If you search for breathing exercises for relaxation you will find a lot of suggestions. But the one I now do automatically when I start to feel tense and nervous, is to blow out all of the air from my lungs, then relax and let my lungs refill without any effort on my part. As this article says, it’s the exhale that is linked to our parasympathetic nervous system, the one which causes our bodies to relax.
Inhaling deeply may not always calm you down. Taking a deep breath in is actually linked to the sympathetic nervous system, which controls the fight-or-flight response. But exhaling is linked to the parasympathetic nervous system, which influences our body’s ability to relax and calm down.
Taking too many deep breaths too quickly can actually cause you to hyperventilate. Hyperventilation decreases the amount of oxygen-rich blood that flows to your brain.
When we feel anxious or under stress, it’s easier to breathe too much and end up hyperventilating — even if we’re trying to do the opposite.
Before you take a big, deep breath, try a thorough exhale instead. Push all the air out of your lungs, then simply let your lungs do their work inhaling air.
Next, try spending a little bit longer exhaling than you do inhaling. For example, try inhaling for four seconds, then exhale for six. Try doing this for two to five minutes.
This technique can be done in any position that’s comfortable for you, including standing, sitting, or lying down.
—8 Breathing Exercises to Try When You Feel Anxious
The neat thing is if you do this consistently when you start to tense up, it eventually becomes a habit and will happen automatically. That is one powerful habit!
February 8, 2025
There’s so much stress these days.
God bless.
Yes.
I do the inhale for 6, hold for 4, exhale for 7.. supposed to help sleep, and shut down the brain, but not my brain.. I have tried several different counts. this one helps the most. when I remember to do it
There are all sorts of meditations for that. The idea isn’t to stop our thoughts, it’s to be able to calmly step back and observe them, instead of getting tossed around by them.
The one I heard was inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds and exhale forcefully for 8 seconds. I noticed how relaxed you feel after the exhale. I did this one a lot the day I was all stressed out over screwing up my unemployment stuff.
I’ve been blowing out a lot lately, and I can understand why you would have to when messing with unemployment insurance. I’m glad you finally reached a person who could help.
…relaxing has never been a problem for me.
That’s great!
I think I will be doing a lot of this. Thanks!
🙂
Thank you. I am definitely going to try doing this. My anxiety is not good at this time. Thanks for sharing
Good luck!
Unlike me, Tom frequently experiences panic attacks. We were sharing with his VA doc just yesterday — but unlike the anxiety meds they prescribe, I like your method. Cross fingers he agrees to try this.
Fingers crossed. 🙂
I hope it DOES become a habit, as my memory is not as good as it used to be.
Fingers crossed!
Thank you. I didn’t know and always enjoy learning new skills for dealing with the general fuckery of life:) I always find exhaling so much easier than inhaling for some reason too.
I find it so much easier too!
Powerful and a darn good habit too.
Thanks.
Thanks for sharing
🙂
I’ll try it.
🙂
We have heard this before and have tried it. One of our daughters has had off and on anxiety issues and she learned a lot of breathing exercises to help. Thanks for sharing.
Woos – Misty and Timber
I’m glad she knew about it and that it helped.