5 ways to calm just by breathing

There are many different breath techniques/breathing meditations that can change the way you feel. Here are my top five favourites for beating stress and finding a moment of calm.  These particular techniques are usually safe to practice in a space where you are not driving or operating machinery, for almost everyone. 

Certain breath techniques should not be practised by women in early pregnancy or if you have any breathing problems, so it is always recommended to work with a qualified meditation, yogi or breathwork practitioner to explore the benefits safely.  These exercises I have selected are almost always safe for all, however, if you experience any discomfort when trying these techniques please stop, breathe normally and if symtoms persist consult a doctor.

1. Deep breathing: Find a comfortable seated position and take a deep breath in through your nose, filling your lungs with air. Just when you think you can't inhale anymore, pause and then breathe in again. Steadily exhale, imagining if your breath was visible that you could see your breath as a continuous line of air flowing from your body. Just when you feel you can't exhale any more, push for a little tiny extra breath out. Repeat and then start to 'push' your breath less and less as you repeat the pattern, so your breath is a steady flow in and out.
2. Awareness: Whereever you are, sitting, standing, walking, exercising, just bring your awareness to your breath. Notice where the sensations of breath are strongest in your body. Then follow the movement of your breath from inhalation through your nose, into your windpipe and down into your body and back out again. Be consious of the tiny movements your body makes as you breathe in and out and keep your awareness on the movement, temperature, comfort and discomfort of observing your breath moving in and out of your body.
3. Box breathing: Inhale deeply for four seconds, hold the breath for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, and then hold the breath for four seconds before repeating the cycle. You may like to keep your eyes open and look at a square (or a rectangle like a window or laptop screen works too) and visualise the breath as you imagine moving around the shape. Visualise holding your breath at two parallel sides and as you trace the movement in your mind on the adajcent sides, steadily inhale and exhale. As you grow comfortable with this technique you may be able to increase the count to five,, six and more. Keep the count event in this process and see if you can repeat this ten or twenty times.
4. Alternate nostril breathing: Place your right thumb over your right nostril and inhale deeply through your left nostril. At the top of the inhale, switch to cover your left nostril with your right ring finger and exhale through your right nostril. Inhale through your right nostril, switch fingers, and exhale through your left nostril. Repeat for a few minutes, focusing on the sensation of the breath as it moves in and out of each nostril. This helps to regualte both hempisheres of the brain and bring your thought processes back into balance.
5. Rhythms for reducing stress: Beyond box breathing, there are some lovely gentle breath rhthymns for reducing stress and these work best when you can repeat them and gradulally build up to five, ten and twenty minutes of repititions. Try 4-3-5: inhaling for four, holding for three, exhaling for five and repeating nine times. Can you repeat 20 or 40 times?  Try 4-1-6: inhaling for four, holding for one, exhaling for six and repeating.  These help to trigger your relaxation response and rest state of your nervous system. Longer rhythms, like 7-11-13 are popular by some therapists to help reduce anxiety quickly, but these can be harder to repeat for a sustained period of time and the beauty of building up the rhythmn is it really helps to deepen a state of calm awareness.

There are literally thousands of different breath exercises, rhythmns and techniques - some are good for calm, others can help improve sleep and others can help energise you and refocus you. These core foundation techniques are particularly good for a sense of calm and balance, usually without making you feel too sleepy.

Enjoy exploring and if you have any queries please reach out.