Breathing Exercises To Help Relieve Stress And Anxiety
My students know that in any class I teach, we will be doing a lot of slow breathing to calm that fight or flight pattern that goes on in our nervous system all week long.
“When you take in slow, steady breaths, your brain gets the message that all is well and activates the parasympathetic response, said Dr. Brown. When you take shallow rapid breaths or hold your breath, the sympathetic response is activated. ‘If you breathe correctly, your mind will calm down,’ said Dr. Patricia Gerbarg, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at New York Medical College and Dr. Brown’s co-author”
Lying on your back, breath in through your nose to a count of six and slowly release the breath to a count of six. Breath deep from the belly filling your lungs with air. Close your eyes and become aware of the slow breathing patterns. This type of yoga breathing has so many benefits for the reduction of tension, stress, anxiety and that overall feeling of being overwhelmed.