
Since breathing techniques aren’t only useful during wellness activities, we can practice them whenever we need them so that we can respond to stress in a more skillful way. Or, we may have been prompted to take a few deep breaths during a guided meditation or a Headspace sleepcast. Anyone who’s taken a yoga class has done breathwork, inhaling and exhaling steadily with each new pose. Breathing exercises may present a risk of harm for people with certain medical and/or neurological conditions including epilepsy, cardiovascular issues, anxiety and PTSD, or people who are pregnant.īreathing exercises, or breathwork, is when we intentionally control how to breathe to experience a sense of relaxation and calm in the mind and body. Here, we’ll share how to try breathing exercises to reduce stress so the next time we have to give a big speech, hear some disappointing news, or get a case of the Sunday scaries, we’ll know what to do to feel better: breathe.ĭISCLAIMER: Please consult your doctor or medical provider to ensure breathwork is suitable for you.

With practice, we can purposefully slow down our breath anytime and anywhere until we feel less frazzled and more confident. Often, taking a moment before we react to stressful situations can make all the difference. But learning to pay attention to our breath can improve how we feel and how we behave. Most of us rarely need to think about breathing. Within a matter of seconds, we start to feel more relaxed. When we take a slow inhale through the nose and a big, long exhale through the mouth, we’re signaling to the brain and body that we’re safe, that it’s okay to calm down.

It’s one of the easiest and most effective ways to relieve stress, and has been for thousands of years.

“Take a deep breath” might be some of the best advice around.
