Do you often feel anxious, have trouble breathing, or even have panic attacks? Do you want to get rid of these painful emotions and find peace and confidence? If so, you need to learn some simple and effective breathing exercises that can help you control your breathing during times of high anxiety, reduce your stress, and allow you to better cope with life’s challenges.
What is the principle of breathing exercises? In fact, when we feel anxious, our breathing often becomes shallow and fast, which can cause our body to be deprived of oxygen and produce a series of uncomfortable symptoms, such as dizziness, palpitation, chest tightness, etc. These symptoms in turn exacerbate our anxiety, creating a vicious cycle. By controlling our breathing, we can allow our bodies to receive sufficient oxygen and restore normal physiological balance, thereby alleviating the psychological impact of anxiety.
So, what breathing exercises can help us relieve anxiety? Today, we will introduce to you four simple and easy-to-learn breathing exercises. They are:
- Breathe deeply or abdominally
- Calm breathing
- 4-7-8 breathing method
- Rolling Breathing Technique
Next, we will explain the specific steps and precautions for these four breathing exercises one by one.
Deep breathing or abdominal breathing
First, it’s deep breathing or abdominal breathing. The purpose of this breathing exercise is to completely fill our lungs with oxygen, slow down the rate of breathing and prevent hyperventilation. The specific operation method is:
- Sit or lie down on a comfortable surface.
- Place one hand on your ribs and the other on your belly, just below your ribs.
- Breathe in slowly through your nose and focus on filling the deepest parts of your lungs. Pay attention to your hands; the hand on your stomach should be moving, but the hand on your chest should not.
- Exhale through your mouth, forming a tight circle with your lips. Breathe out all the air.
You can repeat this exercise three to ten times at a time. Don’t rush through it; the goal is to focus on your breathing and slow it down.
Calm Breathing
The second breathing exercise is calming breathing. The purpose of this breathing exercise is to make our breathing even and regular, which, like deep breathing, helps prevent hyperventilation. If you’re feeling extremely anxious or suspect you might be having a panic attack, this breathing exercise is an effective way to calm yourself down. The specific operation method is:
- Sit or lie somewhere comfortable where you are fully supported, such as a bed or armchair. If you are wearing tight clothes that make it difficult to breathe, loosen those clothes.
- Place your feet hip-width apart, such as flat on the floor or on a bed with your knees bent.
- Keep your arms away from your sides, such as on the armrests of a chair.
- Breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose, counting to five. If you can’t count to five, count as many as you can.
- Without stopping or holding your breath, immediately start exhaling through your mouth for a count of five.
Repeat this action for five minutes.
4-7-8 breathing method
The third breathing exercise is the 4-7-8 breathing technique. The purpose of this breathing exercise is to regularize the rhythm of our breathing, and counting can help you focus beyond anxious thoughts. If you find yourself breathing too fast, you can use the 4-7-8 breathing technique to slow down and reverse hyperventilation. The specific operation method is:
- Sit or lie down comfortably with one hand on your belly and the other on your chest.
- Inhale deeply through your nose, expanding your belly, and count to four.
- Hold your breath and count to seven.
- Breathe out through your mouth, counting to eight, focusing on completely emptying your lungs.
You can repeat this several times until you feel calm.
Rolling Breathing Technique
The final breathing exercise is rolling breathing. The purpose of this breathing exercise is to allow us to breathe more deeply and fully, and if you can’t get deep into your lungs, rolling breathing can help you find that space and calm down. The specific operation method is:
- Lie flat on your back on a comfortable surface. Bend your knees so your feet are flat, place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.
- Breathe into your lower lungs so that the hand on your stomach moves but the hand on your chest does not move.
- Continue to inhale to expand your chest and lift your hands on your chest.
- Exhale and return your hands to their original height.
Repeat this process several times or until you feel calmer.
The above are the four breathing exercises for relieving anxiety that we have introduced to you. They are all simple and easy to learn, and you can do them at any time and anywhere. Of course, breathing exercises are not a panacea for treating anxiety. If your anxiety seriously affects your quality of life, you should seek professional psychological counseling or treatment. However, breathing exercises can be used as a self-help method to help you find calm when you are anxious, enhance your self-control, and allow you to better face the difficulties and challenges in life.
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