The Peak Performance Expert

How often have you been told to “relax and take a deep breath” when you are stressed or anxious?  And have you tried it?  It ain’t easy.  And that’s because  when we are anxious, we’re breathing shallowly and quickly so trying to take a deep in-breath at that moment can feel almost painful and not at all relaxing.

Instead, focus on your exhale.  Breathe out as slowly as possible 3 times and see how that feels.  Notice yuor shoulders moving down from your ear lobes to their natural position. Notice that after you exhale slowly you are creating room in your lungs so you can take in a deep breath.  Isn’t that better?

Next time you watch a baseball game, notice what the pitcher does.  Does he stop to inhale deeply? No, he exhales profoundly.  This serves two purposes: it allows him to rid himself of excess tension and it allows him to take in a nice deep in-breath.  Aaah…now he can focus on the task at hand.  And you can, too!

So, if you’re feeling tense, simply exhale slowly 3 times…more if you have the time and the inclination.  Over time, you will train your mind and your body to relax and focus whenever you exhale s-l-o-w-l-y.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 6:03 pm and is filed under Deep breathing techniques, Relaxation techniques, Stress reduction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.