Posted on February 14, 2025

Have you ever faced multiple looming deadlines at work and felt yourself getting anxious by the minute? Have you ever stood in front of a large audience about to make a speech or give a presentation and you suddenly felt a pit in your stomach and the beginning of a bad headache? What if you had been cruising right along to meeting your deadline in perfect time and then your computer crashed causing you to hit the keyboard in the hope that it would suddenly resume working?

No matter how well we plan, there are times that we experience anxiety and or stress. Depending on the situation faced, some of us may yell in frustration, others may take a walk to “clear our head” and then return feeling calmer and ready to tackle whatever’s next. Others may push through in their still anxious and stressed state. What if I told you that there was another way ….a tool that may be used when the stress or perception of stress is real, the time is limited, and the deadline looming…and you are unable to take that walk to clear your head. Breathing exercises offer a simple and powerful way to decompress when facing stressful situations.

When we experience stress, this elicits a response first in our brain which is then transmitted to a branch of our automatic nervous system, our sympathetic nervous system. When we relax (relieve the stress), the body’s response is heavily weighted towards the other branch of our automatic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system. Deep and purposeful diaphragmatic breathing exercises can help shift you from a stressful state to a more relaxed one within a few minutes.

We all face stressful situations. At times, we may be unable to temporarily step away from the situation. Breathing exercises are a tool that can act as a quick and powerful decompressor of stress. Stress is not all bad (stress when needed in fight or flight situations cause us to have a heightened awareness and to respond more quickly as our body releases adrenalin.). However, continued stress without an outlet, leaves a marker on our bodies that can negatively impact our health. Don’t let it negatively impact yours. The body keeps score. So, the next time you are facing a stressful situation yet remain sedentary, try breathing exercises; you may be pleasantly surprised at the results.

Here is an example of a simple breathing exercise that you can use.

1. Breathe in through your nostrils while counting silently from 1 to 5.

2. Exhale through your nostrils while silently counting from 1 to 5.

3. Repeat 4 times.