Do you sometimes feel like your to-do list is never ending? Like every time you're finishing one thing, something new pops up, and there's just never enough time in the day to do everything you want to do? Are deadlines freaking you a bit? Maybe your boyfriend/ girlfriend/ husband/ wife are driving you nuts. Or maybe you secretly want to murder your boss or a coworker!
Whatever it is, it's sometimes hard to control the stress and anxiety that builds up from time to time. It happens - we're human, and we're busy people these days. But it is ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL to find ways to manage your stress and not let it have a catastrophic impact on your health - because it will.
Luckily, there are many things one can do to help manage stress (read more HERE), but this one simple technique that I'm sharing with you today, almost instantly tells your body that you're not in danger and everything is OK; it stops the production of stress hormones and allows your body to relax.
WATCH MY VIDEO TO SEE THE ONE TECHNIQUE THAT I FIND MOST USEFUL, AND HOW I DO IT.
Remember that every time you stress out, your body goes into "fight or flight" mode, producing stress hormones that over time, deeply impact your health - it can impair your digestion, create an imbalance in your hormones, lead to flare-ups of eczema or acne, cause you to shed hair, and even make you retain extra weight. And that's just the beginning; it can also lead to a lot more serious issues down the road.
In this video, I show you the simple and quick technique of my 4-count breath: inhale for 4, hold air in for 4, exhale for 4 and hold that breath out for 4. (Or you can think of it as an 8-count breath: inhaling for 8 and exhaling for 8 - whatever you prefer!).
This deep breathing technique has multiple benefits above and beyond stress reduction, including that it: cleanses your lungs, helps detoxify your body from toxins, can improve your sleep quality, soothes your nervous system, and more!
I also demonstrate ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING. This breathing practice has the added benefit of ensuring you are providing equal amounts of oxygen to both sides of your brain. The left nostril is known to be "feminine", calm, cooling, and nurturing, and the right nostril is associated with masculinity, heat, force and competition. So doing alternate nostril breathing can help you balance out your feminine and masculine sides, as well as regulate your body temperature.
Start making it a point to implement this into your daily routine and remember, IT TAKES LESS THAN A MINUTE, so no excuses! And once you get used to doing this regularly, and make time for doing it longer, the benefits only increase. The longer you practice deep breathing, the more stable your mind and emotions start to become.
I'd love to hear how you felt after trying this a few times - so give it a shot and SHARE your thoughts. You'll see it really is effective (and so easy!).
Love and Deep Breathing,
Mariana