Relieve Stress & Anxiety with Simple Breathing Techniques
Breathing exercises can be a great way to help relieve stress and anxiety. This video focuses on two relaxing breathing techniques: Square breathing (aka box breathing, 4×4 breathing, 4-part breath, etc.) and Pursed breathing.
I start off with Square breathing. It’s so good at helping to relieve stress and anxiety that it’s sometimes used in the military to help calm nerves before stressful situations.
It’s performed just how it sounds–using your breath to make a square. Use imagery as well and imagine making a square or following something with a square pattern with your breath. Each position is 4 seconds. Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 4 seconds, breathe out for 4 seconds, and hold your breath again for 4 seconds.
Pursed breathing is another breathing technique that can help relieve stress and anxiety, and it can also help make your lungs stronger. For this one, use diaphragmatic or belly breathing. Breathe in for 4 seconds, and then breathe out with pursed lips for 8 seconds.
The pelvic floor muscles are often overlooked, and people don’t think about strengthening them. Since the pelvic floor muscles are small, it doesn’t take a lot of movement to work them, so it’s best to start with a little and slowly progress.
Tinnitus is a ringing in your ears. For some people, this simple technique may stop tinnitus immediately giving you instant relief. Tinnitus can also be another noise like buzzing, roaring, hissing, etc.
Exercise Snacks are short bursts of activity that can provide great health benefits. It can be as little as 30 seconds, and up to five or 10 minutes. It can be any type of movement like climbing stairs, walking, doing squats, wall pushups, or modified jumping jacks.
Muscles and joints can become sore and irritated for many reasons including stress, over working the muscles, or an injury. These gentle stretches should help relieve sore muscles and joints.
We squat every day from sitting down in a chair to getting out of bed, or even sitting safely on the toilet, but squats can be a painful task when something hurts, or our muscles are weak. Practicing squats in a reverse order can help strengthen the muscles and work on doing them correctly and safely.
A rebounder is a mini trampoline that uses bounce and movement to improve balance, posture, core strength, and endurance. Rebounder physical therapy involves exercises performed on the rebounder and can be used to treat many different injuries.
Hot & cold therapy can help the healing process during an injury, and it can also help reduce acute and chronic pain. But which one should you use? Here are some general rules for using hot verses cold.
Have you ever tried to go to sleep, but you just ended up lying there and getting frustrated because sleep seems just out of reach? If so, these simple stretches and the 4-7-8 breathing technique should help relax your body and help you fall asleep fast.
These moderate core strengthening exercises are a progression from my beginner core exercises, and these intermediate core exercises are a great next step once the beginner ones become too easy.
Breathing exercises can be a great way to help relieve stress and anxiety. This video focuses on two relaxing breathing techniques: Square breathing (aka box breathing, 4×4 breathing, 4-part breath, etc.) and Pursed breathing.
