Reduce Stress with Deep Breaths

Reduce Stress with Deep Breaths

Anyone who frequents a yoga class has heard the words “deep breaths” probably multiple times. Most yogis and non-yogis alike have heard the phrase “take a deep breath” at some point in their lives. And deep breathing is all over self help books and google searches as a major way to cope with stress. So what’s all the hype about deep breaths? Is it just a cliche or can it really make a difference? Here we explore how deep breathing can reduce stress in the body, and how to know if you’re doing it correctly (yes, there actually is a method to proper breathing!).

Deep Breaths and Stress
Deep breathing can have small, large, and profound effects on health and the body. Research shows that breathing deeply can reduce anxiety and depression, lower blood pressure, improve lung function, and improve sleep. Not to mention reducing stress and calming the body. How?Deep breaths, when done correctly, can move the body from its stress response, otherwise known as “fight or flight”, to a relaxed response, “rest and digest”. They actually engage the parasympathetic nervous system, reversing the stress response in your body, triggered by the body’s sympathetic nervous system. As you may hear in yoga classes, this can not only have positive physiological effects, but emotional effects as well. Deep breathing helps to quiet the mind, easing emotional turmoil and chatter.

How to Breathe Deeply and Reduce Stress
It sounds so easy right? Just take deep breaths. However, breathing properly is actually not intuitive to most adults. Unlike babies and small children, adults are influenced by learned behavior and often have a tendency to tense up the abdominal muscles when breathing, making the breaths shallower and more strained. To benefit fully from deep breathing, you first want to make sure you are relaxing the diaphragm and abdominal muscles, and sitting, standing, or lying in a way that provides space in the upper body for the breath to flow unobstructed and with ease. Place a hand on your belly and slowly inhale, filling the belly, the ribcage, the chest. As you exhale, release the air from top to bottom, fully contracting at the end of the exhale, hugging the belly button in toward the spine. This may feel counterintuitive to you, and you may feel muscles working that you don’t typically feel throughout the day.

We typically recommend to our clients to bring awareness to their breathing throughout the day. Some people respond well to numbers, and for those people we recommend trying to work up to taking about 100 deep breaths a day. For those of you who already have a meditation or other yoga practice, this may come naturally and easily. For many others, this may be something new and even intimidating. Relax, enjoy it! Breathe deeply as you walk down the hall, in between sips of water, during your kid’s soccer game, while you’re sitting in traffic, and as you drift off to sleep at night (the breathing will actually cause you to fall asleep faster!). Maybe you’ll start to notice differences in your response to stressful situations, your ability to manage daily tasks and social interactions, your energy, and your sleep.

Start today – start now! – practicing deep breaths to reduce stress. Contact us at Water and Rock Studio for help with stress relief, lifestyle goals, and to learn various breathing techniques!