The Resilient Caregiver Tip Sheets- Helping You Be Healthy and Whole

The Resilient Caregiver Series

Tip Sheet #1 Relaxation Starts with Relaxed Breathing

We hear it all the time: “You’ve got to take care of yourself!” We hear it from health professionals, friends, and co-workers. It’s not that we don’t want to feel less stressed and more relaxed.

Taking care of yourself can seem like one more responsibility on a busy day, one more pressure to feel guilty that you’re not doing right.

Let me help you get started with some basic tips. I’ll be adding tip sheets about ways to be healthier and more resilient every week. Each tip sheet will focus on a skill to strengthen your mind, body, or spirit.

For today, let’s practice relaxed, or diaphragmatic breathing. This is a core skill we can all use and build on. Here’s one technique:

• Lie on your bed, or sit on a chair with your feet on the floor, back supported, and hands resting in your lap. Close your eyes, or focus your gaze softly on a spot in front of you. Take a few moments to become familiar with how your breath feels now as it moves in and out. You don’t need to force the breath, or try to change it.
• Place one hand on your upper chest and one hand on your belly. As you breathe in (inhale), your ribcage expands.  Your diaphragm is a large sheet of muscle that arches across the abdomen, right under the lungs. When you inhale, the diaphragm moves down to make room for your lungs to expand.
• As you relax, slow down a bit and take slightly deeper breaths, you might feel your belly rise as if it’s filling with air. This is fine. Notice your hand rising. If you feel dizzy, just stop and go back to your usual way of breathing.
• As you slowly exhale, your diaphragm rises, and it feels as if your belly deflates like a leaking balloon. Notice your hand gently fall. Take your time to exhale as much air as you can. Exhaling clears space for fresh, oxygen-filled air to enter with your next breath.
• When you finish exhaling, enjoy that brief pause before the next inhalation starts.
  • Many people like to breathe in through the nose to warm and filter the air. Then they breathe out through the mouth, with slightly pursed lips. Eventually, you may be comfortable inhaling and exhaling through your nose.

Diaphragmatic breathing is the healthiest way to breathe, but we get out of the habit when we’re rushing around. Take the time to practice while tending to your loved one, working on the computer, or waiting in a long line. Relaxed breathing is the foundation for many stress management skills- and a great technique all on its own!