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Breathing Exercises

Stress/Anxiety Exercises

The Stimulating Breath (Bellows Breath)


  1. Sit up tall with your back straight and relax your shoulders.


  2. Begin inhaling and exhaling rapidly through your nose. Keep your mouth closed but relaxed. The in and out breaths should be equal in duration, but as short and quick as possible. The bellows breath is a noisy breathing exercise.


  3. Try for three complete breath cycles per second. As you breathe, you will notice a quick movement of the diaphragm, like a bellows.

    1. This technique should leave you feeling invigorated and alert.

Relaxing Breathing (4-7-8) Exercise


  1. Sit with a straight back and relax your shoulders.


  2. Place your tongue tip against the tissue behind your upper front teeth and try and keep your tongue in place as you breathe.


  3. Inhale through your nose to a count of four.


  4. Hold your breath for seven seconds.


  5. Exhale through your mouth for approximately eight seconds.


  6. This is considered one cycle of breath. You may repeat this three or four more times.


    1. This technique is a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system. 

    2. You should not do more than four breaths at one time initially because it may leave you feeling lightheaded.

The Body Scan Meditation


  1. Get into a comfortable position. You can sit or lie down.


  2. Close your eyes for a deeper practice.


  3. Starting with your feet and toes, tune into and pay attention to any sensations you feel, like pain or discomfort. You may also notice sensations like tingling, stinging, aching or throbbing.


  4. Take a nice deep breath in through your nose, exhaling through the mouth, releasing the uncomfortable sensation. Allow that area of your body to release, loosen up, and soften.


  5. Work your way up the body, paying attention to how you feel as you focus on the legs, the hips, the back, the stomach, the chest, the neck and shoulders, the arms and hands, and finally the face.


  6. Move progressively up your body, focusing on each muscle group one at a time.


    1. Allows you to tune out distractions while focusing on various areas of the body.

    2. Excess muscle tension exacerbates muscle pain, headaches, and fatigue, and scanning the body can help you prevent the build-up of pressure

Progressive Muscle Relaxation


  1. Get into a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down.


  2. Strive to tense and then release each large muscle or muscle group for about five seconds or so, then relax the muscles.


  3. Begin by taking a few deep breaths from the abdomen. Tense, hold, and relax each large muscle group, working your way up or down the body.


  4. Try and notice the contrast between a tensed state and a relaxed state inhaling as you tense the muscle and exhaling as you relax and let go.


  5. Once you have mastered this technique, you can then do a quick version in which whole muscle groups are tensed and relaxed simultaneously.


    1. Simple exercise where you tense and release all the muscles in your body, working your way up from the feet and toes to the head

    2. ​Can help decrease muscle tension, fatigue, neck and back pain, or even muscle spasms

    3. Also reduces the physiological tension caused by thoughts that tend to provoke anxiety

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