Relieve stress....take a "correct" breath!!

Need to relieve some stress (who doesn't these days!?)---close your eyes and take a deep breath right?  Maybe not!  You may not be breathing properly and this basic stress reliever may not be so "basic", nor helpful!

Here are some tips I recently read & thought were worth sharing from the Sept. 2012 issue of Redbook Magazine on how proper breathing should look and how to help you become aware of your breathing:
according to Timothy McCall, M.D. (specialist in internal medicine) when you inhale, the diaphragm (that's the muscle attached to the base of your lungs) moves downward and expands your lungs, and as a result, your belly moves out.  "It's natural for this breath pattern to change momentarily, say, as a response to being startled or frightened" he says. 
"When you gasp, for example, the belly gently contracts inward, instead of out."  This change in breathing is associated with an adrenaline surge, making you more alert and prepping your body to respond to danger.  But if you have a tendency to breathe this way regularly--a pattern called paradoxical breathing--the body essentially remains in a perpetual state of shock.  This can send stress levels soaring in the body, the root cause of many diseases, McCall says.


Here's how you can check your breathing:
Lie flat on your back & place one hand on your belly.
Slowly take a deep breath in.
As you inhale, your belly should lift your hand up an inch or two.  If instead your hand sinks down, you're breathing paradoxically!

How to make the correction:
Focus on relaxing!
Let your breath move in & out naturally until you feel your hand rise as you inhale

Go ahead, try it and breath a little easier knowing you are doing it correctly! 

Source: Redbook Magazine, Sept. 2012