Introduction:
Breathing techniques play a crucial role in helping one overcome nervousness because it regulates the body’s response to stress. When people are nervous, their heart rate begins to speed up and their ability to think straight is limited. Breathing techniques can be used in various situations such as when your about to take a big test, or preparing mentally for a sports game. By incorporating these breathing techniques into our lives, we can activate the parasympathetic nervous system. This part of the nervous system is responsible for relaxing one’s body after being stressed. The importance of breathing techniques in overcoming nervousness cannot be stressed enough. It is extremely beneficial in multiple situations, which is why I would like to share four different breathing techniques to help you calm down.
1. Four In Eight Out
As the name of the technique suggests, this requires you to breath in four times, and exhale for eight seconds. The four inhales need to be very sharp, lasting around 0.5 seconds through your nose. You should also make sure that the exhale is very whole and lasts eight seconds through your mouth. This technique can be used in situations where you are experiencing severe stress or have the jitters. I have found this technique especially useful to me before I play an organized game of basketball.
2. Animal Breathing
This breathing technique requires an individual to take a huge breath in, and a huge breath out. You should always do this through your mouth and the inhales and exhales should each last almost one second. Pretty easy right? This technique can be used in situations where you may feel sluggish and tired, not ready to commit to a laborous activity. Animal breathing can greatly increase ones energy levels. However, you should not do this technique if you are feeling nervous. This is because doing animal breathing when you are nervous may increase the emotions you are feeling and may make you even more nervous!
3. Diaphragmatic Breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing is also known as belly breathing. To do this, you need to place one hand on your stomach and one on your chest. Then you breath in through your nose for four counts. While doing this, it is important to focus on how your abdomen rises. After breathing in, you then breath out through your mouth for six counts, also being aware of your abdomen falls. It is important to be aware of how your body is moving when breathing. This is because by doing this, you incorporate a sense of self awareness and meditation. You may do this technique in situations where you are feeling stressed from a big event and if your in your own head a lot, similar to the four in eight out.
4. Box Breathing
Box breathing is a simple technique to do, however, it’s benefits are huge. To do box breathing, you breath in through your nose for four counts, hold for four counts, and exhale through your mouth for four counts. After doing this, you pause for four counts and repeat the cycle. The reason why the technique is called “box breathing” is because the four counts of four can be seen as the four sides of a box. This technique can be used in situations where you need to diminish a sense of stress instantly and keep your composure. This can be used in job interviews, or a high paced stressful work environment.
Conclusion
Breathing techniques benefits are endless and can benefit anybody in any different situations. Although these techniques may seem simple-minded and useless to some, I encourage you to go try them out in different situations and see the benefits for yourself. By regularly using these techniques in your life, you can begin to find more success in being able to get rid of stress, thus increasing productivity. I thank you for taking the time to read this post and I hope that these techniques may bring you future benefits!