THUNAIYour Breath is your quick fix for resetting your nervous system.
If you have ever found yourself going down a rabbit hole of self-care tips on the internet, you are bound to find resources suggesting deep breathing or grounding exercises and meditation based around deep breathing. The reason is that deep breathing is one of the best ways to lower stress in the body. This article will take you through 4 types of breathing exercises.
By slowing down and focusing your attention on your breath, you are signalling your brain to calm down and relax. Your brain then sends these same signals to the rest of your body which means that with a few minutes of controlled breath, you are able to change your physical response to the stress you are feeling. Your muscles relax and you feel reduced tension.
It is not difficult to train yourself to practice breathing exercises when you need it- it does not require a specific time or place or any tools at all. The next time you are relaxed, take a moment to notice how your body feels. Or think about how you breathe when you first wake up in the morning or just before you fall asleep. When your body is stressed you tend to have increased heart rate, fast breathing, and high blood pressure, all decrease as you breathe deeply to relax.
Belly Breathing:
Sit or lie flat in a comfortable position.
Put one hand on your belly just below your ribs and the other hand on your chest.
Take a deep breath in through your nose, and let your belly push your hand out. Your chest should not move.
Breathe out through pursed lips as if you were whistling. Feel the hand on your belly go in, and use it to push all the air out.
Do this breathing 3 to 10 times. Take your time with each breath.
Notice how you feel at the end of the exercise.
Mindful Diaphragmatic Breathing:
Get into a comfortable position, close your eyes, and start to notice your breath. Before you begin to alter it, pay attention to the pace and depth. Are you taking deep breaths or shallow ones? Are you breathing quickly or slowly? (Becoming aware of your breathing can help you to become more mindful of your body’s response to stress, and can help you to notice when you need to deliberately relax your breathing.)
Counted Breathing
Counting your breaths can be helpful, both for pacing and as a form of meditation. This technique helps with pacing—it enables you to elongate your breath and stretch out your exhales. There are a few ways to do this.
As you inhale, place your tongue on the roof of your mouth right behind your teeth, then breathe through your nose and slowly count down from five; on the exhale, let the air escape through your mouth and count back up to eight. Then repeat. This helps you to really empty your lungs and relax into each breath.
A variation of this is known as “4-7-8 breathing,” and is recommended by wellness expert Dr. Andrew Weil. With this option, you inhale for a count of four, wait for a count of seven, and exhale for a count of eight.
Visualisation Breathing: Inflating the Balloon:
Begin breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. As you inhale, imagine that your abdomen is inflating with air like a balloon. As you exhale, imagine that the air is escaping the balloon slowly. Remember, you do not have to force the air out; it simply escapes on its own, in its own time.