How to Switch Off Stress and Anxiety in Seconds

Living in a constant state of stress and anxiety seems to be the new norm for many people, but not without its drastic consequences. It zaps your vital energy, weakens your immune system, disrupts your sleep, causes you to be overly reactive, and results in less than optimal living.

Anti-anxiety and antidepressant drugs are some of the most prescribed in the US, but they're not solving the problem. 

I struggled with high levels of anxiety and low tolerance for stress for years. I would get anxious over everyday situations. I was on antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds for years. But they didn't really help and they came with a host of side effects.

Now I have tools that are natural, safe, and effective. This particular tool doesn't involved any external factors either and it's totally free! This technique I'm going to share with you has been incredibly transformative for me, and has really helped in times when I feel a heightened sense of stress or anxiety.

I can use this technique anytime, anywhere and and get relief very quickly. I'm going to share with you a simple breathing technique that you can do when you're feeling overwhelmed, stressed, anxious and you just need to center yourself, ground yourself and find a sense of peace and relaxation.

The technique involves breathing in a rhythm. When you breathe in a rhythm, it brings coherence to all aspects and functions of your body.

If you're stressed out, if you're anxious, chances are you have a lot of erratic thoughts going on. Your breath is going to be erratic and it becomes this vicious cycle of erratic thoughts lead to erratic breathing, erratic breathing leads to erratic thoughts and you're in this perpetual fight or flight, stressed out response.

You need to tune in, slow your breathing and bring it back to a rhythmic pace.

This will get you out of survival mode, out of your sympathetic nervous system state and bring you into the parasympathetic state of your nervous system.

There are two rhythms I'm going to share with you. But first let's discuss how to breathe. 

You always want to breathe in through the nose. There are a number of reasons for that, but one is that it filters the air you breathe in (super important!!).

Breathing in through your mouth stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, which we don't want to do. So breathe in through your nose, slowly, breathing from the diaphragm.  

Then you want to exhale through your nose or mouth. With this specific breathwork technique, you'll be exhaling through your mouth. When you're breathing normally throughout the day, you want to breathe in and out through the nose.

The first technique is to extend your exhale.

Breathe in for a count of two and out for four. So you're doubling the length of your exhale. This activates the parasympathetic nervous system and helps get you into that rest, relax and digest mode. 

It's going to really help calm the mind and calm the body. You can sit anywhere, and practice this technique. In for two, out for four. You'll start to feel a sense of calm wash over you.

The second technique is great if you want to bring coherence and balance to the body.

Your breath is a powerful way to bring coherence and harmony to all other functions in your body. Think of all the other functions that work in a rhythm:  your circadian rhythm, digestive rhythm, heart rate, and more.

In this case, you'll breathe in and out for equal counts. Inhale for four and exhale for four. This practice will also calm the stress response, help you feel more centered. It's going to bring coherence to your thoughts and help you feel more grounded.

A couple of things you might want to add into this practice. I recommend closing your eyes and having a positive affirmation you can repeat in your mind. 

A few examples are "I am at peace". "I am whole, perfect, and complete." You can breathe in and say "I am" and breathe out, "relaxed".

Close your eyes and visualize yourself in a relaxed state. Maybe you visualize yourself on the beach by yourself listening to the ocean waves. Whatever it is for you, visualize your affirmation and embody it and then keep breathing rhythmically.

You'll find that your emotional and mental state will be calm super quickly. Use this anytime you need it during the day. I encourage you to take breaks during work or during your daily tasks to do a few minutes of breathwork, and I think you'll find it to be really helpful.

If you like this, then click here to download my free guided breathwork meditation. This will go a little more in depth. It's 20 minutes long and we're going to do a full SOMA Breath routine. You'll learn exactly what SOMA breathwork is and how to do it, and you'll get a free 20 minute guided breathwork meditation.  

And if you want to dive deeper, then I encourage you to check out my Sacred Breath Community. It's a community of breathers and healers who love who are finding breathwork to be incredibly healing, powerful, and transformative. We have live monthly breathwork classes online and you get an abundance of audio breathwork sessions and other breathing techniques. So I encourage you to check that out right here >>