Just focus on mastering the technique through regular, brief practice. And add it to your first aid list of steps to take when you have a panic attack. Over time, I think you'll find that you use this kind of breathing more and more as you make this your new habit. But you can let that happen naturally just by following the suggestions above. My clients also express surprise at the idea that there is more than one way to breathe, or that breathing is something one must learn about.
Newborns are all belly breathers.
It's how we're built. But in our culture, we tend to put a high value on a flat, tight stomach, and we teach this to children, especially little girls. So, many people change their style of breathing as children, in response to the messages they get at home, in school, and on the playground. They hold their stomach tight, and breathe from their chest. And ten or twenty years later, they don't remember they ever breathed any other way.