When you are anxious, it is often difficult to breathe correctly – if at all. And feeling that way heightens your anxiety, because of course, choking is alarming. Below are a three exercises that can help you calm down, beginning with the all-important breathing.

Breathe

Question: “Isn’t breathing involuntary like my heartbeat?”

No, there is shallow breathing, and then there is deep breathing. To know which you are, place the palms of your hands on your abdomen while exhaling. Now inhale.

Does your stomach expand to fill with air? This is correct deep breathing. But in shallow breathing you would tighten your stomach and push up your diaphragm so that only your chest would fill with air.

Deep breathing is natural and only takes a few minutes of practice a day. Simply inhale through your nose for four counts, hold for four seconds, and exhale through your mouth for seven counts. As you inhale, think of your stomach as filling up with air. (This is not the time to worry about your waistline! For this exercise to work, you must relax your abdominal muscles.)

As you exhale, sigh loudly as if the all the stress in your body is floating away from you. Repeat. Do this for at least five minutes two times a day. This will release calm and train your muscles to breathe correctly on command.

Eat

What you ingest is important to your overall health because your body runs on food and liquids. Liquids are to the body what oil is to the engine. Water, in particular, hydrates and cleanses the system. Having insufficient water (less than 8 6-ounce cups a day) can lead to daytime fatigue (…and wrinkles, dry eyes and bladder infections too, but we’ll save that for another article.).

Now on to your food, the solid stuff. Generally people eat quite an acidic diet which lowers their body’s ability to handle stress. Acidic foods include salt, sugar, proteins, nuts, grains, and dairy products (except yogurt).

You want to lower the acid and increase the alkaline in your diet to about 20/80, respectively. This is the number for internal ph balance. So your diet should concentrate on fruits and raw vegetables, reserving the proteins (about 50 g./day) for when you need energy.

Move it to Lose It

Yes, you’ve heard it a million times at school and in the news: You’ve gotta move it to lose it! But when it comes to exercise for anxiety, you don’t have to change your appearance or achieve new lows in your blood tests (although they can be additional benefits!). You want one thing and one thing only: peace of mind.

By exerting yourself in strenuous exercise – really getting your heart rate up and breathing deeply for at least 20-30 minutes 3 times a week – you are strengthening your cardiovascular system and your body to go to a state of increased stress and return to normal. You will feel great afterward and send your mind the signal that your body can handle anything.

Now this will take a definite commitment on your part, but it will yield significant positive benefits for your mental, emotional and physical health.

By: Jennifer Matthews. Exercises for Anxiety, Exercises Help Anxiety, Relaxation Exercises for Anxiety.

Leave a Comment