 Things Most People Don’t Know About How To Relax By Breathing
Whenever you feel stressed, you would have heard one of your friends or colleagues ask you to Inhale! Exhale!
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To live is to breathe. It is something that we do involuntarily from the time we are born till our death. As we get stressed, our breathing pattern and rate get changed to get us prepared for either fight or flight.
Breathing exercises have a pivotal role in stress management. Stress is when you feel overwhelmed at some point in life. Your heart rate gets high, your legs go jelly, and your heads feel like exploding. The emotional and mental pressure is too much to handle. You feel as if everything is getting out of hand. Proper, calculated breathing exercises will work like a charm in such a case.
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How to relax by breathing? That is exactly what we are going to discuss.
Stress management and breathing
The main function of breathing is to absorb oxygen and to expel out carbon dioxide through the movement of the lungs.
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The movement of the lungs is controlled by muscles known as the diaphragm that lies underneath the lungs as a flimsy layer.
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Under stress, you take shallow breaths using your shoulders. That is why you feel the need for a good shoulder rub after a long stressful day!
With the change of the style of breathing the balance of the body gases gets disrupted. This is called “Hyperventilation”. It worsens the signs of stress and anxiety.
To manage these symptoms, controlled calculated breathing is very helpful.
What is relaxed breathing?
Particularly, it is when you take deep, long breathes through your abdomen instead of your chest. Other names for relaxed breathing are diaphragmatic breathing and abdominal (or belly) breathing.
How to relax by breathing?
- Make yourself comfortable by either sitting on a chair or lying down flat on either a floor or a mattress.
- Close your eyes.
- Through your nose, take long calculated breaths for a maximum of 5 seconds.
- Hold your breath for a fraction of a second.
- Release it also through the nose while counting for 5.
- Make your breaths as smooth, steady, and non-jerky as possible.
- You may get exhausted in the beginning while relaxing by controlled breathing. So, start it slow. Gradually, increase your reps.
How to crack the abdominal breathing code?
Keep one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. Follow the controlled, calculated breathing exercise mentioned above. Only your lower hand must be moving through the whole process. While the upper hand shall remain static.
Do I need any special equipment to relax by breathing?
The simplest answer is No. You do not need any special tool or gadget by breathing. All you need for this is Yourself! You can do it while sitting or lying, at any time of the day, at any place. Isn’t it amazing?
When shall I do controlled breathing?
You do not have to wait only for a stressful situation to practice controlled breathing. Rather, make it a daily ritual and a part of life. There is no rule of thumb for the number of counts you need to do by hook or by crook. Or how many times you have to do it. The soul of this exercise is to de-stress. Do it as per your ease and comfort. Never overburden yourself.
Brain’s role in deep controlled breathing
You relax by deep breathing. What exactly happens is that a message to calm down, de-stress, and relax is sent to your brain as you breathe deeply. Moreover, the whole body gets this message making you feel calm and collected once again.
Benefits of relaxed breathing
- An optimal level of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood
- Optimal blood pressure
- A kickass immune system
- Rejuvenated energy
- Higher level of feel-good hormones
- Lesser stress hormone levels in the blood
- Lesser lactic acid accumulates in the muscles
Disciplines that incorporate relaxation by breathing
Deep breathing meditation
It lowers your heart rate, increases the endorphin (happy hormone) levels, and manages the cortisol (stress hormone) levels in the blood.
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Deep breathing in itself is meditation. It helps in reducing anxiety, treating depression, enhancing memory, improving sleep cycle, and overall heart health.
Yoga and relaxation by breathing
For centuries, relaxed breathing is synonymous with yoga. The breathing techniques, Pranayama, are one of the most important aspects of yoga. Through these techniques, you can control your breathing. You can either do it either as a stand-alone exercise or in combination with yoga poses.
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The yoga asanas or poses that prove beneficial for de-stressing are:
- Ujjayi (Ocean’s Breath)
- Surya Bhedana (The Solar Breath)
- Bhastrika (The Bellow’s Breath)
- Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing)
Tai chi and relaxed breathing
Evidently, it is a very ancient Chinese tradition. The moves are similar to martial arts and dance. It involves stretches and moderate physical exercises. One move smoothly enters into the next. So, you are never still. That is why it is also referred to as “meditation in motion”. Through gentle movements, the mind connects with the body leading to calmness and relaxation.
Qi Gong and controlled breathing
It is also an ancient Chinese tradition involving martial arts. The difference between qi gong and tai chi is that qi gong targets a particular part of the body and is a single movement. Whereas tai chi is continuous motion targetting the whole body.
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You may go through a series of psychological and physiological changes during Qigong training. So, always do it under the supervision of a trained person. Otherwise, you may get impacted negatively by it.
Takeaway
These are some of the points to consider when you want to relax by breathing. Stress literally kills. It plays with one’s psychological and physical health. Nip the issue from the bud to live a happy, healthy life.
Disclaimer: Some people may get lightheaded or dizzy while doing controlled breathing. To overcome it all you have to do is to gradually go up and amp.