lion, and you are roaring for a reason. If you have children, ask them to help you pretend to be lions with you and make a game or your spouse or significant other. It can be fun and when things are fun, they are relaxing. When we are relaxed, we forget to be anxious!!
Anxious vs. Deep Breathing
When we are anxious, we tend to take shallow rapid breaths from our chest.
So when we breathe from our chest we are breathing short breathes and this can cause problems in carbon dioxide levels which can in turn cause problems with heart rate dizziness and muscle tension and other physical symptoms. If you are not getting enough oxygen in your blood, then your body starts to respond in a flight or fight way.
Deep breathing on the other hand stimulates a different type of nervous system. It stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system. So deep breathing will help you to avoid getting into the fight or flight state. The trick is to remember to use it.
Determine Your Breathing Pattern
The easiest way to determine your breathing pattern is to put one hand on your upper abdomen, near the waist, and the other in the middle of your chest. As you breathe, notice which hand raises the most.
If you’re breathing from your abdomen should expand and contract with each breath (and the hand on it should raise the most). It’s important to be aware of these differences during stressful and anxious times when you’re more likely to breathe from your chest.
So, are you breathing a little bit differently now? Are you willing to try some different types of breathing now? Pick a type of breathing and practice at least once a day or for as many times a day as you can remember. See what happens when you remember to breathe, relax, and play a little bit. Play around with the breathing. Have some fun with it and see what happens…
If you want to know more about breathing or other tips that can be helpful to manage or reduce anxiety please contact me.
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Other Services at Gray Horse Counseling
Anxiety treatment is only one of the many services we offer at our Powhatan, VA-located therapy practice. Our other services at Gray Horse Counseling include individual therapy, group therapy, equine-assisted psychotherapy & learning, and equine sports. Further, we offer clinical supervision to counseling professionals in a school or looking to broaden their knowledge. Our specialties also include anxiety and depression, as well as healing from trauma. Learn more about us by checking out our FAQs, and reading more about us. Then, contact us to get the help you deserve!