Anxiety & Fear: Relief is Just a Breath Away
By award-winning author and stress-relief expert Susie Mantell
In a culture that applauds "washboard abs", the multiple benefits of good,
deep belly-breathing for stress-reduction and overall wellness are
often sacrificed. (While strong abdominal muscles are unquestionably
important for low-back support, posture, etc., it is indeed a challenge to
oxygenate fully and deeply while holding in your stomach!) Many of us
tend to breathe at a surprisingly shallow level. Deeper inhalation may
even feel a little "surprising" at first--unfamiliar. Attention to the
different ways in which we breathe in various contexts also enhances
mental clarity, proper digestion and circulation, healing, athletic and
vocal performance, can diminish pain and help to release anxiety in a
tense moment.
It is amazing how our breathing can ground us and in moments of fear (when
we sometimes experience a sense of almost observing ourselves from the
outside?) Slow, mindful breathing will often bring us back "into the
body"...and into balance.
(FASCINATING FACT: One theory about the "pleasure" smokers experience is that it may partly be due to the deep breathing necessary to deliver the nicotene. Interesting thought...)
See TIP entitled: "How to Breathe Easy". That's why we're here!
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Award-winning stress-relief expert Susie Mantell ...is the author of the deeply soothing relaxation CD, "Your Present: A Half-Hour of Peace,” clinically approved for symptoms associated with stress and sleeplessness, depression and grief, anxiety, P.T.S.D., Fibromyalgia, caregiver stress, cancer, pain, divorce and addiction recovery. Featured in The Los Angeles Times, NBC, ABC, CBS-TV, Town & Country, The American Pain Society, Hazelden and The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, listeners include The Mayo Clinic, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, The Betty Ford Center, V.A. Hospitals,and Canyon Ranch (#1 Spa.) Customizing stress-reduction for Fortune 500 companies, distinguished hospitals and spas, Mantell has facilitated thousands in relieving health-related, work-related, chronic or traumatic stress. Her multi-sensory, mind-body techniques appear in national media, medical and corporate publications. Susie Mantell's Stress-Relief & Wellness Tips are intended as an adjunct to, not a substitute for, professional health care. Order “Your Present: A Half-Hour of Peace” and find more of Mantell’s stress-relief tips at www.relaxintuit.com