Managing Emotions Through Breathing
The body, emotions and thoughts form a whole. What happens in each of these areas has effects on the others.
There is not the slightest possibility that they will act separately. Hence, when you find yourself in a problem, it is convenient that you ask yourself not only about one of those components, but about all of them.
One of the functions that has the greatest impact on physical and mental health is breathing. At the same time, breathing reflects emotions, feelings, relationship with the environment and the general state of the body.
Therefore, learning to breathe can significantly help you to manage your emotions more appropriately.
Breathing in emotions
Respiration is part of the body’s autonomous system. The functions that make up that system, for example digestion, operate without our command.
However, breathing is the only activity in that category over which we can exercise a significant margin of control. Hence, we can learn to manage our breathing for our well-being.
The breath changes according to the emotion that predominates in our mind. When we are afraid, it becomes more difficult to breathe, it is as if we are out of air.
In fact, choking sensations may appear. If there is anxiety, breathing becomes fast and superfluous, so there is no adequate oxygenation of the brain.
If sadness is predominant, breathing becomes much slower and deeper. Hence, it is not uncommon for sighs to appear very frequently in states of depression. In stressful situations, breathing becomes ragged.
When breathing changes its regular functioning, all the vital rhythms of the organism are also altered. That is why it is so important.
Breathing management
To learn to manage emotions through breathing, the first thing you should know is that this function can be of several types. There are basically two ways of breathing that affect the emotional world:
-The abdominal breathing. It is the natural way to breathe, which is why babies have it at birth. In this type of breathing it is as if you swallow the air and take it to the stomach. It is based on the operation of the diaphragm.
Abdominal breathing is highly healthy to relieve tension and oxygenate vital organs such as the heart and liver. If you practice it frequently, you get great benefits.
-Energetic breathing. It is the one that appears during the moments in which we perform physical exercises. Its main function is to fill the organism as a whole with vitality.
Energetic breathing is very suitable for moments of great emotional difficulties, since it fills us with vitality.
How to manage anger through breathing?
Anger is one of the most damaging emotions for the body and mind. That is why it is important that you learn to control it, to avoid greater evils. You can do it through breathing.
In the moment of experiencing anger, be still. Then breathe in deeply and then exhale, with all the force of which you are capable.
Anger is like a pressure cooker about to explode; breathing with great power is similar to the release of pressure in these types of devices. If that leak does not occur, there is sure to be a blowout.
When you experience some exhaustion in breathing, begin to inhale and exhale slowly. You are already calm.
By using your breath, you avoid an emotional overload that could damage your body and you also avoid a probably unnecessary conflict.
Evaluate the way you breathe daily and become aware of what it reflects. By taking care of the way you breathe, you also protect your body, your mind, your life.
