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Anxiety Breathing Exercises Using Yoga

By Operation-Meditation

Your mind is racing, your heart is pounding, and your body is beginning to react to a stressful situation or event – what can you do to escape this before it turns into an anxiety attack? If you find yourself feeling helpless, overwhelmed and not knowing what to do, there are a few very simple anxiety breathing exercises using yoga that can be used to calm your anxiety and help you regain control over your reactions to whatever life throws your way.

The Expansion of Life

Without breathing we cannot live, so we can consider breath to be life itself in a way. In yoga, prana means breath, and breathing exercises are known as pranayama, which means “the expansion of life”. When your lungs are expanding and filling with air upon taking a breath, they are literally filling up with life! Although any type of in and out breathing will keep you alive, not all types will keep you feeling well. The better you feel, the better you are able to handle stress and to [f] enjoy life. Feeling better can improve your quality of life, and even extend the years you will live.

The Right Way to Breathe?

Believe it or not, you can combat the feelings of anxiety and panic by using some simple yoga anxiety breathing exercises.There are many different types of breathing that are appropriate to various situations. When running, swimming, or meditating, different methods of breathing are beneficial to the activity. Controlled breathing helps us to perform an activity with better results. The same applies for calming the anxiety-ridden body and mind; you have to breathe the right way.

1. Get into a comfortable position. You should be as comfortable as possible to start with. If you are at home, you can sit down or lie down. If you are in public, find a good spot to sit down, preferably somewhere quieter and less crowded.

2. Close your eyes, and breathe in through your nose, counting to four seconds. Do not focus or worry about anything going on around you; simply concentrate on your breathing.

3. Breathe out through your nose, counting to six seconds. Please note that you can breathe out using your mouth if it is uncomfortable to do so through your nose. Some people feel as if they are unable to exhale properly through the nose.

4. Repeat this pattern several times, and then begin breathing out for eight seconds. Continue focusing only on your breathing and nothing else.

5. Keep on breathing in this way until it becomes a natural pattern of breathing. Because your body is adjusting and calming itself, your racing mind will begin to follow suit and do the same.

You can do these simple anxiety breathing exercises as many times as you feel necessary. Eventually, the calmness that comes over your body and your mind will come more quickly and easily. You may even reach a point where you can practice this type of breathing without stopping to sit or lie down.

Meditation through Breathing

This practice of using yoga techniques for breathing can be considered a type of meditation. Meditation is a method used to calm the mind and silence the chaos of life swirling around inside. It can help you become aware of the damaging thought patterns, habits and emotional responses that you have to stressful events. Other meditation techniques can also be used in addition to these breathing exercises, and will help you learn to calm your thinking and curb your overall level of anxiety on a daily basis. You will feel better physically, psychologically, and spiritually.

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