Do you suffer from anxiety?

You’re not alone, around 8 million people in the UK suffer with anxiety at some point in their lives. Even though this is a huge number, traditional advice for relief does not often consider the breath. Our breath is directly linked to our ability to regulate our emotions, yet a lot of us just see the breath as an innate bodily response to keep us alive

Unfortunately, due to the busy lives most of us live today, we neglect this power of the breath and instead breathe from a state of fight or flight (where the breath is short, sharp and all in the chest). This style of breathing directly impacts our emotions and therefore, our experience with anxiety. 

In yoga, we learn Pranayama - the practice of breath control. Prana means energy, breath, or life-force. And ayama means control, to restrain. Yogis believe that learning to control the breath can directly impact our mental, physical, and spiritual health.

When we focus our attention on the breath, the mind naturally “forgets” about whatever was troubling us before, Pranayama can be done anywhere at any time, so it is a great tool in helping us manage our emotions.

Here are 3 Pranayama practices that can help with feelings of anxiety:

1) Belly Breathing (Diaphragmatic breathing)🤰🏻

• Lie on your back or seated (it is easier to try this lying down to begin with)
• Imagine your belly is a balloon (place your hands gently on your belly to help with this visualisation.)
• Close your eyes and inhale through the nose, send the breath down into the belly and fill that "balloon" with air.
• As you exhale, allow the "balloon" to deflate.(Try to breathe in and out through the nose during this practice.)
• Breathing into the diaphragm encourages the body to relax as it massages the digestive system and sends the body into “rest and digest”. 

2)Bhramari Pranayama (Humming bee breath)🐝

• Find a comfortable seated position
• Gently cover your eyes with your fingers, and close your ears with your thumbs. 
• As you inhale through the nose, try to keep the mouth closed.
• As you exhale, make a humming noise (like that of a bumblebee). Repeat this a couple of times to reap the benefits.
• This pranayama practice works to quiet the mind, bringing all the attention to the vibration you feel on the exhale. Focus on how this feels in your head and the rest of your body. This is also a great practice if you suffer from migraines or insomnia - it works to rewire the brain and bring attention to one point rather than being constantly overwhelmed with multiple.

3) Box Breathing 📦

• Rest in any position, make sure you're comfortable.
• Close your eyes and imagine drawing a box, (you can trace one with your finger if it is easier for you, or you could keep your eyes open and physically draw the box on a piece of paper if you really struggle to imagine). 
• As you draw the first line of your “box” inhale for 4 seconds.
• As you draw the next line of your box, hold the breath for 4 seconds, the next line you draw, exhale for 4 seconds, and the final closing line of your box, hold no breath in the body for 4 seconds. 
• (The pattern follows): inhale-hold-exhale-hold, and you keep drawing this box following the cues for a minute or so.
• This breathing practice is effective because it distracts your mind from your anxious thoughts. Focusing on the numbers and the drawing of the box, it naturally calms our nervous system.

All of these practices aim to reduce inner noise, bring our attention to one thing and subsequently calm the nervous system.

Disclaimer:

These breathing practices are a great tool to help manage and reduce anxiety yet they cannot cure it. If you are seriously struggling with anxiety and panic attacks - seek advice from your medical advisor.