7/11 Breathing

Improve Stress, Depression, Anxiety & Panic by changing the way that you breathe.

Would it surprise you to know that most people aren’t very good at breathing?

Why is breathing important for reducing stress and depression?

Each breath takes the vital lifeforce nutrient of oxygen into the lungs, where it’s picked up by the blood and carried around the body. A good supply of oxygen is vital for the optimum health and performance of all internal organs. This is especially true of brain function. Low oxygen levels lead to mental fog, and negative thougths – and even contributes to depression.

Without a good supply of oxygen, the body cannot efficiently make use of the energy in our food. This can lead to feelings of lethargy, procrastination and a loss of motivation.

Shallow breathing leads your body to believe that your environment isn’t safe (hiding from a predator)and so it will release stress hormones just in case you need to fight or run away.

Learning to breathe well is one of the most important steps to feeling better. So how do you know if you are breathing well or not? A good way to test is to lie flat on the floor with one hand resting on your chest and the other hand resting on your tummy. Relax and let your natural breathing rhythm begin. If the chest hand moves more than the tummy hand, your breath is shallow. If the tummy hand moves more then, well done! You are good at breathing.

Whether you are good at breathing or not, regular deeper breathing calms the mind and helps to reduce stress hormones that contribute to anxiety or worry.

Breathing happens all by itself, finding it’s own rhythm. Re-train your natural rhythm to breathe deeply. Sit quietly for a moment and take the time to notice your breathing rhythm. If you are aware that you are not breathing very deeply, try this exercise.

1. Breathe in for the count of 7.
2. Exhale to the count of eleven.
3. Repeat 10 times.

If you find that it is uncomfortable to focus on breathing in, then just pay attention to the exhale. The key to this exercise is to be aware that it is the extended out breath, which lowers the alert state by sending a biochemical signal to the brain to switch off adrenaline production.

After you have done some deep breathing, notice how you feel. How do you notice that you are more relaxed or calm? Is it a physical feeling in the shoulders or tummy? Or do you notice that you are able to think more clearly? It’s good to notice how you can benefit from this exercise.

Practice this exercise as often during the day as you can manage.

Breathing deeply before eating relaxes the stomach and aids digestion.

If you like, when you are breathing deeply, you can allow yourself to imagine something soothing or calming.

Perhaps a memory of a relaxing time you’ve had, or recalling a soothing massage, or just visualising a serene picture or your favourite pet.

Soon you will begin to notice that you are sleeping more soundly, waking more refreshed and are able to respond to things around you in a more comfortable way.