"That Breathing Thing Doesn't Work!"

We teach just about all of new clients the 4x4 breathing exercise, and once in awhile someone comes back and says, "That breathing thing doesn't work!" When we ask them to explain, we almost always find out one of two things:

1. The person did not practice the breathing technique enough to master it before trying to use it to lower their anxiety or stress level.

2. The person waited until they were too anxious before starting the breathing, i.e. generally at the point of a panic attack.

We can not emphasize enough the importance of practice, practice practice! Even if you "got" how to do the breathing the correct way the first time you tried it, it still takes a lot of practice in order to really use it effectively to lower anxiety and stress. We've stated before that "4X4" means that it would be ideal if people were to practice the breathing for 4 minutes a day four times each day.

That's only 16 minutes!

If you need help learning how to do the breathing, our Breathing Exercises track on our Stress Less CD will take you through the process in just 10 minutes! Visit our website, www.thestressmasters.com for details!

Next post: Learn how to monitor your anxiety level!