In today’s edition of The Secrets of Personal Development From A-Z series I am going to discuss something everyone does, and that very few people do correctly.  I’m talking about breathing.  Aside from the fact that we have to breathe to live, how we breathe can have a significant impact on the quality of our lives.

There are whole books devoted to breathing, some of which are very good including Gay Hendricks book Conscious Breathing.  This article is not intended to take the place of that or any other book.  However, since I know most people will never take the time to read such books (although I would certainly encourage it) I am simply going to offer a very simple breathing technique.

This technique can be done almost anywhere at anytime.  It is very effective at significantly reducing or eliminating stress, tension, and anxiety.  There are four basic steps to this technique. They are:

1.  Simply Become Aware Of Your Breathing

Simply by noticing your breathing you are likely to notice that it begins to slow down and become deeper.  Simply be aware of this process for a minute or so.

2.  Breathe In Fully And Deeply For Four Counts.

After being aware of your breathing for a minute or so, breathe in deeply.  To ensure you are breathing in correctly, place your hands on your sides near your lower ribs.  As you breathe in deeply you should feel these ribs expanding slightly.

3.  Hold The Breathe For The Count Of Four

Each count should be about one second (one thousand one, one thousand two…)

4. Exhale Slowly And Completely For The Count Of Eight

With practice you will know the exact rate to exhale so that when you reach eight you have fully and completely expelled the breathe.

Doing this technique for as little as three to five minutes is enough to significantly reduce any stress, tension or anxiety you may be experiencing, and allow you to go on with your day in much better and clearer state of mind.

In the next edition of The Secrets Of Personal Development From A-Z series, I will be discussing the importance of clarity, and how to become clear about your purpose and passion in life.

I welcome your comments and feedback, and of course appreciate your sharing this post with those you know who can benefit from it.