Breathing exercises to calm anxiety

Breathing exercises to calm anxiety
Unfortunately, more and more people suffer from anxiety problems, this is due to their hectic daily routines and / or because they simply find it very difficult to manage those annoying emotions that may arise.

When you suffer from this type of problem and even when an anxiety disorder is already present, it is important to start eradicating it. In cases where you already have a disorder, through psychotherapy it can be controlled in a very effective way.

This is why in this article of Transkerja.com, we will let you know some breathing exercises to calm anxiety that will help you a lot in your day to day if you practice them constantly.

Relationship between breathing and relaxation

It is highly recommended whether you have an anxiety disorder or not, practice breathing exercises on a daily basis to calm our anxiety levels. Today there are many breathing techniques that are useful to help relieve anxiety and for the person to learn to relax.

Breathing properly also allows the person to improve their mood and deal with everyday difficulties in a more effective way. This is because it activates the mechanisms of our body responsible for maintaining a good state of relaxation: the parasympathetic nervous system.

Diaphragmatic breathing technique

The diaphragmatic breathing technique is one of the most used in psychotherapy due to its excellent results in relieving symptoms of stress and anxiety in people. This technique of relaxation by breathing can be performed anywhere, even if it is around many people, obviously without having to close your eyes and do as if there were no one, however it is recommended that you also practice alone to reinforce even more practice. Next we are going to mention which are the steps that must be followed to carry it out alone:
  1. Sit in a comfortable chair with your back straight but at the same time relaxed , a hug on one leg and put the other hand on the abdomen.
  2. Close your eyes and start inhaling slowly and deeply .
  3. Hold your breath for a few seconds (approximately 5 or more)
  4. Exhale slowly through the mouth.
  5. Repeat the process as many times as necessary until you feel calmer.

Breathing exercises for anxiety: the bumblebee technique

One of the best breathing exercises to calm anxiety is this curious technique.

The bumblebee technique has been created and used in India for thousands of years in order to calm the mind. It is called bumblebee breathing as it refers to a type of bee from India and by the way of carrying out the technique since it emits a very similar sound when it is performed. Next, we will let you know in detail the way in which you can practice it without first mentioning that it is advisable to do it in a private place due to the sound you have to emit.
  1. Put yourself in a comfortable place whether you are standing, sitting or lying down, keeping your back straight but relaxed.
  2. Close your eyes and keep your body relaxed .
  3. Keep your jaw relaxed , close your lips slightly and make sure your teeth are slightly apart.
  4. Cover your eyes and ears with your thumbs or index fingers and press lightly.
  5. Set all your attention to the center of your head and try not to make any movement with the body.
  6. Inhale and exhale slowly producing at once a deep and constant hum.
  7. Repeat this exercise 4 to 7 times until you notice how your body feels more relaxed and a feeling of peace begins to invade you

Alternate breathing technique

The technique of alternating breathing or better called "Nadi Shodhan" helps us calm the mind because it is said to allow us to unlock our energy channels.

This technique is very interesting because it tells us that when we have some of our clogged nostrils, some of our hemispheres of the brain can not function properly so we can generate certain disorders that limit us when we want to perform Our daily tasks. For example, if our right nostril is clogged, we will feel more stressed and anxious. When it is the left nostril that is more clogged we feel more tired and unmotivated.

This breathing exercise to calm anxiety helps us to reopen those energy channels that are clogged so that we can feel calmer and increase our well-being and emotional balance. The steps to follow to carry it out are the following:
  1. In a quiet place without distractions, put yourself in a comfortable position with your back straight and your shoulders relaxed.
  2. Cover the right hole of your nose with your thumb of your right hand and at the same time breathe through the left nostril counting slowly from 1 to 5.
  3. Now also cover the left hole and keep the air also counting from 1 to 5.
  4. Release the right hole and expel the air slowly counting from 1 to 8.
  5. Inhale with the right hole and count from 1 to 5 while doing it.
  6. Cover your 2 nostrils again and hold the air slowly counting from 1 to 5.
  7. Repeat the exercise as many times as necessary until you feel that both holes are released.