Air Power -

Breathing Techniques

Find a comfortable place to sit and lower or close your eyes. Take five minutes (set your timer on your mobile phone if you like) to drop your shoulders and pay attention to your breath. That’s it! Just focus on your breath for five minutes. You can use this technique any time you being to feel anxious or upset about what’s happening in your world.  Your thoughts will start creeping in; send them on their way and go back to your breath.

Colors

You can imagine a color on your inhale (blue for example) and a different color on your exhale (red is a possibility). Blue has been known to produce a calming effect. Red often represents war and danger. By breathing in blue and out red you can imagine calm and quite entering your body and stress and anxiety leaving your body.

You may decide to choose one of the affirmations in the list above to use as a mantra as you breathe in and out repeating the word as you inhale and exhale.

Count

Inhale to the count of 3, then exhale to the count of 3. Then inhale to the count of 4 and exhale to the count of 4. Inhale and exhale slowly. Put one hand on your heart and the other on you belly. Feel your belly rise and fall with each round of breath.

Breathing techniques can invoke the relaxation response to combat the natural flight or flight response everyone has in response to danger. The problem in our modern world is that most of the time we aren’t really in grave danger, yet we automatically respond as if we our life is at risk. Think of a traffic jam. When we are stuck in traffic it can set off a series of chemical reactions in our body, cortisol and adrenaline rush through our system. Focused breathing can stop the rush of these chemicals when they are not necessary for speed and strength.  

For many of us traffic isn’t the only trigger. It can be an annoying co-worker, an overbearing boss, a nasty neighbor, or a child making a mess of a room you just cleaned. Or it could be misplacing our keys, a clogged sink, a pot that boils over. According to Dr. Charles F. Stroebel, the average person faces about 30 stressors a day, he calls them heart hassles. You may want to check out his book: Quieting Reflex available on Amazon.

Anytime you experience a trigger focusing on your breath can stop your anxiety.