You can lessen your pain by breathing correctly.
Alternative medical practitioners believe you can eliminate pain by breathing correctly. But first you need to learn to breathe properly, as practitioners believe that with hurried lifestyles, we breathe too shallowly and without paying due attention. With correct breathing habits, you can not only decrease your pain, but you also can increase the levels of oxygen in your blood stream, raise your energy levels, relax your intestinal muscles, slow down your heart rate and lower your stress levels.
Instructions
1. Practice deep breathing through your diaphragm until it becomes a habit and feels natural. Sit up straight on a comfortable chair, put your shoulders back and one hand on your chest and the other at the top of your stomach. Focus on your posture so your ribcage can expand easily. Breathe in nose and count to five as you do so. Be aware of the hand on your stomach moving as you fill your diaphragm with air. The hand on your chest will not move. Hold for one count before breathing out slowly through your mouth. Pause for one count, and repeat five times.
2. Slow down your breathing. According to researchers on a clinical trial at Arizona State University, halving the number of breaths per minute decreased the pain among patients with fibromyalgia. The average number of breaths per minute is 12 to 18, and slowing down to six had a significant effect. The researchers believed that "slowing breathing has a direct impact on the sympathetic nervous system, which helps control blood flow and skin temperature, blocking some of the pain response."
3. Think of a relaxing scene as you inhale and exhale slowly.
Make it a habit to relax. When you relax, you are likely to sleep better, have more energy and less stress, and these together can enhance the effectiveness of any pain control techniques or medication. Think of something that makes you feel calm, visualize a relaxing scene or listen to gentle music as you breathe in and breathe out slowly.
4. Work through a process of flexing your muscles as you breathe in and out slowly. Starting with your toes, flex your muscles as you breathe in to the count of three and release the muscles as you breathe out to the count of three. Move on to flexing your ankles, work your way up through your body and finish with the muscles in your face. Visualize the core of your pain, and put your hand on the area that is in pain as you continue this exercise.
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