The value of Smoooth: 
Improved respiration is extremely valuable, because it boosts nearly every aspect of physical health. 

Breathing in a slow, deep, and easy manner is the only way to deliberately moderate the involuntary nervous system without the use of drugs.  Improved respiration causes positive changes throughout the entire body reaching nearly every cell.  This includes lowering blood pressure, a scientifically proven result that has been  acknowledged by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
How it works

The Smoooth technology:
This approach to technology and work stress is the FIRST of its kind.  It uses advanced 32-bit graphics and a patent pending user interface.  Numerous scientific studies provide a sound basis for the value of deep breathing. 

Until now, all stress reducing programs require the user to stop what they are doing to focus on the stress reducing activity.  Smoooth is different.  Smoooth helps you breathe deeply while you work and throughout the day, actually improving the way you work and play.  Smoooth does not depend on you remembering to turn it on.  It runs quietly in the background at all times as a soft, gentle breathing reminder.  Visit the how it works page to see how Smoooth actually looks on the computer screen.

Deep Breathing Exercises:
Stress relief courses always emphasize deep breathing exercises simply because they work.  Deep breathing reduces blood pressure, moderates heart rate, reduces stress hormones in the blood, and improves oxygenation throughout the body.  Smoooth may be used as a learning tool or as a supportive aid for deep breathing exercises. The ultimate goal and purpose of Smoooth is to help you cultivate deep breathing as a new healthy habit to improve life around the clock.

Deep breathing exercises are offered under a variety of names including breathwork, holotropic breathwork, circular breathing, stress and breathwork, and Buddhist breathing.

Relaxation Techniques:
Breathing in a deep, slow, and easy manner is one of the most widely taught relaxation techniques.  It is one of the most effective things you can do for stress relief.  It provides excellent stress relief for work.  Smoooth allows computer users to integrate deep breathing into normal activity.  Once learned, this versatile relaxation technique can be used at any time of the day or night to make one feel more calm and present and able to fully experience life.   How it works

How to Relax:
The process begins with refocusing attention and using awareness of the breath.  To relax, do the following:

1. Sit comfortably.
2. Let the shoulders feel heavy, and allow them to drop.
3. Turn attention away from thoughts and worries.  Instead, focus on the sensations of the body.
4. Focus on the center of the chest and belly.
5. Notice the expansion and contraction of your breathing.  Notice all your sensations without trying to change them.
6. Allow yourself to sigh, yawn, cough, etc. if you feel to do so.
7. Focus again on the center of the chest and recall the qualities of the emotional heart, qualities such as compassion, inclusion, and connection.
8. Gently draw air into your lungs through your nose with a long, slow, easy inhale.
9. Gently allow the air to flow out through your mouth with a long, slow, easy exhale.
10. Repeat the deep breathing for three complete breaths.
11. Sit comfortably and feel the sensations in your body.  Then take a walk and drink some water.

Prevent Workplace Conflict and Burnout:
Smoooth helps to prevent workplace conflict and burnout by softening the mood, altering the nervous system, and altering many other systems in the body.  Smoooth also helps prevent burnout in the workplace.  One of the primary causes of workplace conflict, burnout, and stress related ill health is a condition known as "chronic hyper sympathetic nervous system tone."  In this condition, people are in a constant state of tension and function in a competitive, defensive, reactive manner.  This is the classic fight/flight mode.  People do not make their wisest decisions when functioning in this mode. 

Smoooth breaks this cycle by turning down the sympathetic nervous system and turning up the parasympathetic nervous system.  Blood flow changes, stress hormones drop, and the entire system becomes more relaxed.  From this state, one is able to perceive situations and other people in a more open and receptive way.  Because perception is more open, individuals are able to negotiate the challenges of the workplace with greater ease and flexibility, thus reducing the potential for workplace conflict and burnout.  How it works

Healthcare Costs:
According to Gallup Poll 2000, approximately one million employees per day are absent from work because of stress or stress-related conditions.  And according to a study cited by the Harvard Business Review, healthcare costs are 147% higher for those individuals who are stressed or depressed.

Deep breathing cuts healthcare costs by reducing stress related illness and absenteeism.  Smoooth enables employees to practice deep breathing during those times when stress levels are highest.

Executive Stress Management:
Conscious breathing increases emotional intelligence in the workplace enabling executives, managers, and business owners to make more effective decisions.  You can make Smoooth barely visible on your computer screen, giving you a discreet competitive edge that simultaneously boosts physical health.

See how it works  Click here

ZDNet