Breathing

Did conscious breathing change your quality of relaxation? What did you find helpful? What was difficult?

Focusing on my breathing is one of the best ways for me to actually relax. Like I have said before, I stress out a lot, and very easily (even when I shouldn't), so I am constantly thinking about all the things I have to do later. Conscious breathing allows me to just listen to the ocean-like sound of each breath and just focus on each inhale and exhale. I am a chest breather and I know that I don't fill up my lungs nearly enough, so trying to fill my stomach first at each inhale can be difficult at first, but gets easier with each breath. Now I just need to learn how to do that on a daily basis and not just in my Meditation & Relaxation class or while I'm doing yoga. I believe the best way for me to do this is while laying down, like in savasana. This enables me to expand my rib cage more which allows my lungs to fill up better.
I actually did some conscious breathing just yesterday. I was not able to get much sleep on Sunday night, and Monday was a very long day, as well as very stressful. I also had a headache, which didn't help matters. But I decided to get in bed just to relax, not take a nap. I put on some soothing meditation music, turned off the lights, and focused on my breathing. I really focused on filling up my stomach first as much as I could, then filled up my chest and inhaled until I couldn't anymore. I then slowly exhaled from my chest and then my stomach. After doing this for about 10 or 15 minutes, I felt much better, and even though I was running on little sleep, I felt a bit more energized. I really hope to continue with this method, even if it is only for a few minutes each day, especially on the more stressful days.