Do you have anxiety? Maybe you struggle with feelings of anxiety and your worrying interferes with your daily life? It’s frustrating to feel that way. It can be just as frustrating to think that your anxiety controls you. Don’t despair. There is hope. No need to turn to drugs or prescriptions. Try the natural method first. Breathwork can be a powerful form of exercise, and it can change your life forever. There are so many breathing exercises for anxiety. It’s amazing that something as simple as breathing exercises provide so many health benefits. Breathing exercises are known to ease anxiety and produce feelings of calm and clarity. Below, we’ve listed the top breathing exercises to help you control your anxiety.
Breathwork for Anxiety
Breathing exercises don’t necessarily include just one type of exercise. There are numerous techniques and exercises, and each has different and unique benefits. For example, there are specific breathing practices and breathwork exercises known to help alleviate anxiety. In this article, you will learn about the specific exercises that are useful and beneficial for those struggling with anxiety. Read on.
What Are Breathing Exercises?
Breathing exercises are not an invention of modern medical science. They have existed since the beginning of time. Breathing exercises have been found in all of the major religions. Archeologists discovered many religious scriptures containing different breathing methods. Not only is breathwork trending right now, it’s been popular for centuries!
Health Benefits of Breathing Exercises
Breathing exercises are powerful and carry various health benefits and healing powers. In fact, many medical doctors are now recommending breathwork as a supplement to traditional western medications. Let’s get to know some of the specific health benefits that come with practicing breathing exercises:
Breathwork Calms and Relaxes
You can achieve a peaceful mental state by practicing breathwork. Breathwork allows you to intake more oxygen into your bloodstream and breathe out toxins. Then, increased oxygenated blood flow helps keep your nerves calm. This helps you relax your mind when you are stressed or anxious, and it will help increase your performance.
Breathwork Encourages Mindfulness
Mindfulness refers to paying attention to the present without any judgment or negative thinking. Mindfulness helps you gain control over your emotions and helps you stay stress free. Also, breathing exercises focus on present time breathing which works as a mindfulness practice.
Breathwork Strengthens Lungs
The lungs are a vital organ of our bodies that regulate the entire breathing process. Breathwork helps you to improve your lung capacity and strengthen your lungs overall. So, you’ll have better oxygen intake, and this promotes better mental and physical health.
Breathwork Improves Sleep
Too much worry and stress can deprive you of sleep, which can have a huge negative impact on your well being. Breathing exercises can significantly ease your stress and anxiety, which in turn promotes better, more restful sleep.
Breathwork to Relieve Anxiety
Each of the Breathwork exercises listed below are known to help relieve anxiety. Working with a breathwork coach, and trying them all separately, will help you realize which one works best for your anxiety. While they are all known to be effective, we are all unique and special, and it is likely that one of the breathing exercises will be most effective for you, while another might be most effective for someone else. So, it’s best to consult with your breathwork coach to determine the best fit for you.
Different Types of Breathing Exercises to Relieve Anxiety
There are many different breathing exercises known to help relieve anxiety. Below, in no specific order, are just a few for you to try. They are:
1:1 Breath
This breathing exercise for anxiety is known for grounding, stabilizing, and calming.
3 Part Breathing
Practicing the 3 Part Breathing technique helps deepen awareness of the three main “breathing spaces,” namely the belly, chest, and clavicle.
Belly Breathing
This calming breathwork exercise for anxiety is known to calm and activate the parasympathetic nervous system.
Box Breath
Interestingly, this anxiety relief technique is taught to the US military personnel, and is meant to be used to relieve anxiety and stress. It is calming, lowers blood pressure, and reduces anxiety.
Coherent Breathing
This exercise encourages slow, deep breathing, which helps synchronize heart rate patterns to breathing, encouraging a feeling of calmness and stability.
Diaphragmatic Training
This is one of the most important exercises for any breathwork training regimen. It strengthens the diaphragm and assists in healing dysfunctions such as shallow or quick breathing. Also, it improves lung capacity, allowing all other breathing exercises to be more effective.
Exhales Through Straw
This is a very simple exercise. In this breathing technique for anxiety, you actually exhale through a physical straw. This is meant to reduce stress, improve lung capacity, and calm the nerves. This practice is especially effective for panic attacks. And, there are some lovely straws on the market that are wearable jewelry, so you can keep your breathwork straw tool with you wherever you go. The Komuso Shift is a beautiful and popular option.
Extended Exhales
Extending the exhale is not only an excellent method to improve lung capacity and shift state from anxious to calm, but it is also an imitation of one of our most natural urges that signals relief and calm — the sigh. It releases pent up energy and frustration, and produces feelings of calm and ease.
Conclusion
Now that you’ve reviewed the best breathing exercises for anxiety, you’ve learned that there are many useful techniques. Explore them to ease your anxiety. They can positively affect your body and mind if you do them properly and make breathwork a regular practice. Working with a breath work coach to learn is always best, but you can always try some out on your own to start. You can get started anytime, so take the first step today on your breathwork journey to relieving anxiety.
You can also read: Home Breathing Exercises to Instantly Relieve Anxiety
Fun Fact: Dogs can also suffer from anxiety. But sadly, we can’t teach our furry friends breathing exercises. So, here’s a solution that works–music. Anxiety relief for pups.