In hyperventilation caused by anxiety, you may feel breathless and breathe shallowly and rapidly. This reduces carbon dioxide levels in your blood, causing tingling sensations and dizziness that can further increase your anxiety. The "Mayo Clinic Heart Book" states that hyperventilation can be caused by heart and lung disease, as well as anxiety; see your doctor for diagnosis. If your hyperventilation is caused by anxiety, breathing exercises may help.
Relaxing Breath
Sit with your back comfortably straight to begin this breathing exercise. Exhale through your mouth with an emphatic whooshing noise, then shut your mouth and inhale through your nose for 4 seconds. Hold that breath for seven seconds, then exhale fully through your mouth for eight seconds, making the whooshing sound as you did in the first exhale. Inhale again to begin your second round of the exercise, then repeat the cycle two more times after that for a total of four breaths. According to Andrew Weil, founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, this exercise has a naturally tranquilizing effect.
Breathing Exercise for Anxiety
Stand comfortably with your feet slightly apart and your arms relaxed at your sides. Inhale slowly, and bring your arms out gradually to the sides with the palms up; continue raising them until they are over your head. Interlock your fingers and turn your palms to the ceiling, exhaling deeply at the same time. Inhale again, while stretching up and tipping your head back slightly. Then exhale, lowering your head and letting your arms return to your sides. Repeat the entire exercise several times.
Alternate Nostril Breathing
This simple breathing exercise is actually a yoga technique. It should not be performed if you have a cold or blocked nasal passages. Shut your right nostril with your right thumb, and inhale through your left nostril to the count of four. Removing your thumb from your right nostril, shut your left nostril with your right ring finger and pinky, and exhale through your right nostril to the count of eight. Inhale through your right nostril to the count of four, then close this nostril with the right thumb and exhale through the left nostril to a count of eight. This completes one cycle of the technique. Holistic Online recommends doing three cycles of the exercise, adding one cycle a week to the regimen until you are performing seven cycles at a time.
Belly Breathing
Recline on your back, with small pillows tucked under your neck and knees to reduce strain. Put your hands palm down on your stomach at the bottom of your ribcage, with middle fingers just touching, and inhale slowly and deeply. The expansion of your stomach caused by the diaphragm pushing down will cause your fingers to separate slightly, a sign that you are fully using your lungs. Exhale slowly and deeply; this helps to expel carbon dioxide and to cleanse the blood of waste products. You can perform this for five minutes.
References
- University of Missouri-Kansas City: Breathing Exercises
- Holistic Online: Anxiety, Breathing--Deep Breathing for Anxiety
- Dr. Weil: Breathing--Three Exercises
- "Mayo Clinic Heart Book, Revised Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Heart Health; Bernard J. Gersh; 2000
- Holistic Online: Yoga, Pranayama, Alternate Nostril Breathing
