When we get stressed our breathing becomes more rapid and shallow. Our body is getting ready for fight or flight. When we utilize breathing techniques or any form, we are triggering the opposite response in ourselves. Any breathing technique will slow down the breathing, and help your body to regulate back down to a calm state.
Controlled Breathing
This is one of the most basic breathing skills that you can implement. You are taking control of your breathing to get it back to a normal rate. Slowing down the breathing and taking in more air is the entire goal of this exercise. If you want to control it more, you may also choose to breathing in through your nose, and out through your mouth. Though that last step is optional.
Diaphramatic Breathing
Utilizing your diaphragm effectively will allow you to take in as much air as possible, increasing the amount of available oxygen. Here are some steps that you can take to help you gain more practice with exercising that muscle.
- Find a comfortable, quiet place to sit or lie down.
- Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen, just below your rib cage.
- Inhale slowly through your nose, allowing your abdomen to expand as you breathe in. Your chest should remain relatively still. You should also avoid using your abdominal muscles to push out your stomach, as this is not the same as using your diaphragm.
- Exhale slowly through your mouth, letting your abdomen fall as you breathe out.
- Continue this pattern of deep breathing, focusing on the rise and fall of your abdomen with each breath.
Box/Square Breathing
When starting to implement this skill you will start with either 3 or 4 seconds per side. In the instructions I will use 3 seconds, but you can expand that as you feel more and more comfortable with the skill.
- Breathe in for 3 seconds.
- Hold your breath for 3 seconds
- Breathe out for 3 seconds
- Hold your breath for 3 seconds.
- Repeat this for as long as you need in order to feel more calm and centered. Some people like to visual each side of a square or box being created with each step of the process.