It’s an ancient adage that when you control your breathing and you control your life. Do you ever have an absolutely hellish day? Given enough time to practice the proper breathing exercises as "preparation for battle" and you can train yourself to "walk calmly through the gates of hell".

Your breathing really does control much of your stress response IF you first develop it properly and train it to react spontaneously and occasionally as well, will or guide it to “maintain courage under fire”.

Long, purposefully shallow but still tolerable breathing rates and depths will offset the tendency towards high chest breathing and hyperventilation or over-breathing and will also develop the breathing so that when excitement DOES occur one has the ability to maintain balance. Over breathing is a bit misleading as it implies one can breathe too much. But breath is life isn't it? The key is HOW we breathe, not how much.

It MUST be abdominally based. The stronger the base the more we can tolerate (and breathe). See our program

Physical conditioning also helps a lot but many in seemingly great condition drop dead after passing a cardiac stress test. The key to me is how strong the breathing foundation is. If your body is like an office building with a basement, and here comes a hurricane (stress), then how deep, strong and durable is your basement (foundation)? The basement is a support center for the calming aspect of your nervous system called the parasympathetic. 

Many miss-label it as the "rest and digest" versus "fight or flight" of the sympathetic nervous system" aspect of the autonomic nervous system. "Rest and digest" relegates it to a few relevant but inadequate words that have too little connection to its real importance which is the actual foundation of our very body-centered strength of being and doing.

Simply stated, the bigger, stronger, your PNS becomes, the more stress you can tolerate. Exercise can greatly help but exercise with a weak breathing foundation (or basement) will eventually turn to DIS- stress. Start with the Squeeze and Breathe Exercise in the Optimal Breathing Kit 176 Video and you get a temporary experience of the foundation. Then do the other Optimal Breathing Development Exercises that further develop this "basement".

Go Slowly at Meals

Under stress, we tend to wolf down even healthy food. In fact, research has linked this behavior to bigger portions and more belly fat. Slow down, savor each bite, and pay attention to feelings of fullness. This may lower your cortisol levels along with decreasing the amount of food you eat.

Strict Dieting

Research shows that constant dieting can make cortisol levels rise as much as 18%. When your cortisol levels spike, your blood sugar roller coasters .. This makes you cranky and hungry. When your brain is deprived of sugar, ­its main fuel­ self-control takes a nosedive, and your willpower doesn't stand a chance. High protein meals can help but they tend to foster acidity over time. Balance is key and your body and lifestyle will dictate that .. 

More fresh veggies and sprouted seeds, nuts and beans seem to be the best route for alkalinity but type O blood people may need more high density protein.

Give In to Cravings ­a Little

Stop rigid dieting. When stress drives you toward something sweet or salty, it's okay to yield a little. It's much better to indulge a little and cut off your cortisol response before it gets out of control. Have a piece of fresh fruit, a few E3live capsules or even dark chocolate. You will feel better. Just stop at one. 

If you have trouble restraining yourself, take precautions so you won't binge. Do not keep sweet foods at home. Force yourself to go to the store if you must have a sweet snack!

Caffeine

Next time you're under duress, choose decaf. Take a shot of E3live liquid. Many have gotten rid of their habit of 8 cups of coffee a day with an ounce of prevention from one of nature's wonder foods.

When you combine stress with caffeine, it raises cortisol levels more than stress alone. In one study by the University of Oklahoma, consuming the equivalent of 2 1/2 to 3 cups of coffee while under mild stress boosted cortisol by about 25%­and kept it up for 3 hours. When subjects took 600 mg of caffeine (the equivalent of 6 cups of coffee) throughout the day, the hormone level went up by 30% and stayed high all day long. 

You'll experience these effects even if your body is accustomed to a lot of lattes. And because high cortisol levels can contribute to stress eating, quitting caffeine altogether may be the right answer for you.

Power Up Breakfast

Deficiencies in B vitamins, vitamin C, calcium, and magnesium are stressful to your body. And these deficiencies lead to increased cortisol levels and food cravings. But you can fight back by eating a breakfast that's high in these nutrients. 

Try a protein smoothie with fresh spinach with a full spectrum of vitamin powder – it should contain calcium and magnesium and whole sprouted grains bursting with B vitamins, while raw almond butter and avocado contain essential fatty acids that can decrease the production of stress hormones.

Exercise or not?

Though exercising is critical to energy increase and stamina, do not depend on exercise to maintain weight. That is fools game and what the food industry would like you to believe so you eat more and they make more money. Calories from fat are the key to weight control.

Sleep It Off

The most effective stress-reduction strategy of all: Get enough shut-eye. Your body perceives sleep deprivation as a major stressor. A University of Chicago study found that getting an average of 6 1/2 hours each night can increase cortisol, appetite, and weight gain. The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7 to 9 hours. 

As if that weren't enough, other research shows that lack of sleep also raises levels of ghrelin, a hunger-boosting hormone. In one study, appetite­ particularly for sweet and salty foods ­increased by 23% in people who lacked sleep. 

The good news: 

A few nights of solid sleep can bring all this back into balance, and getting enough regularly helps keep it there. You'll eat less, and you'll feel better. Use the Reflex triggering exercises in the 176 video included in the Optimal Breathing Kit.