Inhale, exhale, repeat

Just breathe: It seems like the simplest thing in the world. And in fact, it is. Focusing on your breath is the easiest way to shift your state from total overwhelm to inner calm. Here's how....

- POPPY PRICE

Raise your hand if this feels familiar: You're reviewing your notes for tomorrow's chemistry test and, without even realizing it, your breathing becomes fast, shallow and ragged. Next thing you know, you feel frazzled, frantic and unable to focus. What just happened?

Shallow breathing is a natural response to stress. Also called fight-or-flight mode, your brain processes emotional turmoil (like feeling overwhelmed by a big test) and turns it into a physical experience of panic.

And while you can't always control your reactions to tough sitches, you *do* have the power to recognize when things are out of whack-and take steps to quickly calm your body and mind. How? It's all about being mindful of your breathing.

BACK TO THE BREATH

Why is learning how to do breathwork such a handy tool? When you're anxious, controlled breathing lets you tap into your parasympathetic nervous system, which puts you into a relaxed state.

And unlike yoga or meditation, you can do breathwork any time-while you're sitting in class waiting for a history test to land on your desk (aka not a moment to bust out your mat) or while you're riding the team bus to your lacrosse tourney (because it's hard to visualize when 30 people are talking at once).

"Our bodies have this incredible, built-in, self-care tool that is always with us," says Ashley Neese, author of How to Breathe: 25 Simple Practices for Calm, Joy, and Resilience. "All that is required for us to access it is practice and consistency."

And given how crazy everyone's lives are again, we need mindful breathing more than ever. Bouncing from school to sports to bottomless piles of homework can leave you feeling stressed out and exhausted pretty much all the time.