Herbal Medicine

Five Easy Breathing Techniques For Stress

Triggering our fight-or-flight response, stress makes the body produce hormones that increase our respiration, blood pressure, and heart rate. If you use proper breathing techniques, you can relieve that stress on your body. Taking in oxygen is crucial to our bodily functions because it cleanses our blood by removing toxins. If done improperly, the breathing is irregular and allows those toxins to remain causing numerous problems such as indigestion, exhaustion, and anxiety. This taxes the body and lead to poor health and coping ability.

Proper basic breathing is the first step to learning breathing techniques. Lying down with your legs a little apart, your toes should flow out from the body and your arms should not be in contact with anything other than the surface your lying on. Close your eyes and turn your palms upward. Inhaling through the nose, you should feel your lungs and midsection move as one. As you breathe out, you should feel like your stomach is releasing all of that air. Knowing how to do this will improve the stress relieving techniques.

Deep, relaxed breathing can be practiced in any posture, but it may be easier lying down. Keeping your back as straight as possible, make sure your feet are a hand's width apart and your toes are turned away from each other. Place one hand on your chest and one on your midsection. In through your nose, breathe deeply into your stomach to move that hand up as far as possible while the hand on your chest barely moves. Repeat this until it becomes natural to you. Next, smile as you breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Exhaling should make a slight hissing noise. At first, you should do this for five minutes, but work your way to a full twenty minutes. When finished, lie still to allow your body to relax for a few minutes.

A cleansing sigh is another invaluable technique for reducing stress. Sitting or standing, begin by exhaling with a gentle noise and sigh as much as you can. Inhale naturally and repeat. Keep doing this for 5 to 15 minutes.

Waking up the nervous system and circulatory systems, this additional breathing technique will also relieve stress. Standing as straight as you can, inhale and place your arms straight in front of you. Bringing your hands to your shoulders, ball up your fists to be tightly clenched by the time they reach the shoulders. As you return to the beginning position, keep them tight. Repeat this quickly for ten or fifteen times.

A fourth stress-relieving method is suggestive breathing. Lying down, relax and place both hands between your ribs and stomach, breathing deeply several times. Visualize that each breath is held beneath your hands. Seeing the breath rush throughout your body, let the air out. Repeat for five to ten minutes, daily.

The last technique is called a rolling breath. You will need a helper for this exercise. Lying down, have your partner put one hand one your chest and one on your stomach. Imagine you are filling your partners hands, belly first then chest, with air as you inhale deeply. Watching his/her hands as you inhale, you will then exhale deeply. Repeat this rolling effect for several minutes.

Common Herbs And Some Specific Uses

Marshmallow

Excellent to bathe sore and inflamed eyes. Also good for lung trouble, hoarseness, catarrh, diarrhea and dysentery and all kidney diseases. Also good for a vaginal douche.

Milkweed

Can be used to increase the secretion of bile from the liver and gall-bladder. Use as a liver tonic and useful for gallstones, stomach and urine.

Marigold

Use the flowers. Good for the skin, and the heart.

Marjoram

Effective for the treatment of nervous disorders. It is also good for the digestion.

Mugwort

Effective treatment for the stomach and for gout.

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