Deep Breathing Exercise

Learn how to breathe to relax.

Busy professional? Stressful career? Stressful life in general? Is your stress beginning to affect your health and your lifestyle? That’s okay – help is on the way! Ready to begin melting the stress away? Here’s your first stress reduction technique to practice.

Your first exercise is so simple everyone can do it. As a matter of fact, everyone does it already. It’s called breathing. I told you it was simple 🙂. The problem is most of us default into the habit of shallow breathing. As our minds race and our bodies tense, our breathing tends to become rapid and shallow. Because of this, we deprive our bodies and our brains of rich, oxygenated blood needed for maximum health. We need to learn to breathe.

Let’s begin our first exercise.

To start, find a quiet place and sit in a comfortable chair. Sit upright, do not slouch. Adjust your volume to a comfortable listening level and click play on the audio player below. You may also download the audio file to your device to listen anywhere.

At first, you will probably find it takes some conscious effort to breathe slowly and controlled. Don’t worry. It will get easier with practice. Start with 6-10 deep breaths. You may notice some light-headedness or dizziness in the beginning. This is perfectly normal. Try this a couple of times a day, or anytime you begin to feel stressed. Add a few more deep breaths each day. The goal is 6-10 deep breaths per minute for 10-15 minutes each day. Practice daily. You should begin to notice a reduction in heart rate and blood pressure over time. Keep practicing. Discover the art of Aaah! Keep Calm!

Question: What technique have you found that is the most beneficial in producing a state of relaxation?