Anxiety is the normal human response in any excitable or difficult situation. But it can become a severe mental disorder if someone doesn’t take immediate action with time. Some have to take anxiety-controlling medicines too if things get out of control. Apart from this, it can be treated by following some breathing techniques for anxiety.
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How Do You Recognize If You Have Anxiety?
Well, anxiety starts from a deep sense of nervousness and fear of something. In further stages, the person will encounter fast heart beating and sweating. In more severe cases it results in some gastrointestinal problems, palpitations, panic attacks, excessive worrying, restlessness, discomfort in everything.
During the pandemic of covid-19, it is a very common issue in every second person, and almost everybody has gone through depression and anxiety issues in this condition. The techniques provided below are also a part of breathing exercises for covid, calm yourself and fight with this havoc.
So, you don’t have to worry if you are not on severe mental disorder right now. If you want to know about anxiety refer to our article on how to overcome anxiety
Exercise is something which can heal your body and mind, mostly the breathing exercises which give you a purely natural way of empty your mind with all the negatives and worry.
Breathing Techniques For Anxiety
1. Yoga(pranayama)
yoga has been an ancient healing technique for a long time. There are numerous yoga breathing exercises for anxiety and depression, but rather than following all you should go with the most helpful. It is the easiest way to calm your body and mind.
A variety of pranayama is there which can help you out with the daily cleansing of your mind. Some of them are:-
Lengthen exhale time:- we all heard that take a deep breathe when feeling low or stressed, but inhalation does not always work for you, it can give you the courage to face a difficult situation, but not in calming your mind.
Exhalation gives you that relaxation as it works on your parasympathetic system of the brain, which connects the brain to the spinal cord and rest of the body, and also regulates the exocrine gland to produce secretions.
You don’t need to do it excessively, like if you inhale 4 times then exhale. As you increase your exhalation duration, you overcome your fears and anxieties. One more thing, you can practice this anytime and in any way, such as sitting somewhere or lying down on the bed.
Alternate nostril breathing pranayama:-This practice is also known as anuluma-viloma in the yoga language. It has very good benefits over your peace of mind.
How to do this alternate nostril breathing practice?
- Sit in a relaxed position with crossed legs.
- Keep your left hand on your knee.
- Take your right hand up towards your nose.
- Exhale and close your right nostril with your right thumb
- Now, inhale through your left nostril and immediately close with your fingers.
- Open your right nostril and exhale.
- Inhale through the right nostril and then close with fingers.
- Open left nostril and exhale.
- One cycle will complete here
- Continue for 5-10 minutes every day.
It will be good if you finish by exhaling through the left side.
Equal breathing pranayama:-This is a good way of focusing on your breathing. Just keep the focus on your inhaling and exhaling, that your inhale and exhale counts should be equal.
You can practice anywhere by sitting or lying down and try to completely feel the sense of fulfillment and emptiness. This is the simplest way of distracting yourself with a breath. Regular practice will improve your concentration as well.
It is one of the best breathing exercises for beginners. Those who want to practice with their breath can try this regularly.
2.Focus on breathing
Have you noticed that while breathing what happens in your body? That’s why this exercise is under the breathing exercises for stress, as it overcomes all stress and stabilizes our heart rate and other functions.
You can practice it anywhere in a comfortable position, like sitting on a chair or sitting with neck support or with a pillow under your head.
- Breathe through your nose.
- Place one hand on your belly and the other on your chest.
- Breathe and just feel how your hand on your belly rises and lowers down more than your chest.
- Keep your eyes close during this exercise.
- And give some affirmations to your mind that “I am in peace now, I feel relax and my mind is calm and free from all the negativities” simply saying you will feel relaxed.
3. Breathe through the abdomen
This practice involved in yoga pranayam and refer to as Kapal- Bhati pranayama. In this yoga, we inhale and exhale vigorously, and our whole pressure is on the abdomen. While breathing you should feel the air-filled into your abdomen and release out through your abdomen.
To do the same you need to follow the instructions as follows:-
- Quiet your mind and sit into a relaxed position, with crossed legs.
- Start inhaling by contracting your abdomen inwards.
- And immediately release your breathe by relaxing your abdomen outwards.
- You don’t have to wait for a second to exhale out.
- Just vigorously inhale and exhale by doing your belly in and out.
- Continue this up to 5 minutes regularly.
Apart from just breathing exercises for stress, it also helps to improve your digestion and stomach-related problems.
4. Sound Meditation
Meditation works in all problems while it is anxiety or depression. By quieting your mind and being in a comfortable position you can try sound meditation.
Breathing techniques for anxiety consist of the method of guided meditation.
sitting in any dark room with soothing recordings will help you heal the panic attacks as well. Music is the best therapy to relieve any mental wound.
You can try sound meditation to feel the healing process of your instinct:-
- Sit in any darkroom in a relaxed position.
- Play any soothing playlist or recordings.
- Close your eyes.
- You can also try some meditation sounds on the internet.
- Breathe deeply and let go of yourself to a drowsy and sleepy state.
- It releases some good hormones from our body and gives us a sense of happiness, and calmness.
5. Aromatherapy
The aroma of certain essential oils can be used to treat anxiety disorders and stress. Some of the essential oils include oils of some flowers such as lavender, jasmine, holy basil, sweet basil, bergamot, and chamomile.
How you can use the aromas?
There are varieties of methods by which you can use aromas to release out the stress:-
- You can take a body massage.
- Or can use it as the scent in your room.
- You can use your bathwater.
- It can even help you in getting a good sleep too.
Conclusion
Breathing techniques for anxiety are really helpful in calming your mind and achieving mindfulness. Anxiety is a normal human behavior in some unpleasant or nervous conditions but can become a disorder if left untreated. though in most cases, it stays for a limited period of time, but in some chronic cases, it extends for too long. The causes may be past life traumas, insecurity about relationships,s or work life. The signs include being restless all the time, a constant fear of an imaginary situation. In this condition, the person suffers a lot of mental chaos. Breathing is considered the basic element of our existence. Hence, improving breathe will give you a peaceful life. Not in all situations, this technique will work, but at least in the early stages of anxiety, it can help you out with the suffering. yoga such as pranayama is an excellent way for acquiring better breathing. Aromatherapy is also a soothing way to get your head empty of all negatives and sufferings.