Deep breathing can help you get relaxed

Modern people tend to develop stress, anxiety and other mental health. If you are struggling to get relaxed, pay more attention to how you breathe. You don’t need any special technique or go for therapy and the like, simply by targeting your body directly, you’ll find more calm and peace.

How shallow breathing affects your body

Shallow breathing is also called chest breathing. When you’re nervous, you tend to breathe this way, that is, take quick and shallow breaths from your chest. This will not only cause higher heart rate, muscle tension and a series of physical reactions, but it also leads to worse stress responses in turn.

On the other hand, chest breathing means you more rely on the muscles around your neck and collarbone to breathe. Accompanied by long-time sedentary work, this may make these muscles really tight, which is linked to bad body posture like rounded shoulders, forward head and so on.

How deep breathing helps you get relaxed

Deep breathing is also called abdominal or belly breathing. It means inhaling air through your nose and deep into your belly. During this process, your diaphragm (which is just below your ribcage) plays a big role as it allows more air to come into your body.

Deep breathing has lots of health benefits ranging from reducing stress to lowering blood pressure. And because it involves your respiratory muscle, practicing deep breathing 3-4 times a day and 10 minutes each time will help relieve your anxiety and improve your overall mental health.

The right way of breathing

So we know that belly breathing is more healthy than chest breathing. How to tell if you breathe properly, then? Just watch in the mirror and check if your shoulders go upwards when inhaling and come back down when exhaling. If your answer is yes, you breathe the wrong way. To correct your breathing, thy this way as below:

• 1. Sitting in a comfortable way. Don’t clench or squeeze your belly muscles.
• 2. Place your left hand on your belly and your right hand on your chest.
• 3. Inhale air slowly through your nose, and then you should feel your belly rise where your left hand is put.
• 4. Exhale slowly through your slightly pursed lips. Your right hand should be remain relatively still.