Mental Health Awareness Month 2021: How to Perform Pranayam Correctly at Home to Keep Stress at Bay? Breathing Exercises to Help You Power Through the Testing Times

Fatigue due to an erratic lifestyle is common in a run-of-the-mill life. BUT mental fatigue can lead to various kinds of health issues like depression and anxiety. Consistent stress and anxiety related to workload, relationship issues, and career can turn into depression. Especially, in these testing times amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to take care of your mental health. May is celebrated as Mental Health Awareness Month every year with the aim of making people aware and sensitive towards mental health. Yoga Poses That Can Help Burn Belly Fat and Tone Your Abs.

Stress is often known to suppress the body's immune system, reducing its ability to prevent various diseases. Therefore, it is important to beat stress to also boost your immunity. Pranayam, a yoga asana further subdivided into different categories, is known to help keep stress at bay. Breathing exercises for stress help in many ways. Pranayama is a powerful breathing technique that makes it easier to calm the body and mind while keeping control of the movement of breathing. It prepares the body to breathe through the chest that goes deep down to the abdominal area, signaling the brain to calm down.

How to Perform Pranayam Correctly

• For this, sit in a comfortable position on a chair or ground. Take a deep breath while keeping the spine straight.
• Now, let the chest and abdomen swell while pulling the breath in. Then exhale, counting from 1 to 5.
• Practice it under the supervision of a professional yoga trainer.
• Benefits of doing Pranayam (Pranayam For Stress): Practicing deep breathing or pranayama when stressed helps your body release tension. Pranayama also relieves discomfort.

How to Perform Pranayam Correctly (Watch Video):

Kapal Bhati Pranayam

Kapal Bhati literally translates to 'the shining forehead,' and this is precisely what happens with regular practice. This type of pranayama is known to detoxify the body.

Bhastrika Pranayam

If you are feeling less energetic then do three rounds of Bhastrika Pranayama and you will find yourself rejuvenated. It is known to improve the respiratory and digestive system, drain excess phlegm from the lungs, and also oxygenate the blood.

Nadi Shodhan Pranayam

In Sanskrit, it translates to "subtle energy clearing breathing technique." This type of breathwork can be done as part of a yoga or meditation practice. If you are unable to concentrate, this category of Pranayama can be helpful.

While we breathe without realising throughout the day BUT it doesn't help our lungs inflate completely. Plus breathing process is also affected by pollution and stress causing a lack of oxygen in the body. You can do breathing exercises regularly in the morning and evening and see results for yourself.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 07, 2021 04:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).