Abdominal Breathing.
Abdominal breathing is one of my favorite ways for dealing with the challenges of stress and anxiety. It consists of breathing from the belly, rather than only into the chest.
Doing this for a couple of minutes can be truly calming. Generally speaking, abdominal or belly breathing is the way we all naturally breathe, especially when we’re lying down
To check if you’re breathing from your abdomen, just place your hand on your belly and feel whether it expands as you inhale and contracts as you exhale. If it doesn’t, try to breathe more deeply and feeling your belly expand and contract with your breath.
Here are some steps to practice this at home today:
Start by getting settled in a comfortable position.
Place your hands on your heart or another part of your body as this body just continues to naturally breathe.
Breathe in whatever it is that’s nourishing and that you’re needing - calm, love, health, confidence, etc. And then breathe out, softening, releasing thoughts and feelings that no longer serve you, letting be. Do this for at least 8 minutes.
To finish, acknowledge yourself for creating this space. Thank yourself and come back to your active state at your pace.
