3 Easy Yoga Breathing Exercises To Ease Your Stress At Work

Online, March 18, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Stress is the leading cause of occupational ill health in the UK. The causes of work-place stress are quite obvious. There is the constant demand for individual's time and attention from multiple sources, deadlines and competing priorities, work presentations too name just a few.

Learning how to relax and respond to these demands requires patience, skill and an ability to know, for example, when to stop and rest, when to say no and when to delegate task.

Known as pranayama, yoga breathing exercises, offer an easy way to support one's body to deal more efficiently with stressful conditions.

Good breathing is healthy breathing. A person's breath forms a connection to his life. He can survive for about six weeks without food and a few days without water. But without breathing, he would not survive for more than a few minutes.

It has been commonly noticed that most students do not know how to breathe correctly, which has a knock-on effect on your physical, emotional and mental health.

Most students tend to breathe shallow, irregular and rapid. In extreme cases, one may forget to breathe during long periods of focused work.

By breathing correctly, the person bring in rich oxygen into the body and help to eliminate carbon dioxide buildup in the body.

Learning to breathe correctly helps to release the symptoms of anxiety and tension.

As one practices the following three yoga breathing exercises, he will notice that he feel calmer, more relaxed and able to produce a higher quality of work.

Three Easy Yoga Breathing Exercises To Ease Stress At Work

To help reduce stress and tension at work practice the following easy-to-do yoga breathing exercises, which anyone can do in chair or at desk.

As with all yoga breathing exercises, be gentle, respect and listen to your body. Should the person feel uncomfortable, stop the exercise and return to normal breathing.

1. Counted Breath

A. Sit comfortably on a chair, rest hands on thighs, uncross ankles, place feet apart flat on the floor and close eyes.

B. Next breathe in slowly through nostrils for a count of four and slowly breathe out, throughout nostrils for a count of four.

C. Repeat this sequence of breathing in for 4 and out for 4 for 3 - 5 rounds.

Slowly open eyes and remain seated for a few more moments before engaging in the day-to-day activities.

2. Deep Yogic Breathing

A. Either sit comfortably, arms relaxed, nice straight spine and feet resting firmly on the floor or lie down on bed.

B. Place right palm on lower abdomen and left palm on upper chest, just below your collar bones.

C. Breathe slowly in through nose and consciously focus on sending breath from right hand up to left hand, be aware of the hands raising on the in-breath and slowly lowering on the out breathe.

D. Repeat this deep yogic breathing for 3 - 5 more times, each time, allowing the breath to be fuller and deeper.

3. Simple Alternate Nostril Breathing

A. Sit with straight back straight and gently close lips.

B. Rest left hand on left thigh, hands facing upward and position right hand in Vishnu Mudra (for Vishnu Mudra, extend the thumb, ring finger, and little finger of right hand and fold down other two fingers into palm.

C. Close right nostril with right thumb and breathe in through left nostril for a count of 4. Close your left nostril with ring and little fingers.

D. Lift right thumb and breathe out through right nostril for a count of 8. Then breathe in through the same nostril for a count of 4.

E. Close right nostril with thumb and lift fingers to exhale through left nostril to a count of 8.

Repeat this sequence 5 - 10 times.

While going through the day, take time, to be aware of breathing and to practice at least one of the above yoga breathing exercises to reduce work-place stress.

That way, the individual will feel calmer, more alert, engerised and relaxed.