Last updated on September 23rd, 2023.
Stress is a commonality, and it can take over you and become the focal point of your life if not addressed correctly and delicately. Destressing is possible; one-way people often ignore it is through breathwork exercises. Some will think of it as laughable without realizing how helpful it is in different ways regarding stress when suggested to take a moment to breathe in and out.
Three ways breathwork helps with stress is that once you’ve stabilized your breathing, your:
- Heartbeat slows down
- Blood pressure will lower or stabilize
- Feelings of anxiety will decrease, and your mind eases down
As we continue to read through this article, we will learn about the common causes of stress, what breathwork does to our minds and bodies, and, lastly, three ways breathwork helps with stress.
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What Are Some Common Causes of Stress?
As a society, people are not as different as they may think. Your lives are different from one another, but many people deal with the same anxieties and stressors.
There are many common causes of stress, some include the following:
- Experiencing first or second-hand trauma: Traumatic experiences can increase stress. Trauma for a person can include abuse, witnessing abuse (second-hand trauma), pregnancy, or anything that can directly affect you or an experience that you can directly relate to or empathize with.
- Relationship issues: Experiencing relationship issues, going through a separation, divorce, or breakup, can be stressful. If you have kids with the person you are in a relationship with or have been with them for a long time, this can be incredibly stressful and daunting to think about and live through because you have to re-navigate life without that person.
- Work: Stress at work is expected. Being in a workplace where you do not feel welcomed or an increased workload can be inherently stressful for one person. In the workplace, unpredictable events can happen, i.e., being laid off, that will leave you overthinking and stressed out. (Check out this article for learn the 5 proven stress management techniques at work.)
- Finance: Money can be the root of stress for many people, especially if you struggle to make ends meet. However, if you have plenty of money, this can also become stressful if you have to ensure that you are financing correctly and taking care of others.
- Worldwide events: Worldwide events are inherently stressful for millions of people. Whether political or health-related, this can cause worldwide panic and lead to continuous stress.
Because of these various stressors, breathwork is one of the most recommended forms of reducing stress. Let’s continue to read to learn about what breathwork is.
What Is Breathwork?
Breathwork is breathing exercises that help stabilize our minds and bodies. Often, when one recommends or resorts to breathwork, they are stressful and anxiety-inducing situations that make them overwhelmed.
Breathing is natural for everyone, and how you can walk, talk, and make decisions. Because of this fact, breathwork is often overlooked. However yes, you are breathing, but if stressed out, not in a correct and stabilized way to where you are reducing your stress levels.
The keyword essential to remember when it comes to breathwork is stabilization, which is the key to helping with stress and having a sound mind and body.
Let’s continue to read to learn more about how breathwork transforms our minds and bodies.
What Does Breathwork Do to Our Minds and Bodies?
Breathwork is beneficial for our minds and bodies, but what does it do specifically?
Here is the answer:
- For our minds, it will keep you mentally at ease, and you’ll become more relaxed. Your mind will not become as cloudy, you will be able to make sound judgments, and your behaviors will not be impulsive and unhealthy.
- For our bodies, continued practice of breathwork will prevent physical health problems, such as cardiovascular issues, because your heart rate and blood pressure is lowered. Along with this, you will have more oxygen to run through your bloodstream, which helps you to communicate with your brain.
In the end, to have a sound body, you also have a sound mind. It all connects and begins with breathwork.
Breathwork is where it begins to have a sound body and mind. It helps with destressing in different ways. Let’s continue to read more about three ways breathwork helps with stress.
3 Ways Breathwork Helps with Stress
Destressing is essential. One of the most recommended and important things one can do when handling stress before anything else is breathwork. Breathing exercises are beneficial in many ways and help with stress.
Let’s continue reading to learn about three ways breathwork helps with stress.
1. Slowed Down Heartbeat
When you are overly stressed, your heart tends to beat faster. In stressful moments, your adrenaline begins to peak, which increases your heart rate. This can be due to anxiety or other poor habits contributing to stress.
However, practicing breathing techniques will help you become accustomed to a lowered heartbeat and heart rate.
2. Lowered Blood Pressure
When overly stressed, your body will release many hormones, which will cause your blood vessels to narrow, thus increasing your blood pressure.
You can develop unhealthy habits that contribute to higher blood pressure along with stress alone. Increased blood pressure can lead to possible heart disease, so breathwork is vital to lower it.
3. Anxiety Reduction/Mind Eases Down
Stress leads to increased anxiety, leaving your mind foggy and overwhelmed, leading to even more stressful and unhealthy habits and behaviors.
Once you begin and continue breathwork, your anxiety will reduce, and your mind will start to ease down, which will help you think more clearly and develop more healthy and mindful habits. You’ll also have increased awareness.
Closing
As you’ve learned about the three ways that breathwork helps with stress, you can implement breathwork techniques more into your daily life if you are experiencing stress. You also learned about what stress is, its common causes, breathwork, and what it does to our minds and bodies.
You may wanna checkout our detail review guide of breath of gold, to explore more into the world of breathwork through them.
