Breathing

Breathing Exercises

Breathing exercises are a tool you can use any time and anywhere to help regulate feelings of stress and anxiety. Breathing exercises work on the principle that there is a connection between body states and emotions. If you can manage the body state you can also manage the emotion that goes with it.

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This same principle is the reason that beta-blockers are sometimes prescribed to people with anxiety. When we get anxious, our heart rate increases, which in turn can make us feel even more anxious. Since beta-blockers reduce the heart rate, they can also reduce emotions associated with an increased heart rate.

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Breathing exercises affect both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system and can help reduce the flight-fight-freeze response people sometimes feel during times of high emotion. One reason many people find yoga extremely relaxing is because breathing is typically done in a controlled deliberate manner during yoga. Breathing exercises and mindfulness also have a strong connection (and we’ll talk more about mindfulness in a few days). In this presentation, Terry Oliver walks you through a couple of the breathing skills he has taught to civilians and first responders to enable us to perform our jobs better and with less stress.