Tired of lying around and waiting for your dream to come? The problem may be that you looked at your phone for a while, something you ate for dinner or just anxiety. And the best and fastest ways to get rid of anxiety are these breathing exercises. We have five breathing techniques that will calm you down and allow you to sleep easier.
Focus on breathing slowly. Take a deep breath slowly, and then slowly exhale. Deep breathing reduces heart rate and lowers blood pressure, which calms the body. Lie in bed and breathe this way for about 10 minutes and soon you will fall asleep.
According to Dr. Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine in Arizona, the breathing exercises for relaxation, known as “exercises 4-7-8” you can do before you go to bed. To relax, sit on the bed in Turkish sitting position (with legs crossed), tip of the tongue move it to your gums, close your mouth and inhale through the nose counting to 4. Then stop your breath for seven seconds, and exhale through mouth counting eight. Repeat this at least four times.
- Traditionally meditative breathing
Through her research, a neurologist and expert in meditation Catherine Kerr showed that focusing on your breathing is one of the first necessary components needed for good meditation. You need to connect with the flow of air, to be aware of the way passing through the body. In this way, tense muscles will relax and the negative and disturbing thoughts will disappear. Breathe this way for eight to ten minutes.
Shoda is one of the most common types of “pranayama” or breath control in yoga. During Shoda breathing control so that a nostril inhale and exhale the other. It is believed that the body and the brain thus get a sense of balance and neutrality.
Breathing through the mouth subconsciously sends a signal to the brain that we are under stress, while breathing through the nose sends signals that we are relaxed. Sit down, so you’ll be comfortable with your back straight, and then close one nostril and breathe through the other. Then close the other nostril and exhale through the first one. All the time keep your eyes closed.
Many pranayama breathing techniques rely on the rule that exhaling should last twice as long as inhalation. This breathing relaxes the nervous system, and focus on breathing prevents us to think about what has caused the anxiety. Lie on your back, breathe in three seconds, and then exhale six seconds and repeat it until you fall asleep.
