Are you stressed out? In our increasingly fast-paced culture, it’s hard not to feel pressured now and then. Stress can make you tired, irritable, and overwhelmed, but the negative health effects don’t stop there. Chronic stress can put you at a greater risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. And if you already have a medical condition, stress can worsen your symptoms. Over 40% of Americans have stress-related health problems, according to the American Psychological Association.

If stress can harm you, however, relaxation can help. Study after study has documented the benefits of relaxation. The National Institutes of Health reports that stress relief techniques help in the treatment of heart disease and high blood pressure, as well as cancer, infertility, and premenstrual syndrome.

For a quick, easy route to stress relief, try these breathing exercises. Each employs a slightly different technique to help you breathe more deeply. Do the exercises at home, at work, in the car — anywhere you find yourself feeling tense and anxious.

Purify your breathing

Spending long hours hunched over a desk or steering wheel can constrict your breathing muscles, reducing the amount of air that makes it into your lungs. The following exercise helps improve your breathing by promoting good posture. As your blood oxygen level rises, your energy level will increase as well.

1. Sit or stand upright in a comfortable position.
2. Take a deep breath. Hold the air inside your lungs and count to five.
3. Purse your lips, as if you were holding a straw in your mouth. With small, forceful puffs, blow a series of short bursts of air through the opening between your lips.
4. Continue puffing until you’ve exhaled completely.
5. Repeat three times.

Relax by the clock

Do your friends keep telling you to slow down, take it easy? Have you been putting off that long-overdue vacation because you never find the right time to escape? You don’t have to wait for the benefits of stress relief. To do the following exercise, all you need is a watch with a second hand and half a minute of spare time.

1. Sit upright in a comfortable position.
2. Hold your watch in the palm of your hand.
3. Observe the watch face closely, focusing on the second hand.
4. Now pay attention to your breathing. Match your breathing to the rhythm of your watch — breathe in through your nose for two seconds, breathe out through your mouth for two seconds.
5. Continue this breathing pattern for a total of 30 seconds.

Relieve tension and anxiety

This exercise combines physical relaxation with soothing imagery. When you’re under extreme stress, give yourself a time-out. Take a minute or two to try this exercise.

1. Sit upright in a comfortable position, with your feet resting on the floor.
2. Focus on the phrase “Breathe in relaxation.” As you take a deep breath, repeat the words to yourself. It may help to visualize a calming image — the beach, or a mountain meadow — or a soft, soothing color.
3. At the top of your breath (when your lungs are full of air), pause for a moment. Focus on the phrase “Breathe out tension.”
4. As you exhale, repeat the phrase “Breathe out tension.” It may help to visualize tension leaving your body as you say the words.
5. Use each inhalation as a moment to become aware of any tension in your body.
6. Use each exhalation as an opportunity to let go of that tension.
7. Repeat this pattern until you feel more calm and relaxed.

Setting aside several minutes each morning, or at the end of your day, to focus on your breathing patterns may offer you a healthy boost. As you pay more attention to the rhythms of your body, your breathing will slow down, your muscles will relax, and you’ll begin to reap physical and emotional benefits from stress relief.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007 at 5:13 am and is filed under Healthy Breathing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.