You know those times when you feel completely stressed and if your head was a kettle, steam would be whistling out of your ears? Or when a loved one is frustrating you so much you either need to scream or laugh. It has been documented that breathing can slow down or halt the hormone responses that cause such a stressful reaction.

Correct deep breathing will:

• Increase the flow of oxygen to the brain, and body.
• Stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system to bring the body back to a resting state,lowering blood pressure, and heart rate.
• Relax the muscles involved in shallow breathing that causes headaches and back issues

Steps to correct breathing
Place one hand on your stomach over your belly button. Take a deep breath in and as you do allow your stomach to expand as the air rushes deep into your lungs.
When you breath out, your stomach should draw in towards your spine, as your muscles squeeze the air out of your lungs. It’s like a bagpipe having the air squeezed out of it.
When you breathe in, observe your shoulders. They should stay perfectly still, no shrugging, lifting, rotating. The same goes for your upper chest. If those areas are moving, you are still breathing shallowly.

Closing your eyes and taking ten super slow, deep breaths does wonders to alter your mood. Try it in when you feel stressed, when you are about to go to sleep or after a big meal. Try it right now. Do you feel different after ten deep breaths?

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Tagged As: Blood pressure, Breathing, Health, Heart rate, Parasympathetic nervous system, Shallow breathing