Breathing is so vital – so essential for life – that it’s controlled by a part of your brain that never sleeps. It’s always on, making sure that your breath is flowing at every moment, even while you’re dreaming. In biology, this is called an involuntary reflex.
The special thing about your breath is that – unlike other involuntary reflexes – you have some control over it. You can’t pause your heartbeat, or speed up your digestion. But you can hold your breath. You can speed it up, you can slow it down, you can make it shallow, or deep.
Thousands of years ago, humans discovered that mastering different breathwork techniques unlocked powerful and potent benefits for the mind, body, and spirit. Today, many of those practices are still in use, and have been shown to have clinical and therapeutic applications in treating PTSD and depression.
Breathwork, as this practice is known, is a tool for self-regulation, and can be used to reduce anxiety, relax muscles. Some of these techniques also have clinical and therapeutic applications in treating PTSD and depression.
In this article, you’ll learn six breathwork techniques to support relaxation.
Key takeaways
- Breathwork is a set of exercises that help you self-regulate your nervous system.
- Breathwork techniques include 4-7-8, box breathing, yogic breathing, and alternate nostril breathing.
- Breathwork has benefits for both your body and your mind.
Breathwork is a versatile tool that can either be used to either stimulate your nervous system – to give you a burst of energy – or to relax. One technique can help you wake up in the morning, another can calm your nerves before a stressful meeting. You can literally change the balance of the hormones and neurotransmitters in your bloodstream with a few simple breaths.
These six breathwork techniques are for calming down and releasing stress. After some practice, you will be able to tap into these techniques to help you feel calmer when a stressful situation arises.
How Does Breathwork Affect Our Emotions?
The first thing to understand is that emotions are not all in your mind – they also happen at the level of the body. Feelings, as the name implies, are physical states of being.
Breathwork is a way to self-regulate your nervous system, which in turn influences your emotions. It’s a way of dealing with stress at the level of your body, not your mind.
Stress can cause rapid, shallow breathing, sometimes called chest breathing, since it’s often focused in your upper chest. By slowing down your breath, you can induce a holistic mind-body state of relaxation.
Practicing breathwork techniques can allow your body to release emotional tension you’ve been holding on to, including tension held in your muscles. Some breathwork techniques can also help you get in touch with deeply buried emotions like sadness, and sometimes induce a cathartic cry.
Helps Signal Our Nervous Systems
When it comes to stress-regulation, there are two main functions of your body’s autonomic nervous system: the Sympathetic nervous system and the Parasympathetic nervous system.
The sympathetic nervous system’s primary process is to stimulate your body’s so-called “fight-or-flight” response, or more accurately, your fight-flight-freeze-appease response. Quick rapid breathing can ignite the body’s sympathetic nervous system, causing your body to be in a heightened state of stress.
The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for the stimulation of the body’s “rest and digest” functions. Calming breathwork techniques can help signal the parasympathetic nervous system and aid in dropping your heart rate and blood pressure.
Helps Reduce Cortisol Levels
Cortisol is the body’s stress hormone. It has many important physiological roles in the body, like blood pressure regulation and blood sugar management.
Certain breathwork for stress relief can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which works to regulate cortisol when you’re stressed.
Breathwork for stress relief focuses on slowing your breath, like alternate nostril breathing – in which you breathe through your left nostril and right nostril one at a time while closing the other with your thumb or ring finger – can help reduce your body’s cortisol levels, making you feel less stressed.
What Breathwork Techniques Can Help With Stress?
Breathwork techniques that focus on controlling and slowing down your breath can induce some psychophysiological changes that can help reduce your stress and make you feel calmer. You can do most of them anywhere, on their own, or with light movement practice like yoga.
The key to practicing these techniques is to be consistent. Trust the process of learning these practices, even though sometimes they can feel uncomfortable or don’t seem to be making a difference. Regular practice will turn these exercises into a versatile tool for managing your emotions, especially stress.
Box Breathing
Box breathing is a breathwork technique that you can do just about anywhere if you are feeling overwhelmed, distracted, or over-exerted from a strenuous workout. Many people experience the benefits of a calm body and a more relaxed mind after just a minute or two of practicing box breathing.
To begin, inhale to the count of four, hold your breath for a count of four, exhale for four and then hold for four.
That’s one breath cycle. Repeat that pattern – inhale for four; hold for four; exhale for four; and hold for four – for a minute or two, and then return to a normal breathing pattern and notice if you feel calmer and more related in body and mind.
5-5 Balance Breathing
The 5-5 balance breathwork technique is also known as the ideal breath. You can allow your lungs to soak up more oxygen by taking longer and slower breaths. You can do this best by breathing through your nose.
Breathing through the nose is significantly healthier than mouth-breathing. Mouth-breathing can not only seriously decrease your sleep quality, it also deteriorates your jaw. People who exhale out their mouths lose 42% more water when you exhale out your mouth. If you are among the 50% of people who breathe through their mouth, this breathwork technique is for you.
5-5 balance breathing is done with 5.5 second inhales followed by 5.5 second exhales, which works out evenly to 5.5 breaths per minute. You can see tremendous results from practicing this technique for just 10 to 15 minutes every day.
Conscious Natural Breathing
Breathing is both voluntary, and involuntary. Both conscious, and unconscious. When you’re breathing on autopilot, your autonomic nervous system is regulating your breath, and with it, your entire mood and state of being.
Practicing conscious natural breathing allows you to breathe more consciously. It is about being aware of the presence of your breath as well as the cadence and rhythm instead of allowing it to flow in and out without thought.
When you bring awareness to your breath, your breath becomes controlled by the frontal part of your brain, rather than the posterior (back side) of your brain. Conscious natural breathing can also increase your respiratory capacity, help to lower blood pressure, and stimulate the vagus nerve.
The 4-7-8 Method
The 4-7-8 breathing method, also called the relaxing breath, is used to calm down from an intense or stressful situation, or to help you fall asleep. This is why this technique is mostly done while lying down. However, if you prefer, you can practice this technique in a seated position with a supported back so your lungs can fully open.
To begin, place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth just behind your upper front teeth. Then, part your lips and exhale to exhaust your lungs of any air they have. Next, close your lips and silently inhale for a count of four and then hold your breath for a count of seven. Finally, exhale the air forcefully through your mouth, making a whoosh sound, for a count of eight.
Breath Wraps
Breath wraps is a calming breathwork technique that follows a specific circuitry to create a cocoon of breath. This exercise is best done through a guided breathwork class, and after some practice, you can try it on your own.
Once you’re in a seated position, close your eyes and take a cleansing breath. Then, with your lips closed, begin at the base of your pelvis and inhale the breath up the back of the body to the crown of your head. Next, return the breath down the front of the body as you return back to the base of the pelvis. Complete this breathing pattern as many times as you need until you feel calm.
Pursed-Lip Breathing
Pursed-lip breathing is a breathwork technique intended to make your breaths more effective by making them slower and more intentional. To begin this practice, find a comfortable position, either seated with a supported back or lying down. Then inhale through your nose for two seconds and try to focus on filling your abdomen with air instead of your lungs.
Next, purse your lips together like you’re blowing out a candle and exhale slowly, taking twice as long to blow out as it took to inhale, and then repeat the process. As you continue this technique, you may start to notice you can increase the inhale count from two to four and your exhale from four to eight and so on. This breathing exercise is especially helpful for those that have lung conditions such as COPD.
Conclusion
Breathwork is a versatile tool, a powerful resource to have at your disposal in a stressful moment. Like brushing your teeth, practicing these exercises isn’t necessarily fun or satisfying every time. But consistency pays off over time, so stay with it.
We recommend trying different guided breathwork classes that you can find at Open to find the one you enjoy the most.
Breathwork Safety:
Never practice while in water, at heights, or while operating a vehicle. If you have any chronic or acute health issues, please consult a doctor before practicing any fast, active breaths or breath holds. Remember, you are safe and in control of your own experience.
Sources:
The role of deep breathing on stress | National Library of Medicine