I actually think I can say with almost certainty that all of you have experienced an anxiety attack whether you knew it or not. A lot of times you will have one and you may say things like "my mind is racing", or "I'm just sick to my stomach". Those are signs of an oncoming or progression of an anxiety attack.

Anxiety can stop you in your tracks or it can peak your adrenaline and when you have a busy life you don't have time for either. So, I want to discuss what I call breath work. Breath work is a deep use for you breathing than breath work I spoke on earlier.

Breath work isn't really work but it does do several things. Breath work slows your heartbeat, slows your mind, and gives your brain a chance to get back on track. 

When you have a day of endless chores or errands, and someone throws that proverbial monkey wrench into your day it can throw you into an anxiety attack. You feel like things will not get done because now you can't focus. To stop that attack in its place all you have to do is breathe.

Yes, i said it, that statement we all get frustrated with when someone says, "take a breath". Well, at least I use to get very frustrated with someone telling me to breathe. I would think it more to myself than say it out loud, "If I wasn't breathing, I would be dead'!!

Breathing is second nature, our body does it without any effort from us at all. But when your stress is up and an attack is happening our breathing is erratic, it becomes shallow and just becomes the thing that keeps us alive. If you can learn to recognize that in the middle of whatever, has you off balance, then you can learn to get it back on track. I remember as a child, running, playing tag, or even sometimes riding my bike where I would get so out of breath my side would hurt. The reason for that was I was too wrapped up in the activity I didn't think to help regulate my breath. 

Breath work is something that will take less than 2 minutes and can change how your busy day can go. Here is how I manage my anxiety when I recognize it.

You want to start by excusing yourself from the moment. You don't have to go anywhere but you do need the things and people around you to stop for a couple mins. By all means if you can walk away and be alone that would be better but I'm aware that cannot always happen. Next you will need to take 3 deep breaths. The kind of breath that fills your lungs. When you exhale empty all that breath out of your lungs. Next you will take 3 more breaths. With each inhale count in your head to 5. On each exhale in your head count to 5. When those six breaths you have more than likely slowed your heart rate.

Now let's get our mind slow and back on track. You are now going to take 3 breaths in thru your nose and out your mouth. Next you are going to use your index finger and hold your right nostril closed and breathe a breath in thru your left nostril. When you breath out you will now hold your left nostril closed, remove your finger from your right nostril and breath out thru that side of your nose. You will repeat this in reverse for you next breath, close your left, breath in the right and close, then exhale through the left. Does this 3 times. What this breathing is doing is getting you to focus on each of your breaths and it is balancing the right and left sides of your brain.

The next 3 breaths are the last, but this will get your breathing and your mind on the same page. You will begin by breathing in for the count of 5 and holding it to the count of 3 and then exhale to the count of 5.

One of the biggest things to do while doing breathe work is to think of nothing but you're breathing. Whatever got you to the point you needed to do this exercise will probably still be there but after the. With beath work you have given yourself an upper hand in the situation. You be able to give it you full attention, and you will be able to think a bit clearer. Who knows maybe after you might realize things are not as bad as they seemed?

You will still have what every busy you had going on, but you will at least feel better in the busy because you lowered your anxiety and gave your body and brain the much-needed oxygen you would have otherwise deprived yourself of.