Breathing Exercises to Reduce Stress

Breathing exercises are a simple and effective way to reduce stress. Use these breathing techniques for deep relaxation and counter the effects of stress.

I remember as a kid the doctor telling me to "take a deep breath" as he placed a stethoscope to my chest. If you are like me, you probably expanded your chest and raised your shoulders as you inhaled.

Right? Wrong

It just so happens that this type of breathing does not use our lungs efficiently and there are better ways to breathe for optimal health and relaxation.

In fact....one of the most effective stress management techniques is right under our noses?

Breathing exercises are one of the easiest and most powerful ways to relax and reduce stress. They are easy to learn and can be done just about anywhere.

When stressed you may start to breathe from your chest in short shallow breaths.

Alternatively, you may also hold your breath without being aware of it.

Do these sound familiar?

When you are breathing shallowly, you are less likely to get oxygen to your muscles, and more likely to become fatigued. By learning the following breathing exercises you promote your health and reduce your stress.

Diaphragmatic breathing – a controlled breathing exercise

There are a few things that we lose as we move into adulthood. One of these is proper breathing.

If you ever watched a baby – they are breathing correctly – from the diaphragm – maximizing oxygen and increasing relaxation.

Yet somewhere on the journey to adulthood we become thoracic breathers - tending to breathe from the chest rather than the abdomen.

As a result, we are not getting stress-reducing benefits of breathing. One way to reduce stress is through diaphragmatic breathing.

The following are the steps to the initiate diaphragmatic breathing.

Deep breathing exercises for relaxation and stress relief

Deep breathing exercises give you a strategy to relax which is quite effective as an immediate response to stress.

Are you a shallow breather or a deep breather?

Count your breaths for one minute.

Most people tend to breathe about 10-12 breathes per minute. If this is the case then like most other adults, you are breathing from the chest.

To get the most benefit from stress-relieving breathing exercises, deep breathing from the abdomen is necessary.

When I teach clients these deep breathing exercises they can comfortably reduce their breathing rates to about 4-7 breaths per minute.

The use of breathing and relaxation techniques

Diaphragmatic breathing has been around for as long as yoga and Tai chi. It is the foundation of deep breathing exercises and used within many other relaxation exercises such as progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic training, and mental imagery.

When working with clients who want to relax and de-stress, 80 percent of the time I incorporate some form of breathing and relaxation techniques.

When stressed often we breathe rapidly and shallowly, and this can further increase stress and anxiety. To stop this vicious cycle of increasing stress, the following breathing technique can be useful, especially when the stress or anxiety needs to be dealt with quickly.

Develop your relaxation skills

Developing your relaxation skills is a powerful antidote to stress. Here we provide you with a number of relaxation techniques to counter the effects of stress.

There are a number of benefits to meditation that include managing stress. Meditation has been shown to activate the relaxation response which promotes relaxation and counters the stress response. These meditation techniques can be used for stress relief.

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The Physical Effects of Stress: Identify your Physical Effects of Stress

Not all Stress is Bad: What are your Optimal Stress Levels for Peak Performance


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