Learning to breathe again:
When our breathing gets out of sink (due to illness or life stresses) and we're breathing very shallow, feelings of physical anxiety soon follow. Once you regularly practice breathing deeply/properly you'll be able to notice when you are out of balance with your breathing.
When you first start it is easiest to lie on the floor, put a soft pillow under your head if it's more comfortable. The reason for the following is to be able to see and feel if your chest is rising with every breath or your abdomen. If your chest is rising more than your abdomen your breathing is shallow leaving you always on the verge of a panick attack. To start, lay one hand (palm down) on your chest and the other hand (palm down) on your abdomen. Now slowly breath in through your nose filling your lungs until your abdomen pushes out as far as it will go. Hold for a second and then slowly release the breath through slightly parted lips or through your nose. Hold for a second and then start taking in another long slow breath through your nose. Repeat 20 times or more. When you breath in through your mouth it sets off the fight or flight response so you want to avoid that. If you practice this you'll soon realize how "off" your breathing has been. The goal is to breathe this way 24/7, but of course life seems to make that tough, so when you catch yourself breathing shallow and through your mouth you can apply this slow steady breathing technique to get yourself back in line. You can control anxiety and panic attacks with this, lower blood pressure and heart rate.
I would love to know if anyone gives this a try and finds it helpful.
Terri
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