Stress can be a debilitating factor in your life, affecting both your mental and physical health. The University of Maryland Medical Center estimates that 60 to 90 percent of all visits to a medical office in the United States are for disorders that are stress-related. One way in which you can try to reduce the stress in your life is to employ relaxation techniques. There are numerous relaxation techniques, but controlling your breathing for relaxation is something you can do anywhere.
Benefits
The benefits of employing relaxation techniques are numerous. They can reduce stress hormone levels, which have a physical effect on the body, and improve the quality of life. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, they can reduce the perception of pain and can reduce the symptoms and improve the outcome of a number of conditions, including anxiety, infertility, diabetes, arthritis, hyperactivity in children, premenstrual syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, high blood pressure, panic disorders, and chronic tension headaches.
Yoga
Relaxation through controlled breathing is a technique employed in yoga. According to the Yoga Journal, there are a number of steps to use when relaxing through breathing. After you get yourself in a relaxed pose, focus on your breathing. You should be breathing with your diaphragm, allowing your jaw, shoulders and chest muscles to relax. Because of the movement of the diaphragm during breathing, your belly should move, too. Your breathing should be easy, although some breaths may be deeper than others. There should be a rhythmic and ocean-wave quality to your breathing. Imagine the breaths coming in to the deepest parts of your lungs. Exhalations should be lengthened as you grow relaxed, and you should pause slightly after each exhalation. As you grow more relaxed, your entire body should feel a part of the relaxed breathing process.
Conditions
Breathing techniques are used in several specific conditions. For example, insomniacs may try deep breathing to relax and fall asleep. During labor, patterned breathing can help pregnant women relax. This breathing could be deep or shallow, but follows a pattern. There are also a number of breathing techniques, including the Buteyko breathing technique, which trains people to breathe through their noses. This technique helps people suffering from asthma. According to Consumer Reports, learning the Buteyko breathing technique usually takes four or five days of classes. Students not only learn to breathe through their noses, they learn when they are over-breathing, which is an issue in asthma sufferers, and ways to stop over-breathing. When sleeping, students applying the Buteyko breathing technique sometimes apply tape over their mouths to ensure they breathe through their noses.
Scheduling
To get the full effects of relaxation through breathing techniques, scheduling a time to employ the techniques is important. The practice of relaxation through breathing should be scheduled during a time of day when you are fully awake and alert; otherwise, you may become so relaxed that you fall asleep. Schedule your breathing exercises at the same time every day. By incorporating breathing practice into your daily routine, you are more likely to maintain it in your schedule and reap the full benefits.
