Have you ever practiced breathing exercises for stress?
Do you know the steps to exercise it correctly? How can you make breathing exercises a part of your routine? Read on to find out more.
Breathing exercises for stress
Take a deep breath and then let it out. You must have felt good. Your practice of some simple breathing exercises may have a significant and noticeable effect on your psychological state, so we talk about breathing exercises for stress in the following article:
Breathing exercises for stress
You can do stress and anxiety breathing exercises anywhere and quickly. It is a simple and effective way to relieve stress, and you will notice better results if you make it a part of your daily routine.
There are many types of breathing exercises for stress, such as:
1.Counted Breathing
Counting your breaths may be useful in terms of controlling your breathing rate or as a form of meditation. You can do this exercise as follows:
- Place your tongue on the palate, just behind the teeth.
- Breathe deeply through your nose and count to five.
- Exhale through your mouth for a count of eight.
- Repeat the previous steps several times.
- One form of this exercise is called the 4-7-8 breathing exercise in which you inhale and count to four, then wait for a count of seven, and then exhale and count to eight as you exhale. Counted breathing generally helps empty the lungs completely and aid relaxation.
2.Diaphragmatic breathing
Abdominal breathing helps to use the diaphragm correctly and feel relaxed and comfortable. You can practice this breathing exercise for 5-10 minutes and repeat it 3-4 times a day. It can be performed through the following steps:
- Lie on your back, put your head on a pillow, and bend your knees slightly.
- Place one hand above the chest and the other below the rib cage to notice the movement of the diaphragm.
- Inhale slowly through your nose and feel the pressure of your abdomen on your hand.
- Exhale with your lips pressed in, tightening the abdominal muscles.
- You can put a book on your stomach to make the exercise more difficult, or you can do it while sitting.
3.Progressive Muscle Relaxation
In this exercise, certain muscles in the body are tightened while taking the inhale and then gradually loosening the tension with the exhale. This exercise helps in mental and physical relaxation at the same time. You can do the following:
- Lie on the floor in a way that is comfortable for you.
- Take a few deep breaths to relax.
- Breathe in while tightening the muscles of the foot.
- Exhale while relaxing the muscles in the feet.
- Breathe in while tightening the calf muscles.
- Exhale while relaxing the calf muscles.
- Continue working out the remaining muscles, including your abs, chest, fingers, arms, shoulders, neck and face.
How to incorporate breathing exercises into your daily ?routine
Doing breathing exercises does not require much time, which makes it easier for you to incorporate it into your daily routine. Some tips may help you with that, such as:
- Choose a quiet, comfortable place to practice breathing.
- Don't be passive when exercising, as it can increase your stress .
- Start by doing breathing exercises for no more than five minutes on a daily basis.
- If you feel like five minutes is too long to start, reduce your workout to two minutes only.
- Increase the time when you feel the exercise has become easier and more comfortable for you.
- Try to practice breathing exercises daily, several times a day, at set times.
4.Other ways to relieve stress
Other ways to help relieve stress include the following:
- The practice of sport regularly.
- Meditation practice.
- Follow a healthy and balanced diet.
- Avoid smoking and drinking alcohol.
- Avoid stress triggers for you.
- Request for medical psychological advice.