We can experience anxiety in a variety of situations, but for those who experience anxiety to the extreme, having a panic attack can be quite terrifying. In fact, in recent times many have gone so far as to resort to pharmaceuticals in order to maintain control over there day to day activities.
With this shadow of terror looming over your life, a variety of other fears and anxieties begin to roll through your mind such as, “Did I make sure that I didn’t forget my anxiety medication today?”, or “What if I am in a very public situation such as a business meeting when an attack comes on?”.
Well one technique that can help you no matter where you find yourself is a breathing and meditation technique developed by Kundalini yoga practitioners called “alternate nostril breathing”! Completely natural, this simple technique just may give you the freedom from anxiety you have been seeking and alleviate some of those fears!
“A panic attack is a physical reaction disguised as a mental one”
According to an Journal article within Theories in Medicine called, “Panic attacks, and suffocation alarm systems” published by the Columbia University Medical Center (or CUMC for short), “panic attacks result not from fear and anxiety, but from breathing abnormalities”. Dr. Donald Klein, Research psychiatrist at CUMC, proposed a model that said people who experience panic attacks often have “hypersensitive suffocation alarm systems” that trigger the difficulty breathing and anxiety associated with these attacks.
Of course research is always being conducted, but what we can draw from this is that breathing and panic attacks are linked, both scientifically as much research suggests, and anecdotally as a common means of controlling them.
Breathing as practice that you have control over 24/7
Should you feel the symptoms of a panic attack coming on, no matter where you are, simply excuse yourself for a moment, and find a quiet place you are able to focus on your breathing. Alternate nostril breathing is as simple as it sounds…
Step 1) Block your right nostril, and breathe in deeply and slowly through your left nostril.
Step 2) Block the nostril you just breathed in with (your left), and exhale out your right nostril.
Step 3) From here you continue blocking your left and breathe in deeply and slowly through your right nostril.
Step 4) Alternate this breathing process and try to focus mindfully on the air simply going in and out, and before you know it you just may have intercepted a panic attack!
Panic attacks are something that we are beginning to understand more and more as time goes on, and having a technique that you are able to draw upon in a bind is something you can always carry with you. That is, rather than something physical, such as a pharmaceutical which if the attack comes on suddenly could provoke your attack further in the search to locate it in your bag or purse.
Give alternate nostril breathing a go, even if it’s a technique you use to return to a state of mindfulness or to control mild anxiety symptoms!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
