OCEAN BREATHING
This breathing exercise that has an immediate impact on the autonomic nervous system, resulting in quick relaxation. It is commonly referred to as “ocean breathing.”
1. Here are simple instructions
a. Imagine you’re trying to fog your sunglasses to clean them. You’d naturally make a "haahhh" sound (make the sound as if you’re whispering it). Try that now.
b. Try to make this sound both when you inhale and exhale.
c. At first, keep doing this ocean breathing with your mouth open.
d. Then, make the same sound with your mouth closed. Keep breathing in and out, with your mouth closed, making the “haaahh” sound.
e. Do this for about 5 to 10 cycles of breathing. It will be more effective the slower you do it; ideally, you want to do about 5 cycles
f. There are several things that can make this even more effective for relieving anxiety:
g. There are several things that can make this even more effective for relieving anxiety:
i. Tense and release: on the inhale, gently tense the body; on the exhale, relax.
ii. Add words: Inhaling, think the word “calm”; on the exhale, think the word “peace.” – or substitute words of your own preference.
iii. Lift the arms on the inhale, lower them on the exhale. Any number of physical movements will make this exercise even more effective. Generally the rule is “expanding” movements as you inhale and “contracting” movements as you exhale. If this is not clear, look up any beginner’s yoga video on YouTube, or seek out a yoga teacher to explain this.
Doing these exercises for a minute or two at a time at various intervals throughout the day retrains the nervous system, getting it more accustomed to being in a relaxed mode.
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If you prefer to be guided through this, there is an audio on this page:
If you scroll down from the audio, you'll find a series of "Breathing Videos' to help guide you in slowing your breathing, with musical and visual accompaniment to make this much easier.
If you want to try moving while breathing rhythmically, you can try these videos:
Have fun!
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