Breathing exercises to relieve nervous tension. We follow the breath. Video with calming breathing exercises

02.05.2019

Reflect and honestly tell yourself how stressed you are and how well you cope with it? The identification of such symptoms as fatigue at the beginning of the working day, irritation, impatience, insomnia, anxiety over any trifles, anxiety in general will help clarify the answer. How often do you hear from friends and relatives the phrase: "It's time for you to relax and unwind", but do not react to such remarks in any way? If you easily recognize yourself in the previous sentences, it's time to learn how to relieve tension through relaxation exercises.

And if this topic seems interesting to you, and you want to develop even more in it, we recommend that you learn real practical techniques for self-motivation, stress management and social adaptation in order to always control your emotional and mental state.

When starting to practice different relaxation techniques, remember the following. Learning the basics of relaxation techniques is not difficult, but it takes time and effort. Most experts recommend exercising at least 10-20 minutes a day. Those attending special stress relief sessions take 30-60 minutes. Start small, and individual elements of the exercises can be performed right at your desk, in transport, at a bus stop.

Top 3 Ways to Relieve Stress:

Complex 1. Breathing exercises

Deep breathing allows you to relax, regardless of the thoughts that overcome a person. It is not for nothing that in the films, the policemen or doctors who arrived at the scene of the action advise the victims, first of all, to breathe deeply and evenly. In stressful situations, breathing quickens and the body lacks oxygen. Deep breathing promotes the supply of this vital gas to the brain and to all cells in the right volumes.

Exercises:

Inhale and exhale slowly and deeply through the nose, counting from 1 to 4 as you inhale and exhale. This exercise is very easy to do, and it is especially effective if you cannot sleep.
Try to relax your shoulders and upper chest muscles as you breathe. Do this consciously with each exhalation. The fact is that in stressful situations, when a person is tense, the muscles of the diaphragm are not used for breathing. Their purpose is to lower the lungs down, thereby expanding the airways. When we are excited, the muscles of the upper chest and shoulders are used more often, which do not contribute to the full work of breathing.
Nadi Shodhana. Yoga exercise that helps to activate and focus; acts, according to experts, like a cup of coffee. With the thumb of the right hand, close the right nostril and inhale deeply through the left (for women, on the contrary, close the left nostril with the left hand and inhale through the right). At the peak of inhalation, close the left (right for women) nostril with the ring finger and exhale.
Sit up straight or lie on your back. Place one hand on your stomach, the other on your chest. Inhale the air deeply through the nose, while the hand on the stomach should rise, and on the chest move only slightly. Exhale through your mouth, while again the hand on the stomach falls, and on the chest practically does not move. In this case, breathing will occur with the help of the diaphragm.

Complex 2. Muscle relaxation

The technique of progressive muscle relaxation was developed by the American physician E. Jacobson in the 1920s. It is based on a simple physiological fact: after the tension of any muscle, a period of automatic relaxation begins. With this in mind, a technique was developed according to which, in order to achieve a deep relaxation of the body, you must first tense the muscles strongly for 10-15 seconds, and then concentrate on the feeling of relaxation that has arisen in them for 15-20 seconds.

Exercises:

Start by focusing on your breathing for a few minutes. Breathe slowly and calmly, think of something pleasant. After that, you can start muscle exercises, working on different muscle groups.
Arms. Squeeze your hand as tightly and strongly as possible. You should feel tension in your hand and forearm. Relax your hand as you exhale, concentrating on the emerging feeling of relief. Repeat the same for the other hand. If you are right-handed, you should start with the right hand, if you are left-handed - with the left.
Neck. Tilt your head back, slowly turn it from side to side, then relax. Pull the shoulder joints high to the ears and in this position tilt the chin to the chest.
Face. Raise your eyebrows as high as possible, open your mouth wide (as if feigning a feeling of great surprise). Close your eyes tightly, frown and wrinkle your nose. Clench your jaw tightly and pull the corners of your mouth back.
Breast. Take a deep breath and hold your breath for a few seconds, then relax and return to normal breathing.
Back and belly. Tighten your abdominal muscles, pull your shoulder blades together, and arch your back.
Legs. Tighten the front and back muscles of the thigh, keeping the knee in a tense half-bent position. Pull your foot as far as you can and straighten your toes. Stretch your ankle joint and squeeze your toes.

Do 3-4 repetitions of the complex. Every time you rest a muscle that has just been tense, notice how nice it is and how good it feels to be relaxed. For many people, it helps to cope with stress and anxiety.

Complex 3. Meditation

The most general definition of the concept of "meditation" in psychological dictionaries is as follows: "a method of mental training, in which there is an intense, penetrating reflection, immersion in an object, an idea, which is achieved by focusing on one object." The recommendations collected in this block relate to how to conduct a visual meditation session on your own. Visual meditation is a variation of traditional meditation, which is based on the use of not only visual meanings, but also the senses: taste, touch, smell and sound. When used as a relaxation technique, visualization involves imagining a scene in which you feel free from tension and anxiety.

A set of exercises:

Choose a quiet and secluded place, nothing should distract you. Take a comfortable position. It is not recommended to lie down, it is better to sit on the floor, in a chair or try to sit in the lotus position.
Choose a focus point. It can be internal - an imaginary scene, or external - a candle flame. Therefore, the eyes can be open or closed. At the beginning, it is very difficult to concentrate and avoid distracting thoughts, so the focus point must be strong, clear and precise, so that you can return to it at any time.
The focal point should definitely be something soothing to you. It could be a tropical beach at sunset, a forest clearing, or an orchard in the village next to your grandparents' house as a child. Visual meditation can be done in silence, or you can turn on relaxing music or an audio recording with meditation tips.
Try to use all your senses as much as possible. For example, your focal point is the forest. Imagine that you are walking through a clearing, and cold dew falls on your feet, you hear the singing of many birds, you smell the pine tree, you breathe clean air in full. The picture should be as lively as possible. Meditate for 15-20 minutes.

Remember, relaxation will not save you from problems, but it will help you relax and distract from irrelevant details, so that later you can take up the decision with renewed vigor.

During overstrain and severe stress, a change occurs in the metabolic processes of the body. A person needs more oxygen to the cells, but at the same time he breathes shallowly and often, or, conversely, slows down his breathing.

Breathing exercises will help to cope with stress, prevent its negative consequences, improve well-being, increase self-confidence and one's strengths.

Experts note that such exercises have practically no contraindications and possible side effects, act quickly and help to cope with nervous strain in almost any situation.

Among the benefits of using various practices, the following should be noted:

positive effect on the work of the heart and blood vessels;
improving brain function and concentration;
strengthening the immune system and nervous system;
the emergence of self-confidence, in their own abilities;
light massaging of internal organs and an increase in lung volume with regular use of breathing exercises;
increased stress resistance and performance;
the appearance of cheerfulness and positive emotions even after a hard day's work;
acceleration of metabolic processes and removal of toxins;
improving performance in sports;
reducing dependence on bad habits.

Various breathing exercises are useful for those who practice oratory, suffer from insomnia, increased anxiety, diseases of the heart, blood vessels, and upper respiratory tract. They will also give a positive effect during pregnancy (especially in the later stages) and to relieve stress in children.

How to do breathing practices

To obtain the desired therapeutic effect, breathing exercises to relieve stress must be carried out correctly. Experts recommend adhering to the exercises of the following principles:

Posture during classes should be comfortable. Usually this position is lying on your back or standing on your feet.
During the session, you should be relaxed. It is advisable to completely disconnect from the outside world: stay alone with yourself, turn off the phone and computer, close your eyes.
It is best to try to get all negative thoughts out of your head. But if this does not work out, then pay attention to your breathing, concentrate on it. You can visualize beautiful landscapes or other images.
The complexity of the exercises and the duration of the practices are best increased gradually. Start with the simplest techniques that will help you get used to the exercises.

It is advisable to accompany the exercises of any technique with positive thought forms and affirmations. For example, say to yourself “I am calm”, “I am filled with energy and light”, “I am relaxing”. Do not use constructions with "not" (for example, "I'm not worried").

Types and methods of breathing

All breathing exercises under stress are based on four basic types of breathing:

chest breathing, which involves the sternum and ribs;
diaphragmatic, where the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm take part, there is an increased saturation of cells with oxygen;
the upper sections of the lungs, when the clavicles are involved in the process;
wave-like way, where all the previous types of breathing are present.

The most popular methods

In total, there are several dozen types of respiratory complexes to get rid of stress, overstrain and overwork. But the following methods are considered the most effective, and therefore very popular:

Chinese breathing exercises Qigong. This is a whole complex that helps relieve nervous tension, slow down aging, improve metabolism, remove toxins, and normalize weight. One of the most effective stress relief exercises is called the tiger hug. You need to raise your hands to shoulder level, connect the tips of your fingers together so that the palms are directed towards you. Pull them towards you, imagining that you hug and make everything that surrounds you closer. Breathe slowly, consciously, deeply. Accompany this breathing practice with positive thought forms and images.
Breathing exercises of yogis - Pranayama. This is a whole system of exercises, which will be difficult to understand without an instructor or deep immersion in the topic. In Pranayama, there are several techniques for getting rid of stress. All of them are based on the alternation of clavicular, thoracic and abdominal breathing patterns.
Japanese gymnastics. It helps not only relieve stress, but also normalize metabolism, as well as reduce weight. The exercises are based on deep slow breathing, which helps to clarify thoughts and calm down.
Candle breath. The exercise is not difficult, it is often used during childbirth and for pain of various origins, as well as for stress and strong excitement. For the best effect, you need to put a lit candle in front of you and turn on calm relaxing music. The pose can be anything. The main thing is that it be comfortable. Place the candle at a distance, and then at a right angle, try to blow on it. Moreover, inhalations and exhalations should be frequent and superficial. Inhale quickly through the nose, and exhale smoothly and slowly through the mouth. You can practice the technique without a candle. Due to the high amount of oxygen that enters your body, this exercise can make you feel a little dizzy.

Each of these breathing techniques is useful and good in its own way. During exercise, the body always receives more oxygen than in normal life. Therefore, try several types of exercises and choose the ones that you like best. After all, it is important that classes bring not only benefit, but also joy.

Remember, to deal with stress, it is advisable to work out everything possible to improve your condition. For example, to reduce anxiety before an exam, prepare well for it. And to less worry about speaking in public, use a variety of public speaking techniques.

A striking example of this is the pronunciation of a speech in front of a mirror or household members. At the same time, without the recommendation of a specialist, you should not drink various sedatives to avoid excitement, as they can do more harm than good.

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Concepts stress in everyday and scientific sense differ significantly. Usually we call stress a strong negative impact of a psychological plan. Although, as the well-known stress researcher Hans Selye proved, the body reacts in the same way to any strong impact - whether it be a quarrel with superiors, a burn or food poisoning: the so-called "non-specific adaptation reactions" are turned on: the pituitary gland, thyroid gland, adrenal glands, sex glands begin to produce more hormones and increases the level of lymphocytes in the blood. The body prepares to survive in difficult conditions.

Anti-stress breathing techniques - a "vaccine" against stress

The problem is that with a high level of stress exposure, the body is often not ready for a quick restructuring of physiology, and non-specific adaptation reactions, instead of making a person more resistant to stress factors, lead to an exacerbation of diseases. So, an increase in blood pressure, designed to improve the supply of oxygen to the muscles, leads to hypertensive hemorrhages in the internal organs,.

An excess of glucocorticoids - "anti-shock" hormones, simultaneously weakens the immune system, and a person becomes more susceptible to infectious diseases.

This happens because the mechanisms of adaptation arose long before the advent of the mind, when stress factors - whether it was the pursuit of a predator or competition with relatives for food, our ancestors were exposed to many times a day. In the current comfortable conditions, when we are relatively rarely exposed to stress, the body needs, let's say, an “anti-stress vaccine” - a set of daily light stresses, overcoming which, the body becomes able to overcome serious stress without problems. This is called the "training response".

As already mentioned, stress can be any strong effect on the body, and therefore the methods anti-stress training many - it can be sports and swimming in the hole, and special breathing techniques. The advantage of breathing techniques as a way to deal with stress is that they are available to everyone and always!

Abdominal breathing is the basis of anti-stress breathing technique

Most anti-stress breathing techniques, both yogic and those proposed by modern psychologists, consist of a combination of periods of slight hyperventilation of the lungs and hypoxia.

The essence of these breathing techniques is that it is necessary to tighten the diaphragm, take the deepest possible breath so that the stomach protrudes, exhale several times longer than the inhalation, and hold your breath for a few seconds.

An integral feature of such breathing techniques is that you need to breathe exclusively through the nose.

With this breathing technique, the air fills the entire volume of the lungs and the oxygen content in the blood is slightly higher than in the normal state (which is already stressful), however, a long period of exhalation and holding the breath with this breathing technique does not allow such symptoms of hyperventilation as dizziness and limb numbness.

Breathing techniques and exercise

To improve adaptation to stress, it is worth combining the breathing technique with physical activity. The best option for combining physical exercises with yoga breathing techniques is the so-called static muscle tension, when, together with the implementation of breathing techniques, muscle groups tense up, but remain motionless.

Before performing breathing techniques with physical exercises, you first need to lie on your back and try to relax. Then you need to move on to the actual exercises of the breathing technique.

This breathing technique requires you to take a shallow breath, hold your breath for a second and at the same time tighten the muscles throughout the body - from the neck to the toes. Then, as yogic breathing techniques assure, you need to slowly exhale and lie still for a couple of minutes. The exercises prescribed by this breathing technique should be repeated about 10 times every day.

Breathing technique directly under stress

Although the basis of anti-stress breathing techniques is constant training in breathing techniques, the correct breathing technique can also help directly in a stressful situation.

One of the main problems of stress is vasoconstriction and increased pressure, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke.

If during stress there is a reddening of the face, a feeling of pulsation in the temples, pain in the middle of the chest, there is a feeling of lack of air, you can use a simple breathing technique.

With this breathing technique, you need to mentally count to ten. First, the breathing technique prescribes to take a breath for “one-two-three-four”, for “five-six-seven-eight” exhale, for “nine-ten” - a pause.

After five such breaths, the breathing technique instructs you to start taking breaths for four counts and smooth exhalations for six counts, and a pause for one or two counts.

After taking five such breaths, the breathing technique prescribes to return to the previous exercise and alternate them until relaxation is achieved.

This breathing technique allows you to improve the supply of oxygen to the body and slightly lower blood pressure. However, it is worth remembering that during a heart attack, no breathing technique can be considered a reliable means of copying an attack. Therefore, if during stress there is a aching pain in the middle of the chest, along with the correct breathing technique, you should immediately take sedatives (like "") or drugs based on nitroglycerin, and call an ambulance.

Irritation and anger often interfere with making the right decisions, and raised tones in a conversation only exacerbate conflict situations. Use breathing techniques to manage your emotions.

Breathing can not only bring life-giving oxygen to the body, but also help us in critical situations. With the help of deep breaths and slow exhalations, a person calms down faster, gets rid of panic attacks, and maintains clarity of mind.

Thanks to the proposed breathing techniques, you can avoid stressful situations and suppress anger in the bud. These methods also help in situations where nervous tension makes it difficult to objectively assess the situation and take the right step.

1. Vritti Sama, Equal Breathing

Take a comfortable sitting position, straighten your back. Count to four and take a slow deep breath. Exhale slowly for a count of four. The exercise is performed with the help of nasal breathing, that is, the mouth is closed. Over time, after practice, you will be able to increase the count to six and even up to eight. This exercise relieves tension, supplies the brain with oxygen, gives a feeling of calm and relaxation.

The best time to do this exercise is before bed. Thus, you prepare the body for proper rest and get rid of disturbing thoughts and emotions.

2. Technique of breathing through the stomach

Inhale deeply through your nose, opening your lungs and diaphragm. Exhale slowly through your mouth. Seven such breaths can bring your body to a state of rest, lower your heart rate and thereby stabilize your blood pressure. It is enough to spend about 10 minutes a day on this exercise.

Most often, this technique is used before important matters: passing exams, business meetings and similar stressful situations for your body. Constant training will teach you to dive into breathing exercises without hesitation, quickly reducing stress.

3. Nadi Shodhana or Alternate Breathing

Take a comfortable position, close your eyes and slowly inhale the air through your nose, closing your right nostril with your right thumb. Inhaling, close the left nostril with the ring finger of the right hand and exhale the air through the nose. Alternate breaths through different nostrils four to five times.

This exercise reduces the level of stress and negativity, promotes improved brain activity, and energizes. With the help of Nadi Shodhana, you manage your anger by turning it off and allowing the body to recover quickly.

4. Kapalabhati, or "Shining Breath of the Skull"

In a comfortable position, take a long breath in through your nose, and then exhale sharply using the abdominal muscles. To do this, tighten the lower abdomen, and literally push the air out sharply and quickly. Find a comfortable pace for yourself and do this exercise eight or ten times.

With the help of such breathing, you supply the entire body with enough oxygen and help it mobilize all the forces for action. This exercise can be equated to a cup of invigorating coffee drunk in the morning.

5. Progressive relaxation

This technique includes a preparatory stage. First, take a position in which you can alternately tighten and relax all the muscles in your body. Start at the feet and work your way up to the head. Focus on your body and try to work out as many muscle groups as possible. It's okay if you don't get enough the first time. Constant training will give you complete control over your body. During the exercise, use nasal breathing. Inhale slowly and deeply, tighten your muscles, and then relax and exhale slowly. Use a count of three or four to start with.

This technique allows you to relax after a busy day and stabilize all processes in the body. Breathing combined with exercise delivers the necessary amount of oxygen to the muscles, thereby regulating the level of stress.

6. Guided visualization

The best for this exercise is the use of soothing music. Close your eyes, relax and imagine pleasant moments from life, memorable images of cities, buildings, faces of close relatives, children, pets - everything that can please you and cheer you up. At the same time, slowly inhale air through the nose and exhale it just as slowly. Soon you will find the necessary rhythm and completely relax. Give this exercise 10-15 minutes.

You can also get rid of stress and recharge your batteries with the help of dynamic meditation. All these exercises will help you learn to control your emotions, manage anger and always keep the situation under control. We wish you good luck and don't forget to press the buttons and

18.04.2017 06:25

Breathing is an integral part of our life. With it, we can not only get the necessary ...

The phrase "A breath of fresh air" is not understood by everyone. In fact, it means that a person has found a way out of a difficult life situation and now lives in peace. But not everyone understands that proper breathing under stress will strengthen health and emotional state. What exercises can be used to remove “excitement” if the nerves take your breath away from the nerves?

Proper breathing can help fight stress

How does breathing affect the body?

Breathing exercises make the blood move faster through the body and collect unnecessary and sometimes even harmful substances on its way: dead cells, pieces of blood vessels, toxins. All collected debris exits through the lungs. Proper inhalation will saturate the blood with fresh oxygen, and through an intermediary will communicate it to the whole organism, and exhalation will remove the waste material from the body.

Breathing exercises to relieve stress help cleanse the body. Breathing from the chest does not allow the lungs to open fully, so the body does not have enough nutrition, and the lungs themselves cannot be completely cleansed.

After a while, there is no place for garbage at all, and the blood again spreads it to all organs. But if you balance your breathing and saturate the body with fresh air every day, it will be cleansed and work normally.

Human lungs are cleansed through proper breathing

Existing exercises

Breathing exercises to calm the nervous system are presented in several forms.

Abdominal exercise. When it is performed, a small amount of air enters the lungs, so no special efforts are required. Often this type of breathing is difficult, because many people squeeze the stomach with a belt. But doing this exercise at least several times a day is good for the body.
The middle breathing exercise is performed thanks to the ribs and fills the lungs well with air, but the abdominal one is able to open them much better.
The upper breathing exercise is performed by almost everyone. It works only with the upper lungs and allows them to work to their full potential.
A complete breathing exercise makes it possible to fill the entire body with air, and completely rid it of harmful substances when exhaling, because it includes all three types of exercises

How can breathing help relieve stress?

Proper breathing during times of stress helps to relieve tension and find peace. Frequent inhalations accelerate blood circulation, increase heart rate, so there is not enough time for the breathing process. The body begins to work twice as fast, and brain activity weakens. That is why a person can often make wrong decisions. There is a strong stress, and a person loses control over himself.

If you learn to do breathing exercises to calm the nerves, then the body will be able to recover quickly.

To reduce the frequency of breathing means to calm down, to find harmony with yourself. Therefore, breathing to calm the nerves is simply necessary for a person.

Stress Relief Technique

Breathing technique is aimed at relieving tension. It has 3 important purposes:

help the body breathe at full strength;
inhale and exhale equally;
start breathing correctly and rhythmically.

Often people experiment with breathing: they begin to breathe heavily often. This leads to dizziness. Of course, such a result is not dangerous, but you need to know about it in advance. To return to the starting position, a person needs to breathe at a normal pace for a couple of minutes, and when the head stops spinning, continue the gymnastics. Don't breathe too fast. Breathe in and out slowly and gently.

Gymnastics in the rhythm of the heart

This technique is recommended by many experts. It is performed to the rhythm of the heart. First you need to find the pulse, close your eyes and feel the breath and heartbeat. When a person gets used to the rhythm, he needs to count the number of beats that fall on inhalation and exhalation.

You need to exhale on the first, second and third beats of the pulse. It is necessary to find a rhythm that is convenient for you, because the tension of the body depends on it. A person may notice that his heart began to beat faster - this depends on the frequency of breathing. An extended exhalation will slightly slow down the heartbeat and it will become much more comfortable for a person to do gymnastics.

During the period of tension of the nervous system, the synchronization of the respiratory and cardiac cycles becomes less, this is how physiological processes act. Therefore, when a person adjusts the rhythm of the heart and breathing, it facilitates the action of the nervous system, helping to relieve tension and returning the body to a state of calm.

Breathing exercises can take place in the rhythm of the heartbeat

Breathing technique for the abdomen

For this technique, you need to place your hand on your stomach and hear the rhythm of breathing. You can dream up and think that there is a ball in the stomach. When a person inhales, the balloon expands and stretches the stomach, and when you exhale, the stomach becomes smaller, because the balloon deflates.

Exhalation occurs on its own, so you do not need to do anything. No need to squeeze out the air, straining the abdominal muscles. Let it come out on its own, slowly and smoothly. The technique lasts 1-2 minutes, during which time a person gets used to breathing correctly. Then you can gradually increase the duration of the exhalation so that it is longer than the inhalation.

Now you need to learn how to breathe smoothly with your stomach. Exhalation is more important than inhalation. You need to close your eyes for 3-5 minutes and breathe properly. A person should pay attention to the sensations at the moment of breathing: how the stomach moves and how the body feels. It is enough to do the technique for 3-5 minutes, and immediately feel the calm of the nervous system.

Breathing exercises with the stomach can be combined with meditation. This will increase the result and improve the functioning of the nervous system.

Breathing technique on the count

The counting technique helps to make breathing even. As practice shows, such gymnastics is best done with the stomach. If it is unusual for a person to breathe with his stomach, you can use any convenient method.

First you need to close your eyes and listen to your breathing. Then you need to start mentally counting and remember how many counts you have to inhale and exhale. For example, if there are 5 counts on inhalation and 6 counts on exhalation, then the exhalation is slightly longer than the inhalation.
You need to watch and count a few minutes. It is necessary to control the count so that the exhalation and exhalation at each stage are the same. This will make the breathing rhythmic.
After a person learns to inhale and exhale equally, he can try to increase the length of the breath. First, you can lengthen the breath by one count. For example, if the breath lasted 5 counts, now it can be increased to 6. So you need to breathe for a few minutes to get used to it. This breathing allows the body to relax.
At the next stage, the inhalation remains the same, and the exhalation can be stretched and breathed like this for a couple of minutes. The exhalation can be stretched as long as it is comfortable.
Now the person should start breathing in the opposite direction: shorten the inhalation and exhalation in the same way. If it becomes difficult, it is worth returning to the original version of the account. A person himself must control inhalations and exhalations, feel comfortable and not tense.

Thus, a person will choose for himself a comfortable breathing exercise that will help him relax and improve his nervous system.

Conclusion

Relieve stress with breathing exercises. The main thing is to find a convenient technique for yourself. After that, a person will be able to control their negative emotions and feelings.

Calming breathing techniques are very convenient, they can be done at any time of the day, anywhere. Any breathing exercise that relieves tension will have a beneficial effect on the body.