Stressssss!!!
It seems like everybody around you has it, it’s almost like a viral disease.
And it’s so darn easy to get dragged into this state.

Maybe you have more stress lately?
Maybe it seems you just can’t get the weight off your shoulders anymore, right?

By the way, are your shoulders next to your ears, maybe?

I’ll tell you, that was my posture, for many, many years.
I had my shoulders shrugged the whole time, and every now and then, when I became conscious of it, I would relax and put them down to their original place.

I know that we as women have a lot on our plate always. A busy home, a busy job, maybe also parents to take care of, or a busy social life?
Certainly we don’t take enough time for ourselves, to be able to enter into a state of relaxation.

Now, did you know that your state dictates your breathing?

When you’re in a stressed state your breathing is very shallow.
When you’re in panic, you hyperventilate.
When you’re anxious all of the time, you will have chronic hyperventilation.
When you feel relief, you sigh.
When you are relaxed you breathe in a slow way, through the nose.

So when you are in a certain state, you will breathe in a certain way.

The good news is that you can use this to your advantage.
You can completely reverse this. Meaning, by breathing in a certain way, you can get into a certain state.

That ‘s what I do a lot of times.

When I feel anxious or stressed, I stop and breathe consciously.
I follow my breath when it comes in, I follow it when it goes out.
You need to give instructions to your mind and body to calm down and you can do that by using the breath.
When you start to breathe slower, your body will also make all the necessary chemicals to be in alignment with the breath and it tells the nervous system to calm down.

So, at any given moment, when you start to be aware of your state and you notice you’re anxious or stressed, come back to nose or diaphragm breathing and you will see your state will change shortly after as well.

There are many ways to breathe and to calm down.
You can apply various techniques. Box breathing is one, the 4-7-8 is another one.
Inhaling for a certain amount of counts and then exhaling double counts is also very useful to calm down.

Deep belly breathing calms the nervous system through the vagus nerve.
This nerve connects the brain with the digestive system and it turns off the fight or flight response. It also lowers your heart rate which on its turn lowers your blood pressure.
All benefits therefore to get into breathing!

So, next time when you feel stressed or anxious, remember this blogpost.
Sit down, try one of the techniques above mentioned and see what the outcome is for you.

If you’re worried about not doing it well or if you need somebody to guide you through, or help you out with your breathing, hop on a call with me and let’s have a chat about it.

In the meanwhile, take a deep inhale and relax!

With love and health,
Monique