TAKE A DEEP BREATH

You can change the way you react to stress. Research has discovered that it isn't the stressor itself that is responsible for negative health consequences, but our response to that stress.

We cannot do much if anything about outer circumstances, situations or people. But we can do something about how we respond to the experience we are having. That's good news.

One of the ways we can take care of ourselves in the face of stress is to learn how to breath properly. As babies we instinctively know how to do this. Babies breathe with their whole bodies, their stomachs puffing out every time they breathe in and collapsing when they breathe out.

Check your own breathing. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach, then take a normal breath. What happened to your hands? Did they even move? Which moved more?

If you're like most people, neither moved much. For many the chest moves more. That's the habit of shallow breathing. The result is we use less than 20% of our lung capacity, even less when we are in a flight or fight response to stress.

You can use deep breathing to counter the fight-or-flight reaction any time you feel stressed. Practice noticing your breath, and when you catch yourself shallow breathing take time to take your breath into your belly and breathe deeply.

Shifting your breathing is a powerful antidote to the knee jerk response many of us have to the ongoing bombardment of things to do and places to be of our current lives.

It's easier to learn to breathe deeply when you are in a calm situation. I suggest a daily 10 minute breathing practice will exercise the diaphragm and support the body in it's ability to breathe deeply under stress.

Next time you find yourself irate because of an unexpected traffic jam, or rushing to meet a deadline, or rehearsing your request for a raise, practice deep breathing and calm yourself down.

QUOTES

"I keep trying to catch up with my breath 
while my breath patiently waits for me to slow down." 
   ~ Martha Ringer ~

PRACTICALLY SPEAKING

Start each day - before you even put your feet on the floor - by taking one minute to sit up and take 10 easy, relaxed breaths.

Note how you begin to feel. This initial feeling sets the tone for the day. Is this the way you want the day to be colored?

If not, settle back into the breathing until you are in a place that you want to be in at the beginning of your day.

As you move throughout the day, when you begin to feel pressed, overscheduled, or out of the moment, relax again into your breathing.

Do this as often as you need during the day.

At the end of the day, reflect on whether this made any difference for you.

WONDER QUESTION:

Rather than fighting or running are you willing to meet life's stressors from a place of relaxed ease?

QUICK LINKS:

COPYRIGHT/CONTACT INFO/REPRINT PERMISSION

Copyright 2007 by Leslie Karen Sann, Living by Design
Visit this link for contact information:
leslie@living-bydesign.com

Reprint permission granted in part or whole when the following credit appears in full:

Copyright 2007 by Leslie Karen Sann,
Living by Design.All rights reserved. 
Web site. http://www.living-bydesign.com