Improve Your Health by Breathing Properly

Are you feeling stressed and want a quick tool you can use to address this?

Most people are upper-chest breathers, areas associated with anxiety and stress.

However, if you start breathing from your stomach this induces calm and a relaxed feeling.

To begin practising this sit back at a slight angle - say in a comfortable chair - making sure your neck is supported.

Place your hands on your stomach and breathe in through your nose to about the count of 7 - imagining that your stomach is a balloon and that you are inflating this as you feel your stomach rise.

After a brief pause start breathing out through your nose to about the count of 11 feeling your stomach deflating like the balloon you have envisioned it is.

Repeat this process 3 times and you should feel much more relaxed and - with a bit of practice - now know how to breathe from your stomach.

When you breathe in you are oxygenating your body and giving it energy from stimulating the sympathetic nervous system.

If you feel soreness in any area of your body take your mind there and breathe into that area to direct the oxygen and energy to that place and help the muscles in that area relax.

Most of us have a tight neck or shoulders so directing energy to these area will help to loosen them.

When you breathe out you are detoxifying and relaxing by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system.

Just carry out this exercise whenever you think of it, for example, when you get in from work.

Research shows that since breathing is the best tool we have for relaxing quickly it also helps us to stay in control of our behaviours, such as, not giving in to comfort eating. How great is that?

Please let me know how you get on with this by leaving a message.

If you would like to know more about stress and anxiety management then please get in touch via our website at West of England Coaching and Counselling.

Managing Stress Through Helpful Questions

When you find yourself on the 'tipping point' of becoming stressed with all the dreadful feelings and behaviour that usually ensue STOP and take a deep breath.


Now, ask yourself the following questions (they work for me and I truly was a big stress-head!):

1. What am I reacting to?
2. What is it that I think is going to happen here?
3. Is this fact?
4. What's the worst (and best) that could happen? What's most likely to happen?
5. What would I like to happen - my outcome?
6. How helpful is it for me to think this way?
7. Am I getting things out of proportion? 
8. Is it worth it?
9. How important is this really? How important will it be in a month's time? 
10. What meaning am I giving this situation?
11. Can I see that this meaning is inflexible?
12. Am I overestimating the threat?
13. Am I underestimating my ability to cope?
14. Have I got my ‘stress-head’ on?
15. What do I look like to other people? How am I affecting them?
16. Am I mind-reading what others might be thinking?
17. Am I believing I can predict the future?
18. Is there another way of looking at this?
19. What advice would I give someone else in this situation?
20. Am I putting more pressure on myself?
21. Just because I feel bad, doesn't mean things really are bad.
22. Can I do things any differently here?
23. How much can I control in this situation? What is outside of my control?
24. What changes (however small) can I make to those things that I am able to control?
25. What do I want or need from this person or situation? What do they want or need from me?  Is there a compromise?
26. What would be the consequences of responding the way I usually do?
27. Is there another way of dealing with this? 
28. What would be the most helpful and effective action to take? (for me, for the situation, for the other person)
29. What could I gain/lose?
30. What will I do?

If this blog has been helpful then please do leave a comment. If you, a friend or relative would like support in managing your stress or anxiety please get in touch via our website West of England Coaching and Counselling.