It can be said that the lives we lead have become more and more stressful over the year so that now we spend more time in the flight or fight mode rather than in a state of relaxation. This is largely due to external stresses we experience such as work demands, family live, lack of sleep, pollution and our diets. In this article we will look at ways to help you release some of this stress and feel more relaxed.

How we usually cope with Stress

When people get stressed there are certain things that they do which may not be the best way of coping. For instance when a person is in a stressful situation they will often hold their breath to help them cope. At the time this may seem like the best approach as it allows you to go through the situation and deal with it there and then. However in the long terms this is not necessarily the best approach as it means you may be holding in a lot of the stress you are experiencing. This stress will be stored in the mind and the body and can build up. People do not always realise it but stress can accumulate and if you experience a large number of stressful situations you may find yourself initially suffering from small psychosomatic conditions. Over time these conditions can develop and internalise more and cause more significant health problems such as heart disease and cancer.

How Breathing Helps

One of the important things about breathing is that it is both a voluntary and involuntary action of the body. This means that it can be used to connect both the conscious and unconscious mind in order to help you move forward. This means that by learning and using certain breathing techniques on a regular basis you can access memories or emotions that are stored in the unconscious mind and through breathing release them. In addition breathing techniques can help to relax the body, releasing tension and stresses from the muscles and other parts of the physical body. This can have huge advantages for all sorts of emotional conditions such as anxiety, stress and even depression.

Getting Started with Breath Therapy

There are a large number of Breathwork techniques that will help in a variety of different ways and it is important to find one that works for you. For example there are breathing techniques that can help with health and performance or breathing to centre your mind and aid meditation or breathing to help with de-stressing and to help emotional release. Many of these techniques can be learnt very quickly and you can practise them at home. In fact there was a recent study that said the correct deep breathing techniques can be just as relaxing for the mind and body as a massage session and once learnt can be practised at home for free.

If you are looking for a breathing technique to help you de-stress at home then there are a wide variety of places that you can learn them. For example there are courses you can take with a therapist that will give you the power and confidence to move forward. However you may also be able to buy certain books that will explain the techniques in addition there are many free internet resources that can get you started. However you learn the techniques you could find it is a powerful way to help you relax and remove the stress you experience from both your body and your mind.