Hello,
I hope all of you are having a fabulous day and enjoying life to the best of your ability. It is now mid-February 2022. A large percentage of us have isolated ourselves at home since the beginning of 2020. That means we are going on almost two years of fear, anxiety, stress, and you name it associated with the pandemic. If your job, family, friends, and/or external/internal factors in your life are creating things, please give diaphragmatic breathing a try. Diaphragmatic breathing exercises assist you in settling nerves and calming that dialogue that some of us have trouble turning off. Breathing supplies our body with a vital element called oxygen. Without it, we live only a few minutes. You may utilize diaphragmatic breathing for anything from preparing for a speech or distressing after your boss reams you for missing a deadline. Stress alleviating outlets such as exercise, good friends, good food choices, healthy water, and a solid partner in this life may help alleviate reciprocations stemming from stressors. Navigating through daily stressors may continue to be challenging, even with all of the supportive strategies mentioned above. This is why it is crucial to incorporate a wide variety of coping mechanisms (tools), including diaphragmatic breathing. I was fortunate to be taught diaphragmatic breathing by a lovely professor during my first year in college at San Francisco State University. I used to have trouble focusing and paying attention in school. The following exercise is one that worked for me. Diaphragmatic breathing is one of the easiest things to perform at the convenience of your home office or any seated position of your choice. If you do not have time to go to a quiet place and sit down on the floor you can do it from the comfort of your desk. So let us get started. If you like what you see/are reading please be sure to subscribe and/or follow me @livelifebett3r. Ok, the first thing to diaphragmatic breathing is knowing what exactly you are doing, why you are doing it, and how it is done. So what diaphragmatic breathing does is stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is our rest and digest portion of our nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system is activated when our bodies are sleeping, relaxing, or after eating a meal. As we stimulate this part of our nervous system our bodies and mind begin to relax. A quick note here is that it is not the breathing that does the trick - the breathing is inconsequential. It is just there to get your mind in the right headspace for the duration of your exercise.
Let's try it out -
Guidance
You may do this exercise anywhere in the comfort of your home or workplace.
Ensure you are in a comfortable seat or seated position on the floor.
Sit up straight with spine fully erect.
Chin up and off the chest.
Breath 3 seconds in through your nose and 3 seconds out through your mouth.
Bonus points by placing both hands with fingers locked together on top of the head to pull rib muscles up. The lungs are weighed down by gravity and other muscles during the day, so this helps momentarily alleviate the load. This is why you see people doing this if they are out of breath (Offers immediate relief).
Acknowledge how you feel before and after each breath. The goal here is to only focus on your breath.
As you continue the 3 seconds inhale and 3 seconds exhale, let us stimulate the diaphragmatic part of the exercise. To do this, inhale while pushing your stomach out to make a potbelly and as you exhale, contract your stomach in and flex that strong 6 pack of yours.
This can be done for any duration of time but I would suggest starting with 3 minutes and working your way up to a 5 to 10-minute interval or whatever works for you to get the relief you need. Try it with me now for 3 minutes.
Good Job! It may take a few days of consistency and practice for results - keep at it as you will get better. The benefits become exponential. Thank you:)
In Good Health,
Coach Chris
I love this. Gonna teach this to my kids. Thanks, Chris!