The Breathe2Relax stress management app walks users through breathing exercises that help stabilise mood, control anger and manage anxiety. It specialises in teaching “diaphragmatic breathing” (aka, belly breathing) to beat stress and encourage relaxation.
Ironically although we all breath, an obvious statement, relatively few have taken any notice of how we breath. Save maybe Physical Education lessons where we were left gasping for it.
Over the years I have spent training and developing my physical fitness I have stuck with a great piece of advice i was given in my early twenties… to keep my head up, shoulders back and mouth open – the body will sort the rest out.
While this advice is great when you are six miles into a long march carrying what seems like your body weight on your back at a pace you almost never walk at, it doesn’t answer the subtle situations. Like how to calm yourself before that job interview or first date. How when everyone around you is getting very agitated as they panick in a stressful situation, you can use your breathing to become calm and controlled.
This is where learning things like meditation or yoga come to the fore. By harnessing diaphragmatic breathing you can mentally take control, calm everything down and take on challenging moments better.
TIP: … drinking coffee at those challenging times will do little to keep things calm!
Learn about diaphragmatic breathing here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaphragmatic_breathing
Read the 23 Ways to fight depression article here: http://www.gq.com.au/success/self+improvement/tips+for+depression+and+anxiety+mental+health,50257
Reworking Joseph 