How to Manage and reduce Stress

Benefits of abdominal breathing on thoracic breathing 

If you want to start practicing relaxation techniques, deep breathing is a good way to start since it involves practices such as yoga, meditation and visualization. Deep relaxation will not only make you use your lungs, but also the abdomen and diaphragm.

Most of us do not breathe with the diaphragm. Instead, we breathe rather while inhaling from our chest in a short and irregular way. When we are stressed, the problem is that despite our breathing, we do not get enough oxygen in our lungs, which makes us even more tense, anxious and short of breath. Conversely, deep breathing allows oxygen to flow well through the chest and lungs.

Chest breathing or abdominal breathing

When you breathe with your chest, you breathe only a small part of the air you breathe. Instead, you should breathe with your abdomen. When you practice abdominal breathing, you breathe much more oxygen: the more oxygen you breathe, the more you will be able to relax.

The way you breathe also influences your nervous system. Chest breathing causes your brain to produce shorter, weaker brain waves. Conversely, abdominal breathing allows your brain to create longer brain waves. These longer or shorter waves are the same as those that your brain generates when you feel calm and relaxed. Conclusion: Abdominal breathing will help you relax quickly .

The next time you feel stressed, take a few minutes to slow down and breathe deeply:

• Sit comfortably with your back straight then put one of your hand on your chest and the another one on your stomach.
• Inhale through the nose. The hand on your stomach should go up and the one on your chest should barely move.
• Exhale through your mouth and let out as much air as you can while contracting the muscles of your lap belt. The hand on your stomach should move as you exhale, while the other hand should remain almost motionless.
• Continue breathing the same way by inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Try to inspire so that you feel that your abdomen is moving up and down.

If you have difficulty breathing through the abdomen while standing or sitting, lie down on the floor, place a book on your stomach and try to breathe so that the book comes up when you inhale and come down when you exhale. Breathing techniques have the advantage of being practiced anywhere and being able to be combined with other relaxation exercises such as aromatherapy or music. All you need are a few minutes and a place to relax.