I had what I would call a stressful moment earlier this week when I almost had my car towed from the parking lot of a friend's apartment! There were only two ways to deal with the humorless pair of 'no' men that were holding my car hostage with their tow truck - the first was to give in gracefully and pay the $50 release fee. The second was to ensure that I remained calm by controlling my breathing.
If you find yourself taking shallow, rapid breaths during stressful moments then you are not getting enough oxygen to your brain or your body, and will feel lethargic and unable to operate at your best. Notice whether you take small breaths which barely move your abdomen. These breaths are likely to be quite rapid, since you are depriving your body of oxygen – you are in fact suffocating. It also makes you speak faster and sound less than composed! Learning to breath properly is very simple, yet underpins how you deal with everything else in your life. It is key to handling stressful situations and therefore how much emotional and physical stress you experience. It is the most basic form of stress management. You can use your breathing to teach your body to relax, which in turn helps you think more productively.
1. As you inhale, imagine that your abdomen is a balloon that you are slowly filling with air. (Note here that you are not focusing on filling your lungs, thereby breathing from your chest.)
2. Visualise how new born babies breath, with their tummies rising and falling in a relaxed and natural way.
3. Place your hand on your abdomen whilst you are inhaling.
4. Now observe your hand whilst you let your breath out, whilst imagining you are letting air out of your balloon (you may wish to imagine your navel as the entry and exit of this air)
5. Whilst exhaling, make sure your abdomen remains relaxed.
6. Take at least three more slow, deep, breaths whilst focusing on the movement of your abdomen.
Hints and tips
· Incorporate this every day, as often as you remember, but particularly when you are in a stressful situation such as being held up by tow away operatives.
· See if you can maintain this for up to 10 minutes at a time – it is the basis for many forms of meditation
· Practice when you are relaxing at home or sitting at your computer
· Practice when you are angry, nervous or suffering from insomnia
· Practice whenever you notice that your breathing in is shallow, fast or tense
· Practice until this becomes a habit!
· Breathing slowly and deeply is a signal to your mind and body to let go of stress and tension. It reduces the fight-or-flight instinct which causes so much of our stress.
Hints and tips
· Incorporate this every day, as often as you remember, but particularly when you are in a stressful situation such as being held up by tow away operatives.
· See if you can maintain this for up to 10 minutes at a time – it is the basis for many forms of meditation
· Practice when you are relaxing at home or sitting at your computer
· Practice when you are angry, nervous or suffering from insomnia
· Practice whenever you notice that your breathing in is shallow, fast or tense
· Practice until this becomes a habit!
· Breathing slowly and deeply is a signal to your mind and body to let go of stress and tension. It reduces the fight-or-flight instinct which causes so much of our stress.
And you can always visualise later what you might have done to the other guy - but visualisation is another stress buster for a later blog!
Have a stress free day!
Amanda
