- [Narrator] Stress is all around us,
both good and bad stress.
Exercise, for example,
is considered a stress that is healthy for the body.
But there are other chronic stressors
that are considered harmful, such as divorce,
death of a loved one, or a job change.
If not dealt with in a healthy way,
this type of stress can lead to a weakened immune system,
increased heart rate, and high blood pressure.
We all have the ability to manage stressful situations
by controlling the way we respond.
Techniques such as deep breathing, guided imagery, yoga,
and meditation are just some of the healthy ways
we can control our reaction to stress.
- Stress is a very normal process.
What is abnormal is how we let stress affect us,
and what we can do is to develop some tools and strategies
to help promote the relaxation response in our body.
The relaxation response can completely negate
or reverse the effects of the stress response in our body.
The technique I'd like to share with you
is a breathing exercise.
Breathing exercises are very easy, very simple,
and get very effective at reducing stress in our lives.
Most of us when we're under a tremendous amount of stress,
we tend to breathe more shallow
or more thoracically up in the chest area.
I'd like to teach you to breathe diaphragmatically.
Using the diaphragm to breathe to help inflate our lungs
all the way down to the bases of our lungs
helps us increase the amount of oxygen that we take in
and improve our energy that we get from breathing.
These techniques are also been found to lower heart rate,
lower blood pressure,
and help us refocus and reprioritize
the stressors in our life
so that we can handle them more effectively.
One of the relaxation breathing techniques
I'd like to share with you is circle breathing.
Circle breathing, we simply imagine a circle.
As we inhale, we start to draw that circle in our mind,
coming to the top of the circle as we completely inhale.
And as we exhale,
slowly letting that breath out
as we make the bottom of the circle,
continuing to use our breath as we imagine that circle.
Knowing that it is completely normal
for thoughts to creep in,
simply set them aside on your next exhalation,
knowing they will be there for later
and focus all your energy on the circle.
Inhaling and exhaling.
Another helpful tool to use with your breathing techniques
is counting as you breathe.
Simply inhaling for the count of three
and then, exhaling for the count of three,
focusing all your mind and all your energy
on the counting.
Inhale even and rhythmic and exhale even and rhythmic.
By focusing your mind on the numbers and the counting,
it's easier to let go of all the static
or the outside worries.
Allowing you to have a moment of peace,
to be able to handle those stressful situations
in a more positive, more appropriate way.
Breathing exercises can promote relaxation
and the relaxation response to help us negate
or undo the unwanted and unhealthy effects
of the negative stressors in our lives.
Taking those few minutes will help you reprioritize
and refocus your energy
in a more positive way and help you handle
those stressful situations more appropriately.