QuickCoach: Relieve Stress through Breath


There are times throughout your day when you may feel
overwhelmed by all the things you have to get done. Tension and
pain begin to build up in your neck and spread to your shoulders,
calling out that you are not effectively dealing with stress. The more
you try to ignore your body's voice, the more it will get back at you
through muscle tautness, deep-tissue soreness, upset stomach,
ulcers, tension headaches, and any of a long assortment of ailments
modern medicine has linked with what we know as stress.

The majority of time you probably don't even notice the escalating
tension in your body while it is still preventable because you are not
taking the time to be mindful of your body's stress signals. Along with
that stiff neck and shoulders, your breathing is probably shallow,
which compounds the problem. Most people tend to breathe out of
their upper chest instead of from their solar plexus. The tension that
spills from constricting breathing in your air passages will result in a
feeling of heaviness, stiffness, and a sensation of being stifled.

Whereas the accumulation of daily stressors adds to our tendency to
take shallow breaths, there is little doubt that our shallow breathing
contributes significantly to the sensation of being "stressed out". It's a
vicious circle that can lead to a severely impaired immune system
function. The negative endorphins that are released when we tense
up are part of a primitive characteristic of human evolution-the
fight-or-flight response. Our bodies were never meant to produce
these hormones for prolonged periods of time-they were intended to
aid in generating short-lived bursts of adrenaline required for the
occasional physical confrontations where our ancestors defended
their survival. What the 20th century has produced, however, is a
prolonged stimulation of these endorphins that is triggered by
stressful situations that go unresolved, and which cause the body to
be kept in a constant activation mode. This accelerated
wear-and-tear of our biological makeup induces fatigue and tissue
damage, and leads to a compromised ability of the body to self-repair
or defend itself against infectious diseases.

Few of us realize the extent to which our breathing is connected to
the proper functioning of our bodies. If your oxygen was suddenly cut
off you would be unable to survive for long. In fact, brain damage
begins to occur after about four minutes of being without air.
Oxygenation rests at the top of all your basic physiological needs for
survival. Premature babies are only considered to enter a stage of
viability after the period when their lungs have been fully formed. Yet
as a society we have been programmed over time, through situational
cues and a haste-oriented, fast-breathing external environment, to
breathe poorly. We tend to take quick, short breaths instead of
deeper, slower breaths. Our chest cavities get constricted and our
hearts pump blood faster, giving us all the symptoms we associate
with the physical state of being that we call "stress".

There are a couple of reasons that account for why we breathe this
way. Our oxygen self-deprivation is partly due to the fact that we live
in such a fast-paced age that we are constantly speaking quickly to
get out what we have to say, leaving little room for deep breathing.
Secondly, when we are rushing around and becoming stressed out
because we just cannot seem to accomplish everything all at once,
we are not mindful of our patterns of respiration. Sometimes all it
takes to ward off an oncoming headache is to just slow down your
breathing so as to give your brain more oxygen and ease the
circulation of your blood flow. Headaches are yet another way that
your brain is screaming at you to slow down and give it the nutrient it
needs most to survive- sufficient air.

Solution
A couple of years ago, during one of my certification training
programs, the facilitator kept on repeating "Breathing is good." We
found that by the end of a week's worth of training, those simple
words had become an anchor that reminded us to breathe deeply
whenever we felt tense. Make a poster with these powerful
words-Breathing is Good -and post it in a place where you will see it
throughout your day!

The way you breathe can affect the degree of anxiety you will
undergo during an already-stressful period. Like a car's engine, the
exhaust in your system can build up to extremely unhealthy
proportions and spill over into many types of illnesses. The good
news is, the magnitude and extent of your stress-related physical
strain can be easily controlled through simple-to-learn breathing
exercises that you can perform anytime. Start by paying attention to
your body. Whenever you begin to feel anxious, stressed out, or
experience physical tension, take a five minute "breath break."

You'll get a deeper, better quality of breath by first filling your lower
abdomen with air, then inhaling higher into your chest for a count of
4. Hold the breath in for a count of 7 and slowly exhale for a count of
8. Feel your body filling up with air, and exhale audibly, visualizing all
your stress being pushed out of your lungs at the end of each deep
breath. Repeat this process until you feel yourself become grounded.

Deep breathing is the fastest method of on-the-spot stress
management, and it's perfect for times when you're on the go and do
not have access to a quiet place where you can re-group. You can
relax your breathing and lessen your stress this way even when
you're in a traffic jam, when you're in an anxious at the office, or when
you feel there are just too many demands coming at you from all
directions. Remember, it's never too late to quit the bad habit of
shallow breathing, and your body will thank you for it immediately.
Deep breathing and meditation are key components of our Stress
Management Seminar.

Beneath anger there is usually a more intense or painful emotion that
we do not want to face. Hence, it is easier just to experience and
express anger externally and distract ourselves from noticing the
more intense feelings underneath the surface. Gaining awareness of
intense emotions can help us to determine their source, and can
ultimately lead to a resolution.

When you feel anger, do not immediately express the anger
outwardly; acknowledge it and take the time to thoroughly experience
this sensation. Stop in that moment and become attuned to your
emotional state in all its complexity. Close your eyes, breathe deeply,
focus your attention at the base of your spine, clear your mind, and
pay attention.

The feelings underlying the anger may include resentment, jealousy,
sadness, depression, and ultimately fear.

Solution
Remind yourself that the feelings and thoughts you are having come
from a part of you that is afraid (this could be a fear of many things --
fear of loss, fear of not being good enough, and so on).

Ask yourself if you want your choices or behaviour to be controlled by
a part of you that is motivated by fear.

Then ask yourself what a loving, compassionate and wise you would
do. When you find the answer, you can choose to act on it or not.
Whatever choice you make is a responsible choice, because you
took the time to contemplate your decision. When you choose
mindfully you become conscious of the potential consequences of
that judgment. A responsible choice may not always be the wisest
alternative, but it is one created with greater awareness of the factors
that motivated you to make it.






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