A Relaxation Exercise to Improve the Quality of Your Breathing

We all take breathing for granted. It just happens involuntarily, and yet most of us still manage to get it all wrong. There are many reasons for stress these days. Responses to stress can include panic attacks, agitation, or worse, effects on how we breathe. Sometimes when we know it is necessary to focus on our breathing to achieve calmness, we tend to over-compensate. Breathing too deeply will cause a rapid decrease in the levels of carbon dioxide, CO2 in the blood and as soon as it happens you will then become short of breath and hence you will have successfully achieved exactly the opposite outcome you were looking for. When we get stressed over something we feel we cannot control, we become flustered and if we let this happen frequently the stress can, and most likely will lead to other more serious long term illness. We really can cause ourselves stress and sickness when there is none present, merely by breathing incorrectly all day long.

I know myself, that when I am in deep concentration I catch myself not breathing correctly, it's too shallow and I need to get up and walk away for a moment to 'reset' the pattern. If you try to make yourself aware of this by setting your mental alarm clock for every1 to 2 hours to check up on yourself, you will soon find that it becomes habitual to do so and your breathing is more likely to be normal. Shallow breathing is no good. Our muscles tense up when we are stressed and when those are chest muscles or the muscles around our head, neck and shoulders, we begin to breathe in a more shallow pattern. It's strange how when our bodies try to get more air, we actually give it less by allowing stress to take over our way of thinking.

In many Eastern traditions such as Yoga, we are taught to have controlled breathing. We are taught that our breath is the essence of life...and it is. It allows more oxygen to circulate to all areas of the body, and can slow our heart rates, lower our blood pressure and even make us become more tolerant to pain. Hypnosis and self hypnosis can allow you to relax in just the same way. I practice self hypnosis each day, and can achieve a great sense of relaxation and feeling of being rested and focused after just 20 minutes, even if I have had a very strenuous day either physically or mentally.

Become more aware of yourself, and what makes you feel good. If Yoga and Hypnotherapy are not for you, take the time 3 to 5 times each day to stand and stretch your whole body for just 5 minutes. When doing this, breathe deeply or in pattern with what you are doing. Make sure to exhale a little deeper than you breathed in. I have many times even had a toothache disappear simply from controlled breathing and directing a sense of calm throughout my whole body, rather than concentrating on how much my tooth hurts. Pain causes you to feel irritated, you then become stressed and before you know it you are once again depriving yourself of oxygen and less tolerant of the pain you began with. It's a vicious cycle which really can be controlled.

Relaxation Exercise:

Try this next time you feel a headache coming on, or after you have been sitting idle for an hour. Sitting at the computer writing, playing a game, or otherwise concentrating on something which has required your full attention will surely have you breathing way too shallow and a headache will be imminent if you don't have one already. It's time to regenerate your system.

If you would like to print this next section to keep for future personal use only, please do so. I recommend recording yourself saying it, very slowly, and simply hit "Play" on your computer each time you take a break. Most people do not like listening to themselves on a recording, but your own voice is more affective since your subconscious is being directly instructed by you. It is far more effective.

*Don't record the sections in "()"

(Stand up)

"I slowly stretch my arms way above my head and hold for a few seconds... the higher I reach the better it feels. My lungs are filling with fresh air and it feels wonderful. I exhale, counting slowly as I go, 5, 4 , 3, 2 ,1. I close my eyes and now I can feel the tension leaving my body, upward and outward, through my fingertip....... one at a time."

(Pause and count 15 seconds)

"I now reach forward as if I'm picking a large shiny apple from a tree way over the other side of a fence. I am feeling refreshed and relaxed."

(Pause and count 15 seconds)

"I slowly lean forward now... and I continue to reach outward as I go, breathing in and out, slowly and deeply...in........and now exhaling even deeper than before, allowing all of the muscles in my middle to gently relax and to stretch."

(Pause and count 15 seconds)

"Reaching now toward my toes... very slowly... it doesn't matter if I can't touch my toes because the stretching upward and forward will has allowed my back muscles to relax..... and each and every time I do this I will notice I can reach even further ...and further toward the floor. Relaxing, stretching.... breathing in......and out even deeper than before. My head is hanging down ....... my neck muscles are now loose and relaxed, I feel calm..... and I feel comfortable."

(Pause and count 30 seconds)

(now, whether you are actually touching the floor or not, say......)

"I now find myself with the palms of my hands flat on the floor....I feel the texture of the floor on my palms.....I am continuing to breath slowly and deeply....relaxing..and stretching."

(Slowly raise back up, counting to 20 and drawing your hands up your legs as you go. Keep your eyes opened when returning to standing position.)

(Drink a glass of water.)

Not only does this make your back, neck and shoulders feel great, but any tension you had which might have been giving you headaches from time to time will be gone. Even if you don't have a headache, try it for the benefit of learning to breathe correctly.

Now, how's that headache?

You either forgot you even had one, it's gone altogether, or you've become more tolerant to it to a point where you don't feel the need to grab a another pill.

Now, stop!

How are you breathing right now?