Deep Breathing & Stretching Techniques

I’ve heard that deep breathing is supposed to help with stress and anxiety. You take a deep breath in, breathing from your abdominal muscles (not your upper chest area), and while breathing in, say a prayer, maybe to the effect of, “Lord, I breathe in your peace.” Then you exhale slowly, blowing, again, from the abdominal muscles, and say a prayer, maybe to the effect of, “Lord, I let go of…”.

I thought this sounded completely hokey at first, and would produce no effect, but I think it might actually help. The reason is that stress, anxiety and fear are not only emotionally based, but also have physical elements to them. When you experiencing anxiety, fear or stress, certain areas of your body are tensed up. Deep breathing and stretching will most likely help to reduce muscle tension.

When you experience emotional tension, try to identify which muscle groups are becoming tense. This is unique to the individual – different muscle groups tend to tense up with different people. These are the areas that you should focus on stretching gently ten times a day.

When you begin the practice of deep breathing and stretching, it may be hard to do, but it is good to do this ten times a day, regularly throughout the day. It may be while you are sitting at your desk at work, or moving around, as the case may be. It is not a long exercise, just something quick, yet relaxing at the same time.

Try it and see if you like it!