Five Breathing Exercises for Anxiety Simple And Calm Anxiety Quickly
Time and time again, we're told what a robust tool breathing exercises are often for reducing anxiety and, more specifically, the physical effects anxiety has on our bodies.
Yet how often have you ever gone hunting to seek out suitable breathing exercises, for anxiety only to encounter a string of complex yoga jargon, and techniques that take goodbye to master that they just do not fit the purpose?
After all, when you're in the grip of crippling anxiety or a full-blown scare, you don't have the time to assume the position and begin worrying about pranayama, whatever that's.
What you would like are quick, simple solutions you'll apply right there to relax your breathing and return to feeling calm and on top of things within seconds.
Today, we'll check out five of the most straightforward breathing techniques for doing just that, starting from powerful techniques you'll use to curtail anxiety before it escalates to quick fixes you'll use in an emergency whenever a scare strikes.
Why do breathing exercises for anxiety work?
Stop doing what you do, and take a deep breath. Doesn't it just feel better?
At that moment, you've focused only thereon breath. Your mind is occupied with something other than reading this text, taking note of ground noise, or getting lost within the thousand and one thoughts rushing through your mind. Instead, it's tuned only to its breath, on the slow, deep inhale and calm, relaxing exhale.
Take another deep breath, and at this point, concentrate on how you are feeling. This time, you'll notice that not only is your mind clearer due to the abovementioned rationale, but you also simply feel physically different, albeit just for a flash.
This is because, as you specialize in those slow, deep breaths, you're sending a message to your brain that it's time for calm. Your brain, in turn, sends messages throughout your body that end in that feeling of calm washing gently over you.
Now, compare this to what happens when you're in hysteria.
When you get anxious, you tend to do thoracic -or chest-breathing, rapidly releasing quick, shallow breaths.
Often, rather than slowing down your breathing, you get trapped in how those rapid breaths cause you to feel as if you're not getting enough oxygen, thus escalating panic. This sends all types of confusing signals to the brain, which, in response, sends its own signals back through the body, negatively affecting your levels of oxygen and CO2. As a result, your blood isn't sufficiently oxygenated. Thus, you finish with all the classic symptoms of hysteria and panic attacks, like a thumping heart, dizziness, and muscle tension.
When you finally note your breathing and consciously return it to slow, even diaphragmatic breathing (breathing using your diaphragm), you signal to your brain that it's time to correct the oxygen and CO2 levels, alleviate those symptoms and make you feel calm and relaxed within the process.
So, that's the science stuff out of the way, but how does one use breathing exercises for anxiety?
Quick and practical breathing exercises for anxiety
Here are five quick and effective techniques you'll use immediately, or whenever you would like them, to return to a peaceful state of calm.
1. Easy breathing technique
Let's start with one of the only and best techniques available.
You might have seen this mentioned as "belly breathing" or "diaphragmatic breathing techniques." Whatever name you see it by, the technique is actually equivalent.
Abdominal breathing technique in action:
Sitting or lying in a comfortable position, close your eyes, relax your shoulders, and let any muscle tension disappear if possible.
Inhale deeply and slowly through your nose. Your bellow should expand while your chest rises a little or not. If it helps, you'll touch your bellow and feel the inhaled breath pushing that hand up.
Exhale slowly through your mouth. Keep your jaw relaxed, and purse your lips as you blow, though remember to keep the exhale pleasant and delicate. Again, you'll keep your hand on your stomach and really lightly down as you exhale.
Repeat for several minutes until you feel calm again.
Like most of those exercises, you'll find it helpful to practice this one even when you're feeling anxious. That way, you'll know what to try when the time comes that you simply do get to use it.
2. Buteyko breathing method
One common symptom of an anxiety or panic attack is hyperventilating. This involves breathing so rapidly that it almost feels like you simply can't get enough oxygen into your lungs regardless of what you are doing.
In actual fact, the very opposite is occurring. Hyperventilation is caused by excessive oxygen getting into the, upsetting the oxygen/carbon dioxide balance and inducing those feelings of panic. The Buteyko method readdresses that balance, proving to be highly effective in stopping hyperventilation.
Buteyko breathing method in action:
- Sit comfortably, and take a mild inhale through the nose.
- Just as gently, exhale again through the nose.
- Immediately following the exhale, pinch your nose with your fingers and hold your breath.
- Continue to hold your breath for as long as you can.
- When you feel a natural urge to breathe again, abandon the nose and exhale.
- Resume breathing as usual as possible.
- Wait 30 – 60 seconds and repeat until you feel calm and relaxed.
Fans of best-selling author and performance coach Tony Robbins may already be conversant in this one.
Featured in Robbins' groundbreaking 2001 book Unlimited Power, this powerful technique can assist you in quickly moving from the shallow thoracic breathing that creates panic attacks to the deep. This diaphragm breath leaves us calm and relaxed.
Like all the breathing exercises we're watching today, this one has the additional advantage that by focussing thereon and it alone, we're ready to take our thoughts far away from the anxiety trigger, putting our minds during a clear, calm state from which we will better tackle what's ahead folks.
It's called 1:4:2 because that ratio won't determine how long to inhale, hold, and exhale breath.
Using that ratio for an initial count of 5, for instance, the technique would appear as this:
- Inhale for five seconds
- Hold your breath for specific 20 seconds
- Exhale for 10 seconds.
If you discover this is often excessive, you'll constantly adjust the number of seconds, providing you stick with an equivalent ratio.
You could, for instance, do the following:
- Inhale for 3 seconds
- Hold your breath for 12 seconds
- Exhale for 6 seconds.
Tony Robbins recommends doing 10 "power breaths" 3 times each day. However, although you don't remember to do it throughout your day, repeating this exercise ten times when you're battling anxiety can help alleviate the symptoms you're handling.
4. Equal breathing
If all that talk about numbers and ratios causes you more anxiety than it solves, here's a simpler version. This one focuses on inhaling and for an equal number of breaths.
Equal inhaling action:
- Breathe in slow and steady through the nose for a count of 4.
- Relax and exhale for an equivalent count of 4.
- Repeat until you feel calm and relaxed.
- You might also find using this one before bed helpful if your anxiety is causing you sleep problems.
5. Alternate nostril breathing
Finally, we come to at least one of the trickier breathing exercises for anxiety, albeit one which will prove hugely beneficial in helping us move from thoracic to diaphragmatic breathing and regaining focus when fear sends your thoughts into a spin.
Alternate nostril technique in action:
- Place your thumb right over your nostril.
- Breathe in through your left nostril.
- Put your finger over your left nostril and exhale through the proper nostril.
Alternate inhaling through one nostril and out through the opposite, blocking whichever nostril you're not using.
Choose the most straightforward breathing exercises for your anxiety.
While a number of these techniques are best utilized in specific circumstances (such as Buteyko for hyperventilation), all ultimately achieve an equivalent result — Getting us out of these fast, shallow breaths that cause our anxiety symptoms and back to the deep, relaxing breaths that leave us feeling calm.
Conclusion: To determine which one is best for you, you would possibly want to require a while to practice all and choose for yourself which is the best in alleviating your anxiety.
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