How Deep Breathing Can Help You Get Over Anxiety
April 20, 2009
When anyone of us goes through symptoms of anxiety, it does not always mean we have to visit a doctor, because doctors aid to control the symptoms of anxiety, but the solution lies in removing the cause of anxiety from the root. Deep breathing exercises done regularly can help control and get over anxiety completely. But these exercises should be practiced everyday.
It is best starting breathing exercises by the practice of rib breathing. These exercises involves the expansion and contraction of the rib muscles. When you inhale you expand your rib muscles and when you exhale you contract your rib muscles. You should focus all your attention on your breathing.
Doing this breathing exercises by sitting at the desk with an erect spine or lying down on your back on a firm surface with the head and chest at the same height is advised. You may bend your knees and keep your hands on your chest if you feel comfortable. Placing your hands on your chest helps you feel the expansion and contraction of the chest. Deep breathing helps to relieve anxiety by making you feel you are drawing in energy with each inhalation and letting out tension with each exhalation.
To use breathing exercises to get over anxiety it is very necessary to concentrate on the breathing; visualize the breath coming in and visualize the breath going out. When you visualize the breath coming in think it is a light coming to your tension points that need healing. See the exhalation as a technique to let go off all your tensions and feel them all go out. A little bit of holding the breathing in between gives you a feeling as if you have let go of everything.
With practice you will find that your thoughts tend to leave you alone by being not intrusive. Hence you would feel more relaxed and refreshed with more practice of these breathing exercises.
To conclude, you can graduate to throat breathing exercises once you are comfortable with rib breathing exercises. Make it a habit to do these breathing exercises daily to relieve yourself of anxiety. You could do them when you are anxious in traffic jam or at traffic signals too. Breathing exercises could be done whenever you feel anxious like even when you are restlessly tossing about in bed. I am sure it would help your mind relax and take care of the anxiety.
Abdominal breathing should also be included. A large part of our nervous system is in our digestive system located in the abdomen. Abdominal breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which regulates digestion. This is the part of the nervous system responsible for relaxation. In other words, by breathing into the abdomen, we induce relaxation.