When you practice stress-reducing activities like yoga, deep breathing or meditation, you initiate a process that turns the fight-or-flight system off and the Relaxation Response (parasympathetic system) on.

That has a dramatic effect on the body. The heartbeat slows, blood pressure decreases, inflammation decreases and digestion is improved.

There has even been a research showing that meditation can change the composition of bacteria in your gut (more good bacteria), without any other changes in diet or lifestyle!

So although it can be hard to reduce the amount of stress you are experiencing each day, there are techniques you can learn to help you better cope with stress in your day to day life.

The breathing exercise I demonstrate in this video is very simple, yet powerful to help reduce stress and anxiety!

It's always the first exercise I teach my clients because it's so easy that it can be done anywhere, at any time, but it's also very effective.