Self-Care Resources
Don't know how? Here's how!
Break a Habit, Stop Smoking, Ease Anxiety, Manage Drinking, Performance Enhancement, Regain Self-Esteem, and Much More.
Skip Navigation Links
Walker
|
Care-Home
|
First-Aid
|
Guides
|
Audio
|
Improvement
|
Contact-Us
It starts with breath
Technique 1: Take a breath to ease anxiety.
A simple and widely recognised technique for reducing anxiety is to take a deeper breath than normal. Fear and anxiety tend to result in the body as a whole tensing up slightly and at the same time breathing can become shallow. Taking a deep and slow breath reverses some of this physical response to anxiety and can ease the physical feelings. This in turn reduces the mental level of anxiety and encourages calmness.
Breathing is so effective that it is used as a core theme in meditation and relaxation practices. A simple breath at the appropriate time, or three deep and slow breaths taken one after another can be very effective at changing many emotional states.
Technique 2: Breathe with imagination to relax.
Combining controlled breathing with a simple process of imagination can be used for relaxation. This is a form of meditation or trance work and consists of breathing slowly and deeply whilst holding a particular thought, image, or word in mind. Alternatively, focussing attention on physical feelings or the action of breathing can produce a similar relaxing effect.
Technique 3: The Breath of Life.
There are a number of specific breathing techniques that are used in meditation, for athletic preparation, for performing arts, to release tension, and to trigger the Relaxation Reflex. These breathing techniques are known by various names, such as "Resonant Breath", "Seven-Eleven Breathing", "Conscious Breathing", and so on. The techniques have slight variations but are similar to the one that I describe below. There is no single 'proper' or 'best' technique and I suggest that you try different techniques and use the one that works for you and is easy to remember. Overall I call these breathing techniques the "Breath of Life".
Take 4 to 6 deep breaths following a 7-11 pattern. Breathe in through your nose to a mental count of 7 and out through your mouth to a mental count of 11. When you breathe in, breathe in a little more deeply than usual and breathe right down to your belly. When you breathe out, breathe out slowly and fully. Blow your breath out as if you were gently blowing out a candle. Yawn and stretch as you wish. Check your body is comfortable and allow your mind to focus on your breathing. Do this when you want to relax or at the start of any of the self-care guides.
Continue