DCoE: Just Breathe

By Corina Notyce, DCoE Strategic Communications

Take a moment to focus on just breathing—inhale and exhale evenly and slowly. Sometimes we don’t notice our breathing because we’re constantly on the go. We don’t think about how slowing down enough to concentrate on our breathing for just a few minutes a day, can help us relax and improve our body’s response to anxiety and stress. Real Warriors Campaign’s latest article, “Breathing, Meditation, Relaxation Techniques,” explains how daily breathing and meditation exercises can build resilience and ease anxiety, depression or reintegration stress.

Breathing Exercises for Beginners

Alternate nostril breathing is a good exercise to start with because it brings balance to both sides of the brain and controls the body’s reaction to stress:

■Sit in a comfortable position

■Close off your right nostril by placing the thumb of your right hand on your right nostril
■Inhale through your left nostril
■Close off your left nostril with the ring finger of your right hand
■Remove the thumb and exhale through your right nostril
■Inhale through your right nostril
■Close off your right nostril with your thumb
■Exhale through your left nostril
■Inhale through your left nostril
■Continue alternating five to 10 times

How does meditation work?

By focusing attention, meditation restores calm, inner peace and produces a deep state of relaxation for the individual. Some forms of meditation require you to become mindful of thoughts, feelings and sensations and to observe them in a nonjudgmental way. Most types of meditation have four elements in common:

■A quiet location. Having very few distractions is particularly helpful for beginners.

■A specific, comfrtable posture. Depending on the type being practiced, meditation can be done while sitting, lying down, standing, walking or in other positions.
■A focus of attention. Focusing your attention is usually part of meditation. For example, you might focus on a mantra (a chosen word or set of words), an object, the sensation of breathing or whatever topic or thought is dominant in your consciousness.
■An open attitude. Embracing an open attitude during meditation means letting distractions come and go naturally without judging them. If your attention goes to a distracting or wandering thought, don’t suppress those thoughts; gently return your attention back to focus.

Stress can alter our state of health, mood, emotions and also affect our cognitive function. Take the time to understand how stress works, to identify stressors in your life and engage in healthy stress management techniques like diaphragmatic breathing, exercise, meditation and yoga. For more on mind and body practices, also referred to as complementary and alternative medicine and integrative health practices, read the Real Warriors article and DCoE blog post, “Holistic Therapies Help Manage Stress at Home.”

How are you maintaining a healthy lifestyle? Tell us what you do to relax, or deal with stress in your life in the comment section below.