Stress is certainly a part of everyday life, especially for anyone balancing work and family. We want (and need) to squeeze it all in, but sometimes it’s just totally overwhelming. The pressure to perform at work, move up the ladder and make major career advances is intense, as is life at home – keeping everyone happy, healthy and where they need to be. No matter what your personal life challenges are, we all have them – and sometimes it feels like too much. When you start feeling tired, run down or totally overwhelmed, you’re probably experiencing stress – and it happens to the best of us. Some easy and immediate solutions? Breathing exercises. If you’re not familiar or this is new for you, here’s a roundup of some of the best breathing exercises to put stress on the back burner and bring a sense of calm and control back to you.
3 Breathing Exercises to Combat Stress
#1. Basic Equal Breathing. Simply breathe in for a count of four and then exhale for a count of four. Practice this slowly and regularly until you can start to increase your counts to six and maybe someday even eight! This is great for taking just a few minutes of time out during a hectic day or at the end of a long day right before you’re going to sleep.
#2. Abdominal Breathing. This is a great one for particularly stressful moments – like just before a big meeting with your boss. Place one hand on your abdomen and one on your chest. Taking slow, deep breaths, try to fill the diaphragm with air and exhale slowly. You can practice this over and over, but just ten minutes a day should help you feel more balanced and calm.
#3. Progressive Relaxation. This is great for giving your entire body a full sense of calm and relaxation – especially effective right before bed or when you need a little help falling asleep. Start by laying down or finding a comfortable chair and practicing equal breathing. Once you feel like you’re breathing slowly and regularly tense and relx your muscles starting with your feet all the way to your head.
Have you ever tried using breathing exercises to help reduce stress?
