Our breath is one of the few things always available to us throughout our lifetime. It's an ever-present anchor and an invaluable friend always ready to get us through our next moment. Here I will go through the benefits of harnessing the power of our breath, general concepts to consider, various forms of deep breathing to experiment with, and practical ways to make it a habit.
Benefits of Deep Breathing
Decreases Anxiety
Decreases Depression
Reduces Blood Pressure
Manages Stress
Improves Sleep
Improves Focus
General Concepts:
Most practices you will breathe in and out through your nose (not your mouth). Unless specified to breathe out through your mouth, assume you are breathing through your nose. Breathing through your mouth has been found to raise stress hormones.
For these specific practices, breathe into your stomach, not into your chest. This is called diaphragmatic breathing. You should be able to see your tummy rise and fall more prevalent than your chest rising and falling. To get a better sense of if you're breathing into your stomach rather than your chest, put one hand on your stomach and one on your chest and see if you can push out the hand on your stomach with each breath in.
An exhale that is longer than your inhale equals relaxation. It's a good concept to know.
If you are new to deep breathing, practice it when you are calm, not when you are under stress or high anxiety. Once those neural pathways are formed, you can level up to using this in times of stress.
Start each breathing practice with a loud exhale through your mouth.
Practice 1: Box Breathing 4:4:4:4
Benefits: Calm
Breathe IN for count of 4
HOLD for count of 4
Breathe OUT for count of 4
HOLD for count of 4
Practice 2: Alternate Nostril Breathing
Benefits: Clarity and Alertness
Using right hand pointer finger and thumb
Breathe IN through left nostril (right nostril is blocked with thumb)
HOLD at top of inhale while pinching both nostrils
Breathe OUT through right nostril (left nostril is blocked with pointer finger)
Breathe IN through right nostril (left still blocked)
HOLD at top of inhale while pinching both nostrils
Breathe OUT through left nostril (right is blocked with thumb)
Repeat in this pattern
Practice 3: 4:7:8 Breathing
Benefits: Relaxation and Sleep
Breathe IN for count of 4
HOLD for count of 7
Breathe OUT for count of 8
Practice 4: Lions Breath
Benefits: Stress Relief
Breathe IN through your nose for a deep breath
Breathe OUT through your mouth making a "Hhhh" sound and sticking out your tongue
Tips: Really open your mouth and feel the stretch in your face and tongue
Practice 5: Ocean Breath (Ojjayi Breath)
Benefits: Calm, Relax, Focus, Cleansing
Breathe IN deeply through your nose
Breathe OUT deeply and slowly through your nose while gently constricting your throat as the air passes through to make a hissing sound (as if you are trying to fog up a mirror)
Tips: Once you get comfortable with the audible hissing sound on your exhale, level up to making a similar sound on your inhale. Your breathing will eventually sound like ocean waves coming in and out.
Ways to Make it a Habit:
Make it Easy by scaling down how long you practice your breathing exercise to less than 2 minutes. Start a timer and breathe until the timer goes off.
Make it Easy by using your fingers to count each breath cycle until you complete 5 or 10 cycles. This is great to help you maintain focus and to scale it down so the practice feels more attainable.
Make it Easy by using a breathing app like iBreathe.
Make it Obvious by pairing your breathing practice to a habit you are already engaged in. Practice deep breathing in the parking lot before you start your drive home from work. Practice in the shower. Practice on your daily walk or while you are stretching before your workout.
Make it Attractive by practicing your deep breaths before something you WANT to do. For example: After I shower I will practice deep breathing for 2 minutes (need to do). After I practice my 2 minutes of deep breathing I can watch YouTube (want to do).
Make it Satisfying by creating a goal chart to check-off each day you practiced and taping this goal chart some place easy to see and where you plan on practicing your deep breaths like your bedroom mirror, fridge, car, or front door.
*Disclaimer: If at any point during deep breathing you start to feel lightheaded, dizzy, or ill in any way, please stop. As always, take care of yourself and listen to your body.
References:
How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing (nih.gov)
The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention, Negative Affect and Stress in Healthy Adults - PMC (nih.gov)