Stress Management: Breathing Exercises For Relaxation

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Introduction

Have you ever noticed how you breathe when you feel relaxed? The next time you are relaxed, take a moment to notice how your body feels. Or think about how you breathe when you first wake up in the morning or just before you fall asleep. Breathing exercises can help you relax, because they make your body feel like it does when you are already relaxed.

Deep breathing is one of the best ways to lower stress in the body. This is because when you breathe deeply it sends a message to your brain to calm down and relax. The brain then sends this message to your body. Those things that happen when you are stressed, such as increased heart rate, fast breathing, and high blood pressure, all decrease as you breathe deeply to relax.¹

Key points

• The way you breathe affects your whole body. Breathing exercises are a good way to relax, reduce tension, and relieve stress.
• Breathing exercises are easy to learn. You can do them whenever you want, and you don't need any special tools or equipment to do them.
• You can do different exercises to see which work best for you.

 What does it mean to breathe to relax?

 Why should you do breathing exercises?

 How do you do breathing exercises?

 Where to go from here

If you want to try other relaxation techniques, see:

Stress management: Doing guided imagery to relax.

Stress management: Doing meditation.

Stress management: Doing progressive muscle relaxation.

Stress management: Practicing yoga to relax.

Stress management: Relaxing your mind and body.

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Last updated:	May 21, 2008
Author:	Merrill Hayden
Reviewed By:	Catherine D. Serio, PhD - Behavioral Health, Lisa S. Weinstock, MD - Psychiatry
Editors:	Katy E. Magee, MA, Michele Cronen