Have you ever just thought about what breathing does for your body? Maybe not as it is something we automatically do every day. Did you know that the average adult takes “17,000 breaths a day” (American Lung Association, 2019, para 1)? For a person with anxiety, that number increases as the anxiety rises…and this is not a good thing. If you have experienced an anxiety attack then you know about that feeling of dizziness and not being able to catch your breath. This is because when you get anxious you begin to hyperventilate, using your chest muscles to quickly breathe in and out. If you look at the way a sleeping baby breathes you will see that it is not their chest that rises and falls, but their stomach. This is the way we are meant to breathe.

Breathing Exercise

An easy breathing exercise can help when you begin to feel panicky. If possible, move to a quiet place. You can do this exercise sitting or laying down…in a pinch, you can do it standing. I am going to give examples from a seated position. Sit comfortably with a relaxed posture, feet squarely on the floor. Place one hand on your chest and one hand on your stomach. Inhale through your nose while slowly counting to 4. At the same time make sure to extend your stomach as you draw in the air. You should be able to feel your stomach move against your hand. Hold your breath to a count of 4. Exhale through your mouth to the count of 4, while drawing in your stomach. This should help expel all the air. Continue to do this exercise 3-5 times, slowly so you do not make yourself dizzy. If you feel your chest move while doing this exercise you are not getting a full capacity of the air in/out and are using the wrong muscles to breathe. as you get used to doing this type of breathing you can do this exercise anywhere to help ground yourself.

Photo credit: Yuri Elkaim