Anxiety has been a companion my entire life. Throughout my youth and early adulthood, I worried about everything, and planned contingencies for it all. It turned me into a great planner, but I never had much fun.
One of the great gifts martial arts has given to me is a certain amount of peace, and some skills in staying in this moment – without borrowing tomorrow's troubles. Of all those skills, breathing has got to be the number one on the list.
Seems odd, probably. If I didn't breathe, I wouldn't actually be ALIVE after all, so how can that be a skill?
First of all, there's recognizing that you aren't breathing well. Anxiety can be brought on by shallow breathing. In a vicious circle, when we are anxious, we also breathe shallowly. Recognition and awareness of this situation is the really skill I'm talking about here.
For me, that's the first thing I check when I feel that creeping tide of worry and anxiousness mounting: am I breathing high in my chest? If I am, I deliberately draw my breath down deep into my belly and abdomen.
Second, I acknowledge the fear and then counter by looking at my present circumstances. Am I in physical danger? If I am comfortable, safe, dry, I hold that truth and take a second deep breath, again as deep into my core as I can.
Third, I try to look calmly at one thing that is distressing me, and try to assess whether it's something I can actually do anything about. If not, I take a third deep breath and acknowledge that this one is out of my hands. If I can do something, I pick one task or activity to do FIRST, and then I breathe into that.
This is a simple exercise, and it's helped me more than I can describe. Try it, and hopefully you will benefit too.
One of the great gifts martial arts has given to me is a certain amount of peace, and some skills in staying in this moment – without borrowing tomorrow's troubles. Of all those skills, breathing has got to be the number one on the list.
Seems odd, probably. If I didn't breathe, I wouldn't actually be ALIVE after all, so how can that be a skill?
First of all, there's recognizing that you aren't breathing well. Anxiety can be brought on by shallow breathing. In a vicious circle, when we are anxious, we also breathe shallowly. Recognition and awareness of this situation is the really skill I'm talking about here.
For me, that's the first thing I check when I feel that creeping tide of worry and anxiousness mounting: am I breathing high in my chest? If I am, I deliberately draw my breath down deep into my belly and abdomen.
Second, I acknowledge the fear and then counter by looking at my present circumstances. Am I in physical danger? If I am comfortable, safe, dry, I hold that truth and take a second deep breath, again as deep into my core as I can.
Third, I try to look calmly at one thing that is distressing me, and try to assess whether it's something I can actually do anything about. If not, I take a third deep breath and acknowledge that this one is out of my hands. If I can do something, I pick one task or activity to do FIRST, and then I breathe into that.
This is a simple exercise, and it's helped me more than I can describe. Try it, and hopefully you will benefit too.
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