Excerpted from "Women Who Worry Too Much" by Holly Hazlett-Stevens, PhD
Breathing is a little peculiar: We absolutely have to do it to stay alive. Therefore, we can breathe automatically without any awareness at all, such as when we're asleep. Then again, we have a lot of voluntary control over how we breathe when we're awake. Because breathing is so basic and automatic, most people develop habits of breathing a certain at a particular baseline rate without ever noticing it. Physical activity as well as stressful events certainly can change these breathing patterns for a short time. But some people chronically breathe just a little bit faster than their bodies need. They also tend to take shallow breaths mostly from their chest. This is especially true for people prone to anxiety and worry. The subtle effects of this slight overbreathing build up over time. Hyperventilation eventually results, dramatically effecting both, the body and the mind.
Usually people are breathing from some combination of their chest and their stomach. Breathing from the chest affects the body one way, while breathing from the stomach has an entirely different impact. That's why slow and deep stomach breathing is such a simple yet powerful relaxation technique. When you breath mostly from your chest, the part of your nervous system that increases your arousal and heart rate gets stimulated. Plus, you mostly use your chest muscles to do the work. Your chest muscles are not really designed for breathing the way that certain abdominal muscles are. In instances of extreme chest breathing, people will even feel sensations of tightness or pain the chest as these muscles get tired.
On the other hand, taking deep breaths from your belly stimulates the branch of your nervous system linked to slowing the body down, resting, and relaxing. Your heart rate slows down, and food absorption becomes easier for your digestive system. This kind of breathing uses an abdominal muscle called the diaphragm , a large curved muscle located near the bottom of your rib cage. Some people call this breathing relaxation technique diaphragmatic breathing because the diaphragm is the muscle best equipped for breathing. The breath should start way down in the belly, which fully expands, resulting in a slow, flowing, continuous motion.
The goal of this relaxation technique is to get your body back to breathing this way. Don't be surprised if this takes some effort and patience. You may have some strong chest-breathing habits to break. With enough practice, you can develop a new habit of slow and deep stomach breathing. You can also create the habit of checking in with your breathing frequently, then immediately shifting to diaphragmatic breathing if your breaths are fast, shallow, or erratic.
Breathing Exercise I
~Breathe slowly and deeply~
1. Put one of your hands on your chest and the other hand on your stomach. Continue breathing naturally. Which of your hands is moving? Are they both moving to some degree? This is a quick and easy way to see how much you normally breathe from your chest versus your stomach.
2. Next, try to shift your breathing so that only the hand on your stomach moves. Keep the hand on your chest as still as possible. Imagine taking each breath all the way down to the bottom of your stomach. With each inhalation, your belly should expand. If this isn't working, purposefully push your stomach out a little but just before you inhale. This will create a space for the air coming in. Feel free to take your hands off your chest and abdomen as you get the hang of breathing this way.
3. Keep your breathing smooth and fluid. Let the air come in gradually and evenly throughout each inhalation. Don't take a full breath all at once at the very beginning of the inhalation. Likewise, allow the air to escape gradually and evenly as you exhale. It might help to breathe only through your nose as you exhale. You can also try pausing a brief moment between each inhalation and exhalation.
Breathing is a little peculiar: We absolutely have to do it to stay alive. Therefore, we can breathe automatically without any awareness at all, such as when we're asleep. Then again, we have a lot of voluntary control over how we breathe when we're awake. Because breathing is so basic and automatic, most people develop habits of breathing a certain at a particular baseline rate without ever noticing it. Physical activity as well as stressful events certainly can change these breathing patterns for a short time. But some people chronically breathe just a little bit faster than their bodies need. They also tend to take shallow breaths mostly from their chest. This is especially true for people prone to anxiety and worry. The subtle effects of this slight overbreathing build up over time. Hyperventilation eventually results, dramatically effecting both, the body and the mind.
Usually people are breathing from some combination of their chest and their stomach. Breathing from the chest affects the body one way, while breathing from the stomach has an entirely different impact. That's why slow and deep stomach breathing is such a simple yet powerful relaxation technique. When you breath mostly from your chest, the part of your nervous system that increases your arousal and heart rate gets stimulated. Plus, you mostly use your chest muscles to do the work. Your chest muscles are not really designed for breathing the way that certain abdominal muscles are. In instances of extreme chest breathing, people will even feel sensations of tightness or pain the chest as these muscles get tired.
On the other hand, taking deep breaths from your belly stimulates the branch of your nervous system linked to slowing the body down, resting, and relaxing. Your heart rate slows down, and food absorption becomes easier for your digestive system. This kind of breathing uses an abdominal muscle called the diaphragm , a large curved muscle located near the bottom of your rib cage. Some people call this breathing relaxation technique diaphragmatic breathing because the diaphragm is the muscle best equipped for breathing. The breath should start way down in the belly, which fully expands, resulting in a slow, flowing, continuous motion.
The goal of this relaxation technique is to get your body back to breathing this way. Don't be surprised if this takes some effort and patience. You may have some strong chest-breathing habits to break. With enough practice, you can develop a new habit of slow and deep stomach breathing. You can also create the habit of checking in with your breathing frequently, then immediately shifting to diaphragmatic breathing if your breaths are fast, shallow, or erratic.
Breathing Exercise I
~Breathe slowly and deeply~
1. Put one of your hands on your chest and the other hand on your stomach. Continue breathing naturally. Which of your hands is moving? Are they both moving to some degree? This is a quick and easy way to see how much you normally breathe from your chest versus your stomach.
2. Next, try to shift your breathing so that only the hand on your stomach moves. Keep the hand on your chest as still as possible. Imagine taking each breath all the way down to the bottom of your stomach. With each inhalation, your belly should expand. If this isn't working, purposefully push your stomach out a little but just before you inhale. This will create a space for the air coming in. Feel free to take your hands off your chest and abdomen as you get the hang of breathing this way.
3. Keep your breathing smooth and fluid. Let the air come in gradually and evenly throughout each inhalation. Don't take a full breath all at once at the very beginning of the inhalation. Likewise, allow the air to escape gradually and evenly as you exhale. It might help to breathe only through your nose as you exhale. You can also try pausing a brief moment between each inhalation and exhalation.