Thousands of years ago our biggest worry's were things that could kill us. Namely, wild animals, famine, enemy tribes, and natural disasters. This is the type of stress our bodies evolved to deal with.
Now days, we're bombarded by stressors that can't kill us but our bodies react to it all the same. Here are a few of the stressors our bodies haven’t evolved to cope with.
Social media
News
Traffic
Deadlines
School
The economy
Politics
What this adds up to is chronic stress. Chronic stress causes the following.
Hypertension
Depression
Addiction and anxiety disorders
Heart disease
Obesity
Metabolic Syndrome
Type II Diabetes
Arthritis
We must adapt our behavior to combat the extra stress. The secret to this is conscious breathing.
Conscious breathing works because your breath links your body and your emotions. When you’re under stress your breathing becomes faster and shallower. Reversing this is a matter of becoming conscious of your breathing. It’s like taking control of the steering wheel to avoid a car crash. Your breath is the steering wheel for your emotions.
The breathing technique used by the Navy Seals goes by names like tactical breathing, square breathing, and box breathing. They are all the same.
Tactical breathing:
- Inhale for 4 seconds
- Hold your lungs full for 4 seconds
- Exhale for 4 seconds
- Hold your lungs empty for 4 seconds
My suggestion is to practice a few minutes every morning and before you go to bed at night. You'll soon start experiencing less stress in your life.
Navy Seals use this technique to face life threatening situations. It’s guaranteed to work the next time you get stuck in traffic.
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