11/12/2022
Breathing exercises Part 2
Stress and anxiety that exist in many areas of our lives disrupt our levels of stimulation/activation and create physical and psychological tension before an important event (competitions, exams, important project’ presentation). Thus, it is beneficial to achieve the appropriate levels, as well as the appropriate state of activation and readiness before an important event/project/work.
In order to achieve a state of ideal activation, we first need to identify how our body reacts to stressful situations. The ideal balance of relaxation and arousal levels is a purely individual matter.
Therefore the first and most important step in order to control our activation levels is to recognize and be aware of our psychological state, the symptoms (eg, over- or under-arousal) and their effect on our performance.
Breathing exercises help decisively to promote the feeling of control over anxiety symptoms and not to eliminate them completely.
DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING
Implementation:
We lie on our backs and place one hand on our abdomen and the other on our chest. We inhale through the nose and choose to exhale either through the nose or through the nose and mouth. If during inhalation the hand that is on our abdomen is raised then this means that we have successfully taken a deep diaphragmatic breath. We try to breathe slowly, rhythmically, effortlessly and freely.
Breathing Rythm:
1st) 2 counts inhalation – 2 counts exhalation
2nd) 4 counts inhalation - 4 counts exhalation
3rd) Box breathing technique or square breathing
4 counts inhalation - 4 counts hold the breath - 4 counts exhalation - 4 counts hold
In the beggining choose to practice the exercise with the first breathing rhythm. After you get used to it, try the breathing exercises in the second and third way of breathing rythm.
Scientific editing: Theodora Tzatzaki MSc, PhD - Sport Psychologist Consultant
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