Learn How To Deal With Stress-Cleansing Breaths

You may be tempted to think that something as simple as breathing is not very important; rest assured it is quite important. Knowing how to deal with stress takes time to learn.

Because it is so simple there is a tendency to overlook its value. As you make use of this technique to learn how to deal with stress, you will understand just how useful it really is.

How to deal with family stress

For example: Your son needs to clean his room. You know that this can be a testy situation from your past experiences. You've already thought about what happened the last time and have decided that next time you will do it differently.

So, maybe you use a more loving tone of voice, or maybe a sterner tone. Predictably, he reacts by whining or complaining or ignoring you. Now, it is your reaction that makes all the difference in how to deal with stress. Let's say that you repeat yourself and his reaction is the same, only a little worse.

Here it comes, your belly tenses up, your neck stiffens your voice changes pitch. Your old enemy, stress is awakened. Because you have been consciously working on reducing your stress, you automatically slow down and take a cleansing breath. It's amazing how beneficial a simple act can be.

Effective parenting

A cleansing breath is a technique derived from yoga. It is a little more thorough than, "take a deep breath". Essentially, all it means, for our purposes, is to breathe slowly and deeply from your abdomen, preferably through your nose.

Take a little time to practice this very useful technique. Slowly, steadily inhale through your nose, filling your abdomen with air. Your belly will be extended as you do this. Then fill your chest as well before you slowly exhale through your nose.

When you do this, it has a very calming and centering effect on your entire body and mind. Your brain is not short-circuited by the fight-or-flight primal reaction and you are more or less able to think straight. It helps you maintain your poise, or balance. This is an extremely important skill.

Very often, you will find immediate calm, especially with practice. Sometimes you need to keep breathing for a few minutes, sort of in proportion to the level of stress trying to fill you. Take care to breathe slowly, as you can easily hyper-ventilate. You don't want to be passing out now!

How to deal with stress by breathing

A side-benefit is that you will tend to keep your mouth shut. That can be a very useful tool, obviously! It always helps to think before we speak, especially in a stressful situation.

Deep breathing is a major skill in knowing how to deal with stress.