A beginners guide to relaxation and breathing
Your breathing directly reflects the level of tension you carry in your body. When tense your breathing will become shallow and rapid and occur high in the chest. When you're relaxed you breathe more fully and more deeply, from your abdomen.
Abdominal breathing helps increase the oxygen to your brain and improve concentration as a result, by itself it can trigger a relaxation response, helping you to quiet your thoughts and focus your attention.
Practice the below 5 step calming breathing technique for five minutes each day until you feel comfortable and have mastered the pattern. You can begin to use this technique in times of stress. Eventually you will retrain yourself to breathe from your abdomen. The more you can shift the center of your breathing from your chest to your abdomen, the more consistently you will be able to feel relaxed on an ongoing basis.
The following calming breathing technique can help you achieve abdominal breathing and relaxation quickly.
Breathing from your abdomen, inhale through your nose slowly to a count of five. Count slowly “one..two...three..four..five” as you inhale.
Pause and hold your breath for the same count of five.
Exhale slowly, through your nose or mouth, to the same count of five.
When you’ve exhaled, take two breaths in your normal rhythm.
Repeat the above steps for the count of six and then to the count of seven (if you are able), don't increase the count beyond the breath being comfortable.
