4 breathing techniques to combat stress

Long hours at work? Sleeping badly lately? The accelerated pace of our modern lives has many suffering stress and anxiety without always knowing how to handle it. But you do not need days in the spa, massages or a return to the Retiro to let off steam. Learn these 4 simple breathing techniques for anxiety relief.

The practice of controlling the breath to calm the mind and relax the body is not new. The yogis and monks have been practicing it for hundreds of years, and every day psychologists use it more in their consultations. It helps reduce blood pressure, promotes a state of calm and lucidity, and many reduce stress in less than 10 minutes. Besides, is not there anything easier than breathing? You have to think. Not so fast, these techniques require practice and discipline, but if you persevere, you can control those moments of stress and even combat anxiety attacks.

Square respiration

The simplest of all. Choose a posture in which you feel at ease (you can be sitting in the office, on the couch at home, and even lying in your bed). Inhale, counting to four, and exhale, counting to four. Always by the nose. Square breathing increases concentration, relaxes the nervous system and reduces stress. It is also particularly useful at bedtime. As you progress, try to inhale and exhale counting to six, eight or 10.

Abdominal breathing

The goal here is to inflate the diaphragm, not the chest. With one hand on the chest and the other on the belly, we take a deep breath through the nose, feeling our belly grow and our lungs stretch. Do six to 10 slow, deep breaths for 10 minutes every day.

Progressive muscle relaxation

It is used to reduce the tension in the whole body. Keeping deep and slow breathing, we start by inhaling through the nose counting to five while tensing our feet, and exhale through the mouth counting up to five relaxing. We repeat for each muscle group: knees, thighs, glutes, chest, arms, hands and fingers, neck and jaw and eyes.

Alternative respiration

In a relaxing position, we put our right thumb over the right nostril and our index over the left nostril. We inhale through the left nostril pressing with our thumb, and let go and exhale through the right nostril pressing with the index finger. It is the only technique that is not recommended before sleep, as it is considered to balance the body and lift the mind.