Today I pay homage to the most under-rated stress-reduction technique I have ever used. We do it all the time, but pay little attention to it until we cannot. We practice two types of ‘haling pretty much throughout all our lives: Inhaling and Exhaling. Yes, inhaling and exhaling, it’s as simple as that. Controlled breathing is my secret to developing the habits that led to my stress-free mentality. I am not saying I don’t have problems; just that I don’t have that much stress.

When under duress, our bodies tense in anticipation of an incident or confrontation. It may be professional or personal, a deadline or a fear. We may have to face a consequence or make a decision. There may be more bills than money, or an emotional investment in a relationship. A lot of stress is based on waiting and worrying. “What if...” and “What will happen when…” are questions we may ask ourselves repeatedly without actively looking for a solution. Then what we actually do is send signals to our bodies is that something is going to happen. In response, our muscles tense for action, our heart-rate increases to supply blood, and our breathing quickens to supply oxygen more rapidly. This state CANNOT be maintained for prolonged periods, or our bodies begin to tell. This is why stress has so many symptoms. Our bodies begin breaking down like over-run machinery. Even memories of the incident are likely to have the same effects on our bodies as the actual anticipation, or the incident itself.

Once we have decided to not worry anymore and ably apply a solution, we should let our bodies know that it is time to relax. Just simply saying “I need to relax and calm down” was not enough to bring my body to normalcy. My shoulders were still taut, my chest was tight, my heart raced away. My thoughts were as frenzied as ever until one morning after work. My brother and I have a tradition; we would pretend we’re asleep whenever one of us walked into a room the other was in. It was both random entertainment and brotherly love. So in pretending to sleep, I once slowed my breathing down to simulate the even rhythm of the deep sleeper. I thought “In, deep, 3, 4, out, slow, 3, 4” in a snorer’s timing and a minute later it happened. I felt relaxed. In a few seconds I stopped counting and my ONLY thoughts were “in deep…out even”. I woke up a few hours later. I then tried controlled breathing while sitting at my computer desk. I inhaled through my nose for a second or two, held it for another second, and then exhaled through my nose for as long as I could. My chest rose on the inhale, and my shoulders slumped on the exhale. I literally felt the tension in my chest, neck and shoulders release on exhale. That night while trying to still my thoughts so that I could sleep again, I just took long slow breaths and exhaled through my nose, slowly. “In deep” and “out even” were my only thoughts again, and I was asleep minutes later.

The body requires oxygen for aerobic respiration in order to convert energy to a form we can use. Hemoglobin, the red component in blood, carries oxygen as a compound called oxyhemoglobin. If the body requires more oxygen, the heart must pump more blood. Conversely, if the body gets enough oxygen, the heart-rate goes down. When the heart-rate drops, muscles relax as the body enters a low-activity state. By increasing your oxygen intake in a controlled manner, you send a signal that your body can come down from the “something’s happening” mode that worrying puts it in. By concentrating on the breathing you can actually clear your mind of the things that clutter it. Listen to your body while you breathe deeply. Feel the different muscles respond. It can be a very relaxing experience. Insomnia is no longer a problem in my life. I breathe myself to sleep.

Controlled breathing helped when I got bitten from my sister’s Rottweiler. It hit a vein in my wrist, but I maintained a remarkable degree of composure and I saved myself some blood that morning. Now, I can put myself to sleep at will, which comes in handy even on warm Trinidadian afternoons. A few seconds of ’haling at work and I’m a little less irritable. I even get better workouts when I’m conscious of how I breathe. I understand why they say count to 10 when angry, or count sheep to sleep, but they should tell you to count deep breaths instead. Two deep breaths and I am not mad anymore. Five of them and my mind is clear. Ten deep breaths and I am asleep, or close to it. Try it, and all hail ‘haling.