Many a time we are anxious about seeking jobs, while in examination halls, while we face our scornful bosses, during interviews with different and strange personalities, as members of a panel, or other occasions that trigger uneasiness within us. These series of events play out and leave us feeling unhelpful and in some states of psychological distortion, oftentimes leading to negative performance. Building your confidence afterward becomes your target—a target to avoid the recurrence of events that leaves you helpless and drowns you in a hollow failure. We can easily build our confidence regardless of the uneasiness that follows our anxiety; we should take note that we can always tame it and build our confidence strongly.
Diaphragmatic breathing is an essential feature deposited on the human body to help us build our confidence in a time of distress or displeasure. Most times we are confronted with tight and degrading encounters of life where we either fight or take flight from such incidents, but this is only possible if we are able to muster that courage and confidence to clench to any decision that will save us from a weighty dilemma. We are primarily going to give attention to the building of our confidence through diaphragmatic breathing. You will be quick to ask the meaning and possibility of “diaphragmatic breathing” as a model that contributes to the accumulation of confidence.
What is diaphragmatic breathing?
To understand what this term entails, it is important to have a clarification on what a “diaphragm” is. The diaphragm is a dome-shaped, membranous, and muscular component of the body that is directly below our ribs that separates the chest from the abdominal cavities; this is specifically a respiratory muscle in mammals. The diaphragm of the human body helps us in the inspiration and expiration of air. It also assists us in the lowering of internal pressure when we are affronted with downtrodden moments. It is also helpful for explicit control such as crying, vomiting, coughing, sneezing, panting, and other essential functions.
Diaphragmatic breathing, therefore, is a form of breathing that supports the strengthening of our diaphragm where its multidimensional functions include the moderation of our coughing, vomiting, and other reactions that could stir uneasiness from within us. There are some persons that refer to this type of breathing as “belly/abdominal breathing” or “deep breathing.” There are times we inhale and the diaphragm automatically contracts and draws downward—creating room for our chest cavity and the expansion of the lung. When we exhale, there is a relaxation of the diaphragm. Diaphragmatic breathing focuses on leveling the rate of oxygen demand, strengthening the diaphragm, and lessening the required effort and energy to breathe.
How can one carry out a diaphragmatic breathing?
Diaphragmatic breathing is an easy practice that requires no cumbersome action. You can carry it out if you’re either sitting or lying down. If you’re sitting down, it is expected of you to follow the following steps:
● Ensure you are sitting comfortably with your back resting straight on the chair—your head, neck, and shoulders are properly placed with your knees bent and your hands placed on them.
● Fix one of your hands on your shoulder and directly place the other one on your abdomen. Make the placement appropriately so you’re feeling the movement of your diaphragm.
● Slowly breathe in through your nose with your hands fixed firmly to your chest and your abdominal area.
● While you’re still cautiously observing the movement of your diaphragm, ensure the firmness of your hands.
● Therefore, tighten your stomach and exhale.
You can also train yourself for diaphragmatic breathing when you lay down; the process is as follows:
● Lay down with your back directly placed on a flat surface.
● Ensure your knees are bent—you can do this with the support of your pillow to make it firm.
● Place one of your hands on your chest and the other one on your stomach in a manner that enables you to feel the movement of your diaphragm.
● Then breathe in slowly through your nose so that you feel the hardness of your stomach.
● Exhale—tightening your stomach and keeping your hands placed on your chest and abdominal area—through your lips.
These processes may seem too complex when you initially start but it becomes easier if you constantly adapt the practices. Remember, diaphragmatic breathing is one of the best means that help stabilize and build our confidence level. You can make these practices part of your daily schedule—this is a practice that requires just 5-20 minutes. You can spare these minutes first thing in the morning after waking, while at work, school, anywhere that you’re seated, and even at night before sleeping. In addition to the above methods of building your confidence level through diaphragmatic breathing, there are other enabling breathing exercises that could be done anywhere, and it takes less time.
Breathing exercises that help build your confidence
There are numerous kinds of breathing exercises that could help us when we try to control our panic mode and increase our confidence in a tense period. We can do this with these kinds of exercises at a moment’s notice. These exercises are as follows:
Box breathing
This technique is used to grasp a slow and deep breath. It is also called Square Breathing. Inhale and breathe deeply on the slow count of 4. Do not flex your muscles as you exhale on the slow count of 4; ensure you also hold your breath after exhaling with a slow count of 4. This stabilizes your panic waves and builds your confidence immediately.
Heart-focused breathing
You will be wondering how such practices can be made with the heart. Well, it pertains only to the usage of the lungs for breathing. This is deep breathing that is aimed at reducing the fast beat of the heart whenever one is in a clime of distress. This is done by holding your chest with a supposed image of you holding your heart. Then breathe in for five seconds, not exceeding it, and exhale. This should be done without forceful inhaling or exhaling to ensure it goes smoothly. In carrying out this practice, there is no specific time that one should do it in. You can do it when you feel uneasy and degraded or you feel your heartbeat runs faster than normal. This technique is best, particularly for those who feel depressed, and their hearts are triggered to run fast.
Equal breathing
Do you have a problem falling asleep that it stirs anxiety within you? Then the equal breathing is the best breathing technique to adopt. This is done by inhaling for a count of four, then exhale for a count of four—you should make the respiration all through the nose. Those who engage in yoga activities advance the count to six or eight; it depends on your capabilities, but ensure it is not less than four. This calms your nerves, reduces stress and other psychological detriments which invariably mount our confidence level.
Alternate nostril breathing
This kind of breathing is done to unite the left and right membrane of the brain, bringing calmness to the nervous system and create balance psychologically. You begin this method in a meditative style or pose, placing your right thumb on your right nostril and then inhaling with the left nostril. At the course of inhaling, hold the left nostril with your ring finger then release the right nostril while you exhale. This is the pattern at which you continue for ten minutes. This could be categorized as an intermediate task not as easy as the previously cited breathing exercises. You shouldn’t try such practices before you go to bed, just like a caffeinated drink. It keeps you more awake than you might expect, so try this when you feel you want to be energized before carrying out a duty or task.
Skull shining breathing
Stress and frustration that hinder the rising of our confidence level could be spun suddenly that we sleep into the night unaware. When such an instance comes to play, it is important to reawaken our confidence level before we go out for our daily activities. To stem our confidence, we do the skull shining breathing that encompasses having long, slow, and deep inhaling followed by a powerful exhale originating from our lower belly in order to purge out the worries we slept with. This is just like a shot of espresso that gives us the positive inclination and mindset that will guide the day right.
Any of the elucidated breathing exercises are appropriate for a building of your trust. Just carry out the task appropriately as explained. Moreover, it is important to note that breathing exercises are not only restricted to the enlisted breathing exercises above.
Are you disturbed and troubled that you cannot build your confidence level and you continuously face rejection, witness persistent failure, and you perform below expectation? Then do strive to adopt the above tips, for they are the best means to accelerate the increase in your confidence. Mind you, the building of confidence is not limited to breathing—it goes alongside deep meditation, exercising for relief, and other processes recommended by doctors.
