Breathing Techniques to Ease Anxiety

Do you find your mind running away from you sometimes?

Do these runaway thoughts often send you spiraling down into the pits of anxiety?

If you’re searching for a way to focus your mind, body, and emotions, breathing techniques may be the answer.

None of us enjoy struggling with anxiety. I’m sure you don’t purposefully set out a welcome mat for worry or invite it to dinner. Anxiety is stealthy and creeps into your life like a peace thief. Anxiety is also unique in that you can’t battle it “fire with fire.”

You have to be stealthy too. Your best defense is to convince your other senses to join your side of the battle. I’ll show you how with the breathing techniques listed below.

Why Breathing?

First of all, to enlist a breathing technique of your own, you need to understand its importance.

When you practice deep breathing, your parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) is stimulated. The PSNS is responsible for functions that happen when your body is in rest mode, like digestion, sexual arousal, and eating.

Conversely, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is the portion that anxiety likes to target directly. This activates the well-known fight or flight response evident in high anxiety moments. It’s then that your SNS is at work, telling your heart to beat rapidly and lungs to breathe faster.

Breathing techniques are the secret language of the body, per se. Essentially, the messages you send from your respiratory system travel swiftly to major parts of the brain, including the PSNS.

Five In Five Out

The aim of this exercise is five breaths per minute. You breathe in normally for five seconds and exhale normally for five seconds.

For you mathematicians, the numbers don’t come out to 60 seconds, but when varied counting speeds are accounted for, most people come pretty close.

The goal is to breathe slowly and consistently.

Resistance Breathing

This type of breathing is a very common practice among singers for training their lungs and thoracic diaphragm. It can be helpful for those of us who can’t carry a tune, as well.

This type of resistance breathing is performed as if you’re breathing through a straw. The small opening of your pursed lips only allows a limited amount of air, so inhaling and exhaling becomes more labored.

To practice this technique, inhale and exhale for the same amount of time. If you find that inhaling is much easier than exhaling then you’re doing it right.

Another version of this technique is to exhale for twice as long as you inhale.

Pranayama aka Yoga Breathing

This is another form – possibly the most popular form – of resistance breathing. The great thing is that to benefit from yoga, you don’t have to be a practicing yoga student or dedicated yogi.

To execute effectively, exhale with an “HA” sound or like a near whisper. You will feel your throat contract or partially close. Allow your throat to remain this way during both your inhale and exhale.

Your face should be relaxed as you inhale slowly and deeply through your nose. Then hold your breath for the same amount of time it took to inhale. In terms of time, follow suit with your exhale.

During the exhale, you can open or close your mouth. Even yogis like to vary the exhale from time to time.

Breath Moving

This exercise has also been pegged as an internal massage. This often works well for people who don’t enjoy counting with each breath.

To perform this technique, you will visualize your breath and mentally “send” it where you want it to go.

For example, it’s popular for people to visualize theirs inhales filling their body up from the top of their heads to their tail bones. Their exhale is visualized as their body empties itself of breath starting from their tail bones back to the top of their head.

With the exhale, all negative thoughts and energy exit the system, as well.

Focus is Key

No matter which technique or combination you choose to employ, one key element remains the same – focus.

It’s important to focus on your breath. Listen to the way it sounds, feels, and it’s rhythm.

Your mind will start to wander, usually back to negative worries and stress. When this happens, simply acknowledge the worrisome thought then focus on your breathing again.

Your breath will serve as an anchor to reality and to the fact that you can handle this circumstance. Although situations may deliver to you unwanted stress, anxiety does not have to rule your life. You can manage it effectively with the simple art of controlled breathing.