Breathing Exercises

Using your body's natural cadence to bring peace and calm to your world

Breathing Exercises can help bring immediate calm to the body and mind. How they work and 4 exercises below

What are Breathing Exercises?

18 Benefits of Breathing Exercises

4 Powerful Breathing Exercises:

Further Exploration – Articles & Media

Breathing Exercises

Simple… breathing exercises are deliberately controlling our breathing to a certain timing or rhythm. Breathing in a controlled way has many mental & physical wellbeing benefits and brings natural calm to our body and mind. The universe and our bodies have a natural cadence. Sometimes we fall out of equilibrium. Bring yourself back to the right balance through the breathing techniques below.

“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.”

Amit Ray

18 Benefits of Breathing Exercises

Stressed, anxious or worried? Breathing exercises have been used for centuries to bring natural peace to our bodies

What could be a more natural way to calm and soothe us than through breathing. Controlled breathing is such a simple yet powerful thing to practice and brings so many benefits;

18 Benefits of Breathing Exercises

Releases endorphins boosting mood and immune system
Activates the para-sympathetic nervous system which calms the body and mind – can help to reduce the symptoms of multiple mental health conditions including anxiety, worry and depression
Reduces fatigue
Assists with recovery from illness or surgery
Lowers the effects of the stress chemical cortisol
Aids digestion
Increases oxygen intake
Removes carbon dioxide from the body, detoxifying the body
Increases blood flow which in turn increases energy levels
Helps to focus the mind
Lowers blood pressure
Improves concentration
Improves core muscle and toning
Lowers the chances of damaging muscles during exercise
Helps to improve posture – if you breathe in deeply you will notice your body naturally correcting your posture
Helps to increase our awareness
Lowers heart rate
Helps to increase mindfulness

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”

thich nhat hanh

4 Powerful Breathing Exercises

Wim Hof Method

Wim Hof, aka The Iceman, has scientifically proven that his method of breathing along with cold therapy can aid with disease resistance amongst many other benefits. See the link below and in further exploration for more of his breathing and physical techniques in order to enjoy a strong, healthy and happy life

How to Do the Wim Hof Breathing Technique

Find a comfortable position either sitting or lying down
Take 30 deep breaths in and out in rapid succession
Breathe deeply filling up the belly and chest while breathing
After the final breath hold your breath for up to 2 minutes
Then inhale deeply and hold for 15 seconds
Exhale and relax (and feel the buzz!)
Complete up to 4 rounds of the above
For more information visit the Wim Hof website here

Heartmath

Taught in numerous schools, offices and even the US navy, Heartmath aims to bring your heart and mind into cadence and fill your world with positivity and love.

How to Do Heartmath

Find a comfy position and somewhere peaceful to sit and relax
Breathe normally and start to focus your attention to your heart and the area around it. Continue breathing and really concentrate on the heart area. Placing your hand on the centre of your chest can focus your attention if needed.
While maintaining the focus, breathe in and out normally. Consciously start to make your breaths slightly deeper than normal. Feel the focus on the heart and start to imagine that the breaths are coming into and out of your heart.
Get into a rhythm of approximately 3 seconds on the in breath and 3 seconds on the out-breath
Once you have established the breathing rhythm and the heart focus, bring in positive emotion. Imagine a place or person that fills you with positive feeling and love
Continue the breathing pattern, feel the emotion breathe with you. Feel the all round positive aura created
Continue for approximately 5 minutes

5, 6, 7 Breathing

A classic breathing exercise. This breathing exercise activates the parasympathetic nervous system through a longer out-breath which has a calming effect on the body and mind. The longer out breath soothes and triggers chemicals to be released in the body which relax us and soothe the mind

How to Do 5, 6, 7 Breathing

Find a comfy space and relax into your seat (or find a comfy place lying down)
Take a slow, deep breath in for 5
Hold the breath for 6
Breathe our for 7
Repeat for at least 10 breaths or up to 5 minutes
Feel the peace and calm

***There are many variations of the timing of this method. The exact timing makes little difference however the out breath needs to be slightly longer than the in breath in order to reap benefits***

Deep Breathing

Taking long deep breaths helps stabilise your heart rate and can help pull you out of fearful or anxious situations or just relax when needed

How to Do Deep Breathing

Get comfy. Either sitting up or lying down
Relax your body
Breathe in through your nose, filling your belly full with air. It can be helpful to be your hand on your stomach to feel it fill up. Too often we breath to the top of the chest which doesn’t bring us the same benefits as fully inflating our lungs
When your belly is full with air, slowly breathe right out until your lungs are completely empty
Repeat steps 3 & 4 another 4 times keeping your hand on your belly to ensure that you stomach fills up and that you are taking full breaths
This can be repeated for up to 5 minutes for full calming effects

“Breathe in deeply to bring your mind home to your body.”

Thich Nhat Hanh