This is Day Twenty Three in the 30 Days of Reinvention Video Series [#30DaysReinvention].
Reduce stress and build resilience through breathing techniques.
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Hey, it’s Rand,
The second element in the happiness algorithm is being resilient, and the most effective method to build up resilience is to breathe.
By controlling your breathing patterns you alter your emotions and induce stress reduction.
When I was in the military I trained myself to deal with stress but taking a deep breath
and letting it out slowly. This would help to reduce my anxiety about a stressful situation
and it also increased my clarity of thought so that I could determine how to deal with a sticky situation in the most effective way.
Extending your inhalation and exhalation for just 10 minutes a day can bring noticeable relaxation.
By engaging in deep abdominal breathing you stimulate your vagus nerve, which acts to calm your stress induced fight or flight response. Breathing deeply into your abdominal chamber involves expanding your diaphragm, which is the muscle that sits lengthwise between your stomach and chest.
Reduce your number of breaths by 50% per minute, long and slow 4 to 5 second in breaths and then 4 to 5 second out breaths. Preferably your exhalations should be slightly longer than your inhalations.
Try it now.
Take a deep breath in, hold and then let it out slowly.
Hold.
Take a deep breath in, hold and let it out slowly.
Hold.
Resume normal breathing.
Try that for a series of 6 cycles over the next week and notice how your body changes: your posture will relax; you will feel more focused.
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