By Chrissy Amitrano

What’s causing you to feel stress?

Stefanie Rude, a junior physical education and sports sciences major put it simply: “Life.”

With midterms approaching, the nature of college life can become overwhelming for just about everybody. Between school, work and relationships, it’s nearly impossible to find a spare second to sit down and relax. If you are lucky enough to find the time, it usually results in passing out from sheer exhaustion.

“After my commute both ways and a full day of classes, I get home and go straight to bed,” said Todd Dolsen, an undecided freshman. “Then when I wake up, I feel worried that I don’t have enough time to do all of my homework.”

Anxiety and fatigue are common symptoms of the daily grind, but fortunately, there is a solution that can leave you feeling more relaxed and less tired. It is completely free and easily accessible, which may sound too good to be true for the average underpaid and overworked student. It is simply your breath

Many of us don’t think about how or why we breathe. It comes naturally, and there are so many other things we have on our mind. This bodily function is responsible for more than just sustaining life.

The act of inhaling and exhaling transports oxygen into and carbon dioxide out of the body. When the breath is drawn in, the blood is purified as the oxygen removes poisonous waste products that are then blown out, according to the National Institute of Health.

Unfortunately, many of us don’t take deep-enough breaths for this process to occur, which results in the irregularity of other systems, such as the digestive and nervous systems.

“With our breath, we can regulate how our body feels,” said Linda Coyne-Bohman, Fitness for Life professor and longtime yoga devotee. “When we feel stressed, our breathing becomes very shallow and fast, so by bringing attention to it, we can slow it down.”

By learning how to control the depth and rate of your breath, you are better able to control the health of your body and mind.

“In high school, I used to have panic attacks in class for no apparent reason,” said Matthew Nadelson, a senior psychology major and entrepreneur. “I felt embarrassed and confused, so I went online and read that breathing exercises were an effective way to cope with my anxiety.”

“I would take deep breaths,” Nadelson said. “Then I would focus on the sound of my inhaling and exhaling, which I found to be very helpful.”

Breathing is one of the only bodily functions that can be regulated both consciously and unconsciously. Often a vocal instructor or an athletic coach will tell students to concentrate on their breathing as they go through a movement so that in the future the rhythm will become automatic.

“‘Breathe’ is what I constantly hear,” Rude said. “I am a dancer, and I always found myself to be tired, out of breath and always gasping for air, the reason being I do not breathe enough or properly, for that matter.”

Eastern cultures have known the benefits of conscious breathing for thousands of years, and the Western world is finally starting to take this form of healing seriously with the widespread popularity of yoga.

“In yoga, breathing is bringing energy in as new life and releasing anything we don’t need,” Bohman said.

Breath is the core of a developing yoga practice and is referred to as pranayama, according to the National Association of Iyengar Yoga. The belief is that pranayama is a life force that can affect the body’s overall health.

“In Bikram yoga, focusing on ‘in with the good and out with the bad’ works,” Rude said. “You have to think about counting breaths and everything else just becomes faint.”

Practicing yoga asanas, or poses, will also indirectly improve breathing technique by strengthening core muscles and correcting poor posture, permitting breaths to go deeper.

“Breathing exercises can be done anywhere,” Bohman said. “Behind a desk at a computer, driving. Just breathe through your nose for a count of four and release through your nose for a count of six and repeat.”

Focusing on your breath can create a sense of awareness in the body by initiating an opportunity to recognize where the symptoms of your stress are located.

As you link your breath to these tense muscle areas, you can reduce anxiety, anger, depression, fatigue and irritability anywhere in just a matter of seconds.

Student takes a breather to practice yoga and relax.