August 2010 - Release Stress in 10 Seconds – The Power of Breathing

Back to Newsletter

Need a quick way to release your stress? Want to quickly energize yourself? This simple exercise you’re about to learn combines all the proven elements of stress reduction – physical and non-physical – into one powerful exercise. It is called “Instant Impact”, and it only takes 10 seconds.

Stress management is one of the top 5 reasons clients come in for hypnosis. While hypnosis can release the root cause of your stress, and I even teach self-hypnosis for stress management, I’m always looking for quick effective tools my clients can use on their own. Take the time to read this important article and drop the stress in 10 seconds!

The following article is excerpt  from the book: “The Healing Code”, by Alex Loyd, PhD. ND and Ben Johnson, MD, DO, NMD.

Instant Impact combines, for the first time, the most stress-reducing physical and non-physical approaches known to date. In just 10 seconds you can feel as good as you’d feel after doing 30 – 60 minutes of vigorous exercise, deep breathing, or mediation.

Use Instant Impact any time you have an energy slump, or feel stressed throughout your day. It will interrupt  the stress response so your body won’t store up the stress but will get rid of it and keep you in balance.

Power Breathing is a quick, simple and effective way to release your stress any time, any place.
Simple Steps:

1. Rate your stress. When you begin using Instant Impact, focus on the overall level of stress that you are feeling that day or that moment. How intense is it? How strong is it? How much is it affecting the way you feel? The way you relate to others? The way you see the world? Do you feel it anywhere in your body?

We ask you to rate your stress on a scale of 0 – 10, with 0 being no stress at all and 10 being an unbearable level of stress. This is an extremely helpful tool for you. When you rate your stress level before and after doing Instant Impactyou have a measurement for your success in reducing that level. You will know whether to do it again to lower your level further. You will know when your overall level of stress begins to decrease after practicing Instant Impact for a little while.

2. Place your palms together in any position that’s comfortable. You can interlace your fingers, use a praying position, or any other position as long as your palms are together. (There is a lot of healing power in the hands. When you bring your palms together you are using the energy in your hands to defuse the stress.)
3. Do Power Breathing for 10 Seconds:

• Breathe rapid and powerful “belly breaths” in and out. Do this by forcefully flowing out and sucking in through your mouth. Use your diaphragm so your belly moves out as you breathe in and moves in as you breath out. If you feel a little lightheaded, breathe the same way but reduce the intensity.

• As you do the Power Breathing, visualize something positive. It can be the stress leaving your body, or a peaceful scene, or whatever opposite thing you want instead of the stress. For instance, if you’re feeling angry, you might envision or say in your mind, patience. Or peace. This part of the exercise is a little like meditation.

It is suggested that you practice this three times a day. Even if you do it once a day, you will see results. However, I highly suggest your practicing this three or even four or more times a day if you wish to quickly reduce your immediate stress.

You may be wondering how such a simple, quick, and easy exercise can remove stress and produce the effects of many more minutes of intense exercise or meditation. Here’s how and why it works.

The Power of Breathing

Instant Impact uses a breathing technique called Power Breathing. It is the Power Breathing ofInstant Impact that allows you to interrupt the stress cycle and feel similar to how you’d feel after 20 minutes of combined vigorous exercise and mediation, in mere seconds.

The physical Law of Inertia states that nothing changes unless it is acted on with enough energy, and Power Breathing creates tremendous internal physiological power. Power Breathing adds great force to this process – a high energy fuel of oxygen and physical effort. Just as the wind is a primary source of power in the world, our breath is our personal source of wind power.

If you practiced only the Power Breathing, you would probably feel both invigorated and relaxed. Your mood would probably be lighter, too. It is an effective technique in and of itself, and it is the element that makes Instant Impact so quick and so deep.

Power Breathing addresses one of the effects of stress: shallow breathing. Habitual shallow breathing is a common sign of chronic stress. Shallow breathing begins with specific incidents that startle or alarm us, and it ends with becoming a habit. Chronic shallow breathing is like living in a state of constant apprehension.

In Conscious Breathing, Gay Hendricks, PhD, says, “When an emotion is very painful, our first reaction is to stop breathing. It’s a protective fight-or flight reflex triggered by the nervous system. Immediately after, you’re flooded with adrenaline, and the sympathetic nervous system, which controls blood circulation, kicks in, making your heart beat faster and your breath quicken.” Short, shallow breathing is a leftover of this response. Some people also habitually hold their breath when doing even small tasks. All shallow breathing reduces the amount of oxygen we take in and the carbon dioxide we expel, and this leads to stress at the cellular level.

Another nice benefit of practicing this breathing technique is it should gradually increase your lung volume, a factor that promotes health and potentially increases life span.

As long ago as 1981, the journal Science News reported findings by the National Institute of Aging regarding lung function and longevity. A thirty-year clinical study of 5,200 individuals showed that a person’s pulmonary function is a reliable indicator of general health and vigor and is also the primary measure of a person’s potential life span. A measurement of pulmonary function can identify people who will die in 10, 20, or 30 years.

When you do Instant Impact, you will be more relaxed, and the muscles that control or inhibit your breathing will allow the full inhalations and exhalations your body is designed for.

Quite soon, you will find that you are more aware of when you are not breathing deeply. This will be a signal that you are feeling stress and need a break for Instant Impact.

With regular use, Instant Impact also:

• Stimulates the cardio-vascular system
• Increases the intake of oxygen
• Detoxifies the system of carbon dioxide
• Stimulates the immune system by increasing energy to the endocrine system.
• Improves lymphatic functioning.

Enjoy your practice!

Back to Newsletter