By shifting your breathing rate and pattern, you can simulate the body's parasympathetic response. This is the body's equally powerful and opposite system to the Emergency Response and is often called the relaxation response.
Calming Breath: Step 1
Take a long, slow breath in through your nose, filling your lower lungs, then your upper lungs.
Calming Breath: Step 2
Hold your breath to the count of 'three'.
Calming Breath: Step 3
Exhale slowly through pursed lips, while you relax the muscles in your face, jaw, shoulders and stomach.
Calming Breath: Step 4
Practise this calming breath at least ten times a day for several weeks.
