Here are some techniques to help you get started:
Get in position. Try sitting up straight, with your back well supported and your shoulders relaxed, or lying on a comfortable surface.
Position your hands. If you're a beginner, place one hand on your chest and one on your stomach to help check if you are breathing correctly. Later, you may want to rest your hands on your knees.
Breathe in through your nose. Take a deep breath, aiming to fill up your stomach like a balloon. Your chest should expand only slightly. Breathe out through your mouth. Pause for a few seconds before gradually letting your stomach deflate. Some people like to count to five or 10 as they exhale.
Don't overdo it. Stop deep breathing if you feel dizzy, nauseous or develop a headache. You may want to start with just five or 10 breaths per session, or a minute or two total. Eventually, many people like to spend about 10 or 20 minutes on the exercise.
Clear your mind. Focus on your stomach rising and falling and the sound of air moving in and out. You can also picture a place where you feel peaceful.
Acknowledge stressful thoughts. If you get distracted, take a moment to recognize the feeling - rather than trying to ignore it - and then refocus on breathing.
Use it in different situations. Deep breathing may help you through stressful moments such as public presentations or traffic jams. People with insomnia also may sleep better after a session.
Don't give up. Mastering deep breathing may not be as easy as it seems.
___
© 2008, Daily Press (Newport News, Va.).
Visit dailypress.com, the World Wide Web site of the Daily Press at http://dailypress.com and on America Online at keyword "dailypress."
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Related stories:
TB test offers patients quicker and easier diagnosis
A new test for diagnosing TB offers a quick and simple alternative to existing three-day methods, according to research published today in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Big, old mice spread hantavirus
University of Utah researchers dusted wild deer mice with fluorescent pink, blue, green, yellow and orange talcum powders to show which rodents most often fought or mated with others and thus were most likely to spread deadly hantavirus. The study identified bigger, older mice as the culprits.
Strike a yoga pose to strike down stress
When hyperventilating sometimes seems the only option to stress, Petri Brill has a healthier suggestion: yoga.
How to... improve circulation
If blood doesn't move well through your veins and arteries, your tissues and organs aren't getting enough oxygen and nutrients. Here are tips for avoiding heart disease and other major health problems that can result:
Federal court temporarily reinstates air quality regulations
A federal appeals court reversed itself Tuesday and temporarily reinstated regulations aimed at sharply reducing smog and soot from power plants in 28 Eastern states over the next decade.
As going gets tougher, Americans discover laughter
With the US economy slumping, the going has got very tough, but the tough are no longer shopping. They're laughing.
Memory mission explores new territory in neuroscience
Astrophysicists peer into the far corners of deep space for dark matter, but for neuroscientists at the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) exploring the unknown is much closer to home.
Roads bring death and fear to forest elephants
Why did the elephant cross the road? It didn't according to a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Save the Elephants that says endangered forest elephants are avoiding roadways at all costs. The authors of the study believe that these highly intelligent animals now associate roads with danger – in this case poaching, which is rampant in Central Africa's Congo Basin.