Feeling overwhelmed by stress and anxiety? You’re not alone, as many people experience these feelings on a daily basis. Thankfully, there are some simple yet powerful breathing exercises you can do to help reduce your stress levels and increase mental clarity.
Here are five breathing exercises that will help you get back on track and take control of your emotions:
- The 4-7-8 Breath: This exercise follows a simple pattern of four seconds of inhalation, seven seconds of holding your breath, and eight seconds for exhalation. Studies have shown this to be an effective technique to reduce stress and promote relaxation.
- Alternate Nostril Breathing: This exercise helps to bring balance between the left brain (logic) and right brain (creative). It involves inhaling through one nostril while keeping the other closed with your hand, then repeating the process with the other nostril. This can be done for several minutes at a time.
- The Lion’s Breath:The Lion’s Breath is used to release tension in the face and neck muscles while also calming down racing thoughts in the mind. To do it, first open your mouth wide while sticking out your tongue extended as far as possible towards your chin; then exhale with a big “ha!” sound like a lion roaring. Do this three or four times in succession for maximum effect!
- Ujjayi Pranayama: Ujjayi Pranayama is an ancient yogic technique which involves lengthening out the exhalation while constricting the throat slightly while making an “aahh” sound at the end of each exhale; allowing you to stay more focused in stressful moments and breathe deeply from your abdomen instead of shallowly from your chest area as per usual during times of anxiety or stress.
- Diaphragmatic Breathing: Diaphragmatic breathing involves placing one hand on the chest area while placing another on the stomach region; allowing you to become more aware of where air is entering in most, along with helping focus on deeper belly breaths instead of shallow ones that come about due to anxiousness or distressful situations.
Give these five stress relieving exercises a try whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed; they could potentially make all the difference in how quickly you regain composure amidst unsettling conditions!”