When we feel stressed, nervous or anxious, one of the physiological changes to occur in our bodies is to change our breathing. We breathe shallowly from our upper diaphragm rather than from our stomach area for relaxed breathing. You know how a baby breathes? Always you can see their little tummies going up and down. That is supposed to be our natural way to be breathing too.
The reaction when you are nervous and breathing more shallowly, leads to more nervous/anxiousness, fatigue, unclear thinking and the inability to relax. The next time you feel uptight or can’t wind down to sleep at night, think about your breath. Place your hands on your abdomen and force the stomach to rhythmically go up and down rather than the chest moving. You will notice a quick change in your body’s ability to calm down.
