In addition to stopping attacks, Many Small Breath Holds can be practiced hundreds of times per day. If you feel that you are not making progress with reduced breathing exercises, then I encourage you to practice this exercise all day and into the night. It is gentle, suits everybody and will dramatically reduce your symptoms. If you panic while practising any of the remaining reduced breathing exercises, you will find that beginning with this exercise is easier.This exercise is very useful to stop panic and anxiety attacks and stress. It will produce results similar to the old brown paper bag routine but is a lot safer, as it allows you to maintain your oxygen levels. The objective of this exercise is to keep your breathing calm.
Do Many Small Breath Holds of two to five seconds each, as follows:
• Breathe in, breathe out and hold your breath.
• Hold your breath for two to five seconds. Do not attempt to hold your breath for longer than this, as this will only increase your breathing and possibly aggravate your symptoms. Your maximum breath hold should be no greater than half your Control Pause at that time. For example, if your CP is four seconds, then do small breath hold for only two seconds.
• After each breath hold, breathe normally for 10 to 15 seconds. Don’t interfere with your breathing.
• Continue to do a small breath hold followed by normal breathing for 10 to 15 seconds until your symptoms have passed.
• When you experience the first symptoms of a panic attack, anxiety or stress, immediately do Many Small Breath Holds. Don’t wait until the symptoms worsen, as getting your breath under control will be a lot more difficult. If you wake up during the night with attacks, then sit up in bed and do Many Small Breath Holds to calm your breathing.
Very important: these techniques are to be used in conjunction with normal day-to-day treatments.