Breathing exercises for anxiety

Your body automatically goes into a state of emergency the moment you are feeling anxious. Your heart rate and blood pressure rise. This is your body’s way of putting you in the physical state required to literally escape a perceived threat.

Subconsciously, you begin to breathe from your chest. This phenomenon is the cause of many panic-related symptoms such as nausea, shortness of breath, and dizziness.

Taking deep deliberate breaths starting from your abdomen, signals to the rest of your body that everything is fine. The key to this relaxation technique is that you fill your entire lungs with air, rather than just the upper part. These deep breaths evoke a calming response within your body, reversing many of the anxiety-related symptoms.

You can monitor how you are breathing by placing one hand on your belly and one hand on your chest. Whenever you take a deep breath, the hand on you belly should move, while the hand on your chest should barely move at all. Breathing this way requires the use of a muscle called the diaphragm. Most people are used to using the muscles in their upper chest, neck, back, and shoulders instead of their diaphragm, which results in shallow breathing.

Start practicing breathing from your belly by sighing and just letting the air out of your lungs. This helps relax the tensed-up muscles in the upper part of your body. Next, inhale through your nose, while pushing out your abdomen. After inhaling, pause for a moment and subsequently exhale while pulling your abdomen in. You will notice that you take bigger breaths this way, and that you breathe slower. Keep breathing like this for a couple of minutes and your body will already begin to feel more relaxed.