During moments of stress, anxiety and even panic attacks, the common advice tends to be to “take deep breaths”.

But that advice is now being seen as outdated, and in some cases might make stress and anxiety worse.

About a year ago, I learnt of a breathing technique that really does nix moments of stress, not just in the short-term but longer-term, and relatively quickly too. It worked for me (I’ll show you a fascinating little self-experiment in a mo), and it has also worked for my clients, so much so that I now teach my clients this method for general wellbeing regardless of whether they are suffering from anxiety or not.

Coherent or resonant breathing is a technique that helps bring both emotional and physiological systems in the body into balance in order to boost overall health and wellbeing. The idea is to make breathing slower and more rhythmic by making sure every exhalation is the same length as every inhalation. Scroll to the bottom to find out how to practise coherent breathing.

I’ve read a couple of different accounts of how and why this works. The creator of the trademarked Coherent Breathing method, Stephen Elliott proposes the theory that moving the diaphragm in a rhythmic manner stimulates the phrenic nerve thereby promoting optimal circulation, better brain function and “nourishing every cell in the body in a positive feedback loop”.

Other research shows that coherent or resonant breathing helps bring Heart Rate Variability (HRV) into a smoother, more even pattern which promotes the better functioning of every organ in the body, most importantly the brain.

HRV, by the way, is the measurement of the gaps between heart beats – and is now recognised as a far better way of measuring overall health and fitness, compared to just measuring heart rate. If you’re intrigued by HRV there is excellent information over on the HeartMath website.