Relieve stress, cleanse the lungs, calm the nerves, keep you committing a host of felonies....deep breathing is good for the soul.
I remember watching The Flintstones and watching in one episode as Fred counted to ten when he had lost his temper. How his voice became less agitated, his face returned to its natural colour, his eyes would soften, his shoulders would drop and his hands would relax from tight fists as he came closer to 10. It has always stayed with me how that simple technique kept Fred from blowing his proverbial top!
Now that I am older I know that counting to ten enables us to take a moment to BREATH. Our bodies WANT to breathe; deeply, fully, unreservedly. When you breath in stressful situations it triggers the release of feel good endorphins that calm you on a very chemical level.
I know for myself, that it is only at the height of these stressful situations that I realize that my breath is fast, shallow and from the top of my lungs. I also realize that my shoulders have taken the elevator to the penthouse, my low back and my butt are clenched and my calves are like rocks. If you also find yourself in these types of situations, try this simple exercise:
Close your eyes if you can, if you can't just look off into the distance and unfocus your eyes. Inhale to a count of 5, Hold your breath for a count of 5 and then exhale for a count of 5. Repeat this until 5 seconds seems easy, then add another second to the count. Inhale for 6, hold for 6, exhale for 6. Continue to add seconds to the count until you reach 20 seconds inhale, 20 seconds hold, 20 seconds exhale. Keep in mind that reaching that 20 second mark is difficult, but the point is not GETTING THERE, but the effort involved in reaching that goal. Meaning don't stress over getting to 20 seconds, cuz that would kind of be defeating the purpose of the whole exercise. This is called the "One Minute Breath". It works almost as instantly as counting to 10!
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