How does intentional breathing help reduce anxiety?

When I feel anxious, I tend to feel it in my stomach first. Something happens to make me feel anxious and my stomach clenches, drops, and I feel slightly nauseous. And often, I want to pace about to decrease those feelings.

After learning to MOVE when I felt anxious, I learned that I could reduce my anxiety by BREATHING! Breathing sounds pretty easy, right? We all do it. But breathing to open my capillaries and allow me to think more clearly, required special intentionality. When we become tense, our breathing becomes shallower and our thinking becomes less clear.

So, how do we breathe to decrease anxiety?

• Stand or sit up straight, and breathe in through your nose.
• Hold your breath for 4-5 seconds, and then breathe out through your nose – pushing all of the air out of your lungs.
• Do this 4 or 5 times, filling your lungs to capacity and making sure that your shoulders do not rise with the effort.
• You will notice that the first time you breathe in, your shoulders may rise – because they are not used to staying down while you fill your diaphragm. But as you continue to breathe in and out, you will notice them beginning to relax.
• As you breathe, imagine yourself pulling in light, joy, positivity, and possibilities into your body.
• As you breathe out, imagine yourself pushing all darkness, hopelessness, negativity, and paralysis out of your body.
• As you breathe, your brain receives more oxygen, your capillaries open, and you are more able to think clearly, your body will relax and your anxiety will decrease.

• Nose breathing humidifies the inhaled air and brings the air you inhale to body temperature, making it easier for your lungs to use.
• Breathing through our noses produces nitric oxide. Nitric Oxide is a vasodilator, which means it helps to widen blood vessels.
• This allows an increase of airflow to arteries, veins, and nerves
• It helps to slow down our breathing
• Improves lung capacity and
• Aids your immune system

Breathing with Intention Reduces Anxiety

Breathing intentionally allows our brains to function more effectively, and our bodies to relax, and offers the ability to find solutions to what ails us.

The next time you feel anxious, stop for a moment, breathe in and out through your nostrils 4-5 times, and see how that affects your body, mind, and options.