Breathing Exercises For Anxiety

Breathing exercises for anxiety will allow you to instantly stop the fear and nervousness that comes along with anxiety attacks. These deep breathing techniques will safely lower your level of stress and tension in order to get your mind off of whatever is troubling you. We know how horrible it can be to keep cycling over the same painful thoughts without any control over when it begins or ends. Committing the exercises in this article to memory will ensure that you have a toolbox of useful techniques that you can use to successfully end panic attacks.

Anxiety is your body’s emotional, mental, and physical reaction to stress in your life. For most people, this anxiety acts as a defense mechanism and keeps them safe in certain situations. Unfortunately, there are those of us that have abnormal reactions to anxiety in the form of anxiety attacks. We start to feel overwhelmed and can’t reach an answer to our problems. Our minds start racing and we feel that we have no way out. Many times we start to sweat, shake, get dizzy, or have pain in our chest. It is for all of these reasons that we need breathing exercises for anxiety.

Try each of the techniques below to see how they work for you. If you would like to try other examples, check out our page about Yoga Breathing Exercises.

3 Breathing Exercises for Anxiety

The Conscious Breath

This is the most basic in our breathing exercise toolbox. It is very easy to remember, and can be recalled instantly during an attack. This particular exercise is wonderful for relieving tension and stress in the body.

Start by inhaling through the nose slowly. You want to get a good chest full of air, but not so much that you cause yourself discomfort. Hold the air in your lungs for a second or two and slowly exhale at the same steady pace. The key to this exercise is to make your exhale last as long as possible. Be very conscious of every motion and moment. Focus on the air entering and exiting your lungs and nothing else. Try to make as seamless of a transition between breathes as possible. You may repeat this exercise as many times as you need. You should usually start to feel better after 5 repetitions.

Alternating Nostril Breathing

This is another example of extremely simple breathing exercises for anxiety. Start by sitting in a very comfortable upright position. Do your best to focus on keeping your back straight instead of thinking about whatever is bothering you. Follow these steps:

Pinch your nose closed
Release your left nostril and inhale evenly
Pinch both nostrils closed once again
Release your right nostril and exhale evenly
Inhale through your right nostril evenly
Pinch both nostrils closed for the final time
Release your left nostril and exhale evenly

Focus intently on every move you make. Your anxiety should dissipate within 5 repetitions of the Alternating Nostril exercise.

4-7-8 Breath

This exercise works the best when you are sitting down, but can work standing up or lying down as well. To begin the 4-7-8 Breath, sit up straight with your hands comfortably in your lap while you look in front of you absently. Try not to focus on any object or thought. You may close your eyes half-way if it helps.

Focus on your breathing pattern. Breath steadily while inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. It helps to rest your tongue on the roof of your mouth, right behind your upper teeth.

When you feel you are ready, you will want to inhale to a count of 4. During this count, you want to focus on first filling your lower lungs full of air, then the middle part, then the upper part. You will be filling your body with essential, fresh air from the bottom up.

Once you are full, hold this breath for 7 seconds.

Finally, exhale evenly for 8 seconds. It is during the exhalation that tension, stress, and anxiety will exit your body. You will be left with a sense of peace and serenity.

The 4-7-8 Breath can be used for stronger anxiety attacks. You can repeat the process as many times as you feel is necessary to relieve your worries. There is no right or wrong amount of times. Just focus on the process and your anxiety will fade.