Take a deep breath - this month's tip is a stress busting breathing exercise!
You'd think that breathing would be one of the things we could be pretty confident about getting right wouldn't you? However, you'd be surprised at how many people use only the top of the lungs, leading to shallow, irregular breathing. Here's a simple technique to de-stress quickly and naturally - just by breathing! Most of the time people use only the upper part of the lungs to take in air - you can see the chest rise and usually the shoulders too. When people get distressed and need more air this breathing technique is inefficient - it results in rapid, shallow and irregular breaths which in turn lead to gasping for air and a sense of increasing panic.
A much more natural and effective breathing technique is to take deep relaxing breaths using the diaphragm (the muscle separating the lungs from the stomach). This breathing is slow, deep and even, allowing more oxygen to be taken on board, reducing both heart rate and blood pressure. Because it puts our body in a state closer to relaxation it makes us feel more relaxed rather than stressed. It takes a little bit of practice to be comfortable with it but it's a simple exercise that you can easily learn and that you can use pretty much anywhere. You can de-stress within a couple of minutes!
Here's what to do. First, get yourself into a comfortable position - ideally away from distractions - you can lie down or sit up straight but keep arms and legs loose and uncrossed. Then, place a hand on your tummy and try pushing out your stomach as you slowly breathe in. Breathe in nice and slow through your nose, for a count of 1,2,3, (pushing your tummy out) hold on 4, then breathe out through your mouth to a count of 5,6,7,8 (letting your tummy relax) hold for 9 and 10 then breathe in again. This counting helps slow the breathing down to a more effective rate.
At first it will seem strange pushing your tummy out but after a while you will get used to it. It might help to add some visualisation by imagining there's a balloon inside your tummy. As you breathe in see it inflate and as you breathe out see it deflate. Maybe you can imagine breathing in the words relax in some calming writing - maybe it's spelled out in little fluffy clouds "RELAX". Imagine on the out breaths you are blowing out any stress.
This is a great way to de-stress in a very natural way, just by using the body's natural process. Although strange at first, with a little practice you can use this anywhere as a fast and effective stress-buster.