Abdominal Breathing
Your First Step to Beating Stress

Abdominal Breathing is the way nature intended us to breathe.

How do you Breathe?

Most of us breathe from our chests and thus reduce our lung capacity and limit our intake of air.

BUT, to improve your breathing you must first become aware of it...

So let's try this exercise -

Close your eyes and focus on your breath.

Do you:

* breathe slowly or rapidly?

* take deep breaths or shallow breaths?

* feel the breath in the centre of your chest or in your tummy area?

If you, like most people, tend to breath too rapidly and not deeply enough, then the exercise known as abdominal breathing will help you breath more naturally.

It uses the diaphragm (the sheet of muscle forming the top of the abdomen) to enable the lungs to inflate and deflate with minimal effort.

By breathing with your diaphragm you can increase the volume of air you take in while taking less breaths. Abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing means breathing fully from your abdomen or from the bottom of your lungs.

It is actually the exact opposite of how we breath when we are anxious or stressed, which is shallow and from high in the chest.

And years of stress and poor lifestyle means that rapid, shallow breathing is the norm for most of us.

Correct, natural, full abdominal breaths are essential in counteracting the problematic stress in your life. Abdominal Breathing actually kicks in the Relaxation Response, which is the opposite bodily reaction to the Stress Response.

AND, as I have said before... The equipment is free - Your Nose and the Air!

Just follow my easy how-to steps and let me know how it goes!!

1. Sitting in a comfortable position with your eyes open or closed.

   Place one hand on your chest and the other over your diaphragm just below the breast bone. Breathe in slowly through the nose, and try to breathe so that the hand on your chest remains relatively still. Feel the hand on your tummy move as the air enters.

2. Hold your breath for a few seconds then breath out slowly through your nose. Again, hold your chest still and feel the hand on your tummy move...

   Release as much air as possible.

3. Repeat for a few minutes until you feel calm.

You can also lie on your back with your knees bent, or stand in a relaxed stance with feet slightly apart - whatever works best for you!

And then continue...

* Start your practice by spending 5-10 minutes a day doing this exercise.

* Gradually increase the time until you become more comfortable with the feeling.

* The ideal is to do it for 20 minutes every day.

You also want to pay attention to breathing slowly. Because you are taking in 10x as much air when you breathe with your abdomen as you do when you breath only into your chest, you could find yourself hyperventilating.

So consciously slow down your breath rate.

Normal breathing is between 12 and 16 breaths a minute. Hyperventilation gets you breathing at about 25 - 40 per minute. And our goal is to reduce our breathing to 3-5 breaths a minute.

First focus on getting the technique correct and then start counting breaths!

* And remember to enjoy doing it!*

After a few minutes of abdominal breathing your body starts to respond. It starts to relax! Don't force it - just let it happen!

In the begining you may feel that you are not "getting enough air in" and may feel like taking a deep upper chest breath like a "sigh". This sensation seems to be related to your body moving from a state of tension to a relaxed state.

If you feel compelled to "sigh", it may be because your normal rate of breathing is close to hyperventilation. Resist the urge to gulp air and, in time and with practice, this feeling will pass.

And...be assured you ARE getting enough air. Actually, much more than normal.

Abdominal breathing may feel strange to you at first. That is because it is new to you. Continue to practice and concentrate and you will get used to the new sensations. As you begin to breathe in this way you may feel heaviness in the body, drowsiness and calmness. These feelings of relaxation will becomenormal for you as abdominal breathing becomes your natural way of breathing.

I started practising this technique a few years ago and find that I now breath abdominally without being aware of it.

Correct breathing contributes greatly to a sense of physical and emotional well-being.

And now try some more breathing techniques to add to your sense of calm and well-being!

Try the Alternate Nostril Breathing exercise to become more aware of each breath!! Also a great way to start a meditation or just relax!

A good, deep YAWN is an excellent instant DIY stress relief tool - gives you a quick intake of oxygen!

Add your favourite essential oils to a diffuser and enhance the experience!

Go from Abdominal Breathing to Breath