Interestingly, I’ve spoken about breathing to my patients much more in this last year, because we’ve seen a big increase in mental health issues – particularly panic attacks and anxiety attacks. Teaching how to breathe effectively has been one of my most widely used prescriptions.
One we tend to demonstrate is pursed lip breathing. Taking a deep breath in through the nose, then exhaling through pursed lips, as if blowing out birthday candles. You’re just regulating and slowing down the breath.
The other one that’s really effective is diaphragmatic breathing. Again, we tend to breathe from the chest or even throat and upwards. Instead try to take deep breaths right into your abdomen, pushing the diaphragm down and breathing into the belly. So breathe in through your nose, put your hand over your abdomen and feel that lifting, then exhale through pursed lips.