Self Help Exercises

Learn to relax and breathe in a calming way to bring yourself into a more balanced state.

What is calm breathing?

Calm Breathing or Diaphragmatic breathing is breathing that is done by contracting the diaphragm, a thin horizontal muscle located under the lungs. This technique helps you slow down your breathing when feeling stressed or anxious. This type of breathing is typical of yoga practitioners and signers.

Why is calm breathing important?

When we feel anxious we tend to take shallow breaths, which are short, small and rapid. This leads to over-breathing – breathing out carbon dioxide faster than your body has had a chance to make more. If this is done for too long it can lead to hyperventilation. Hyperventilation causes many physical symptoms such as chest pains, dizziness and rapid heartbeat, which can cause you to feel even more anxious.

How do you practice calm breathing?

Follow this audio recording by Dr. Iris Torchalla which will guide you through the process. Choose a place where you won’t be interrupted and set aside about 5 minutes to complete this exercise. We recommend doing this exercise at leave twice a day or whenever you feel particularly anxious.

If you find that you are really getting the hang of this technique or just don’t care for audio guidance, check out our downloadable how-to document here.