Relieve Stress & Anxiety with Simple Breathing Techniques

15 March 2025


Relieve Stress & Anxiety with Simple Breathing Techniques



Breathing exercises can be a great way to help relieve stress and anxiety. This video focuses on two relaxing breathing techniques: Square breathing (aka box breathing, 4×4 breathing, 4-part breath, etc.) and Pursed breathing. More breathing exercises: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7-CAFhJn78

I start off with Square breathing. It’s so good at helping to relieve stress and anxiety that it’s sometimes used in the military to help calm nerves before stressful situations.

It’s performed just how it sounds–using your breath to make a square. Use imagery as well and imagine making a square or following something with a square pattern with your breath. Each position is 4 seconds. Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 4 seconds, breathe out for 4 seconds, and hold your breath again for 4 seconds.

Pursed breathing is another breathing technique that can help relieve stress and anxiety, and it can also help make your lungs stronger. For this one, use diaphragmatic or belly breathing. Breathe in for 4 seconds, and then breathe out with pursed lips for 8 seconds.

Related Videos:

Breathing Exercises for Relaxation or COPD:

Breathing Exercises for COPD, Asthma, Bronchitis & Emphysema:

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Dr. Jo is a licensed Physical Therapist and Doctor of Physical Therapy.

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Relieve Stress & Anxiety with Simple Breathing Techniques

https://www.askdoctorjo.com/breathing-techniques-stress-relief

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hi everybody it's Doctor Jo and mr. Bear, and today I'm going to show you two simple breathing techniques to relieve stress. so let's get started. before we get started, if you haven't already, make sure and click the subscribe button and make your subscription to either public or let me know that you subscribe because I always try and respond to my subscribers. so for the first breathing exercise or technique, this one is really great. it's nice because it helps, it helps relieve stress, it helps relieve anxiety. they actually use it in the military for special ops missions to help relax the military folks before they go into battle or things that will get them really stressed out and anxious. so this is just either called box breathing or square breathing, and it's kind of like it sounds. you have to use a little bit of imagery with this, so even if you have to look at something that's a box, sometimes that helps with your breathing technique. but it's really simple and so all you're gonna do is you're breathing in for four seconds. imagining you're going up the square, then you're gonna hold your breath for four seconds. then you're gonna breathe out for four seconds, and then you're gonna hold your breath again for four seconds. so you're really just making that square with that four seconds. breathing in, holding it, breathing out, and then holding it again. so this one you know if you feel like you're gonna pass out, don't keep holding your breath, but it's four seconds so it should be pretty doable. so I'm gonna count for you instead of actually holding my breath just so you can do it. this is great because again it's nice and that helps you relax. you can do maybe four to five sets at a time just to kind of help get you relaxed. so get in a nice good comfortable position, so you can really get that breath, breathing in. so let's start here, and again even if you have to make the image with your finger or if you use your eyes somewhere like a photo or painting on the wall or something, make sure that you're using that imagery as well because that helps you relax. let's start here in the corner. so we're going to go up one, two, three, four. hold your breath one, two, three, four. breathe out one, two, three, four. hold it again one, two, three, four. and then breathe in again one, two, three, four. hold your breath one, two, three, four. breathe out one, two, three, four. and hold your breath again one, two, three, four. so again mine's usually the hardest is after you breathe out, and then you're whole trying to hold your breath, but again once you do more, you'll start feeling that you have more you know strengthen your lungs to do it and hold it pretty easily. so again maybe four to five times, it just depends on how stressed out you are. a lot of times even like if you're going to the doctor's or something you get a little anxious with, that if you do some of that in the waiting room, that'll help you kind of relax and calm down. so it's a really nice technique to use almost anywhere, but especially when you have a lot of stress or anxiety. so the next breathing technique is going to be when you're breathing out with pursed lips. and what pursed lips do is it makes your lungs work harder because the opening is smaller. so again don't keep going and if you're feeling like you're passing out, you know maybe do less seconds for it. but really try and build up to it it's gonna help your lungs get stronger. it's gonna help relieve your stress and your anxiety, and just kind of help relax you in general. so for this one what you're gonna do is you're gonna do some belly breathing, or the diaphragmatic breathing. and that's really just breathing in through your belly instead of through your chest. and sometimes it's hard to get that down, but if you put your hand on your belly, you you can feel it go in and out, and that's a good way to get that belly breathing. so you're gonna breathe in through your belly for four seconds, and then you're gonna purse your lips and breathe out for eight seconds. so again, I'm gonna count for you so you can do it along with me if you want to instead of actually doing the technique itself, but I'll kind of start with my pursed lips for you just so you can kind of remember to do that. so let's start again. and again with this you know you can do it anywhere from you know three to five reps just to kind of get you nice and relaxed. so if you want to put your hand on your belly, you can. so you're going to breathe in for four seconds, so one, two, three, four, purse your lips and breathe out one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. so you can see that's a little bit longer than you would think. so I will do it once just so you can see. if you can't get all the way to that eight seconds that's okay, but the more you do I think the easier it'll be. so breathe in … and you can make those noises while you do it – so that was eight seconds, and so if you can blow the whole time like me, that's great, but if you can't that's okay too. you know try and get to six next time. try and get to seven next time. try and get to eight seconds. but again both of these breathing techniques you don't have to do them back-to-back because sometimes it might make you feel a little bit lightheaded if you haven't done this for a while. again don't go until you feel like you're gonna pass out or anything, this is really supposed to kind of help relieve the stress or relieve that anxiety and just help you relax in general. so there you have it that was two simple breathing techniques to relieve stress. if you'd like to help support my channel, make sure and click on the link over there, and don't forget to subscribe by clicking down there. and remember be safe, have fun, and I hope you feel better soon.

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27 Comments
  1. Buy a worksheet with these Breathing Techniques at: https://www.askdoctorjo.com/breathing-techniques-worksheet
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  2. This video clip will also help me to relax l. Even the breathing not just exercise helps. I should be ok and I will be. Especially when I try to better myself. We all get negative feelings for reasons or not. But you're right, it's how we handle them is what counts. I'm not the most calm and patient person. But that doesn't mean that I can't try to stay positive. Even when I don't like certain sounds, sights, and work weekends.

  3. Do you have a favorite breathing technique for reducing stress quickly?

  4. Tysm I’ve been dealing with stress from ocd, insurance problems and more it’s been too much to deal with but I really like the box technique I will use it more

  5. I have entrance exam this week . so I'm gonna use it before the test. Thanks a lot 🥰

  6. Subscribed, I am someone who gets stress without any reason, especially since I moved abroad for my higher studies, I find such content very helpful, Thank you

  7. subscribed thank you so much

  8. This video helped me cause i get panic attacks and i felt i was having a heart attack and when i found out i had anxiety i thought it was lung cancer but is the trick of your anxiety

  9. I didn't know i was going through stress didn't know why i couldn't breathe i even though i was going to die but now thanks to people like you who do videos like this i have been going much better

  10. will this make me better at tekken

  11. Belly breathing makes me yawn – is that normal?!

  12. Stopping smoking after 19 years every day. This is the only thing that has helped my crazy anxiety! Thank you doctor Jo!!

  13. I have anxiety disorder,please help me.. always short of breathing.

  14. This vid just stopped an anxiety attk!! A rare jem amongst an ocean of vid garbage. Thank you 😊

  15. Do I use my stomach or my chest muscles

  16. Please don't think that u are alone
    I also feel this worst feeling almost every day

  17. I love it, thank you 😁 You got new subscriber DoctorJo 😎

  18. I do this breathing technique when I have to go to public places

  19. Why do I always think of taking a long breath, then when I take a long breath, it gets stuck, then I feel a tightness in my chest and keep yawning. This is a problem that always bothers the mind. Why is that?😢

  20. I have a breathing therapist. But this also helps to. Thank you so much. I am a veteran trying to go back and a mom. So those both create stress and anxiety. I appreciate your video. Helps me to relax and make time for me. ❤ I really need it. Thank you. Cute dog. I’m a human and animal lover. 😂. Take care and everyone have a blessed day.

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