Becoming calmer through proper breathing

Becoming calmer through proper breathing

Have you ever been advised to take a deeper breath to calm yourself? It’s common advice, but focusing on deeper inhalation can make your anxiety worse. You can better focus your attention on the length and end of the exhalation.

Try the breathing exercise below when you are calm and calm. Then you train yourself and it becomes part of your natural breathing.

The preparation
Telling yourself that you already know this and that it is very simple will undermine the power of the exercise. You promote a beneficial and lasting effect by fully believing in it and investing time and attention in it.

Why lying down?
Reclining exercises in particular are great for a calming effect because you don’t have to keep the body upright. Lying down regulates smooth inhalation and allows free exhalation. By lying on the stomach with folded arms and the head straight, the ribs are slightly raised. This allows for deeper abdominal breathing and you make more use of the lung capacity because the space increases and thus a greater oxygen supply is provided.

The exercise

1. Lie relaxed and comfortable on your stomach on the floor, mat, bed, or sofa
2. Fold your arms and put your forehead on your forearms, relax your body and legs. Take a moment to observe your ground and feel supported by the ground.
3. Inhale through the nose to medium capacity, expanding the abdominal and side ribs so that it feels the back rise and expand.
4. Exhale through the nose without extra effort and let the breath flow out and let the body sink down with it. Then feel how you take a moment and perceive the end of your exhalation and experience a natural short moment of rest. A moment of nothing, an emptiness, before the new inhalation presents itself. Do not force this moment to observe the moment of silence between the exhalation and the in breath.
5. Slowly and calmly repeat this inhale and exhale at least 25 times.
6. Then feel for a moment. Notice the sensations you experience in your body. Take a moment of rest.

Good luck!

Manon is a breathing and yoga therapist, company trainer & coach. She has a lot of experience in working with groups to be more aware and attentive in life. She built up more than 20 years of experience in authentic breath and yoga tools and made many study trips to India and Thailand. Manon transfers her knowledge to her participants in a practical and accessible way.