This Stress Relief Technique Works For Everyone

Let’s take a moment to be real for a second: Life can be stressful. It doesn’t matter how positive a person you are, or how organized you are, no one is completely immune to stress. And that’s a good thing, because I think life would get rather stale if everything went according to plan all the time.. No? Just me?

The problem is, when we are feeling a serious bout of stress coming on, what can we do to relieve it? The answer from most doctors is “it depends” because we all have different biology and needs in times of stress. Except for one simple technique that works for just about everyone: breathing.

Some of you may be thinking: “WTF L.K. - I am obviously breathing right now if I can read this blog, thus your info has not been helpful at all.” But allow me to go a little deeper into this topic, better yet - into deeper breathing.

Breathing is something we completely take for granted, but have you ever taken any time to think about it? It’s kind of neat when you think about it, it’s one of the few things in our bodies that is involuntary (we do it subconsciously without having to think about it) but it can also become voluntary when we want to control it.

Don’t you wish we could do the same for our metabolism? (helloooo, max-capacity after dessert!) 
If we are feeling stressed and we choose to be mindful of our breathing, and deepen our breaths to allow more oxygen into our lungs and body, we can effectively:

• Slow our heart rate
• Relax our muscles
• Decrease our blood pressure

Basically, we can change our entire biology in an instant if we were to take a “breather” when we are feeling stressed. Being mindful and present will also engage your mental and spiritual energy, bringing them balance and peace. 

When we get stressed and rushed, it would often feel counter-intuitive to take a break to recharge, but that is exactly what I’m recommending you do. I would prefer being five minutes late but mentally stable, than where I had to be on time and totally frazzled. How effective can one be in a state of mind like that?

Remember: the better we can take care of ourselves, the better we can take care of the ones around us we love. So taking this time for us is absolutely critical to living a balanced life. If you can, schedule a “breather” every day, rather than waiting for a stressful moment to pop up. This way, when something stressful happens, you are already feeling present and aware, and completely capable of handling whatever is around the corner.

I’m sharing my favorite breathing technique below that will significantly increase your oxygen intake, giving you maximum stress-relief. 

Try this daily as a part of your morning routine: before you get out of bed, in the shower, or in the car on the way to work. It’s so simple you can pretty much do it anywhere. And I can promise it will kickstart you into a great day, where you’ve already done something wonderful for your well-being.

​Sending love, light, and deep breaths,
​-L.K.

References: 
Take a Deep Breath (stress.org)
Breathing & Your Brain (forbes.com)