Three Minutes to Stress Relief: A Deep Breathing Exercise
This exercise in breathing can be done for as little as three to five minutes at a time and is an effective way to halt escalating feelings of anger, tension, and frustration.
Here are the steps for the controlled breathing exercise:
- Sit upright in a comfortable position. Focus on your present state and existence (this is often termed being "mindful").
- Block out intrusive thoughts. You may close your eyes if you wish.
- Pay attention to your breathing. Inhale slowly through the nose, taking several seconds.
- Exhale through the mouth, trying to make the exhalation phase last twice as long as the inhalation.
- Continue this mindful breathing for 3-5 minutes.
You can either do the exercise quickly in stressful moments or, if you like, you can increase the practice to 15-20 minutes per day as a form of meditation. With regular practice, you can train your body to relax in stressful situations using this exercise. It may even be something you can share with the kids - even if they don't practice the technique themselves, you're modeling a great example of self-control and restraint when you're upset or angry.
This exercise can also be effective in dealing with anxiety, panic attacks , stage fright, and fears (such as the fear of flying). Taking a restorative pause to focus on your breathing can also be a valuable anger management tool.
I'd also like to hear your suggestions for quick stress relief tools and practices. If you have other ways to de-stress in an instant, please post them in the comments section of this blog. What has, or hasn't, worked for you?
Related Topics: Tips to Control Stress, Success Over Stress
Technorati Tags: stress, stressrelief, meditation,
3 Comments:
i do this exercise when i feel an almost-anxiety attack coming on. sometimes i feel a pressure on my chest (when i'm feeling especially stressed) and i breathe in this way and it passes. but now i'm going to try this at work!
I read you study on the relationship between anger and heart attacks with men.
I use your work with great effect in my work with executives who I see for anger management/executive coaching.
I love how something as simple as breathing can be a key to managing stress. In yoga a traditional practitioner will prepare his/her breathing before engaging in any activity. I have written a short article on breathing myself, located at...
www.articles.instantstressmanagement.com/art8.htm
I consider breathing to be a key to managing all our moods. Kinda like a bridge between our concious and unconcious. i.e. you breath unconciously and can choose to breath conciously thereby changing your internal state. Something so simple, yet so profound. (I know I'm getting a little poetic!:-))
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