5 Simple Breath Techniques to Calm the Body & Mind

The breath is the most accessible, least expensive way to change our nervous system, and along with it,
our state of body & mind (& heart).

No other action can affect our homeostasis - our body’s sense of being in balance - so quickly. This is because the breath is one of the only actions in our body that is both automatic (we don’t need to think about breathing throughout the day or when we are sleeping), AND that we can also voluntarily control - by varying the speed, intensity, and rhythm of our breath. By working consciously with the breath, we can affect our nervous system, which in turn can affect the rest of our body’s systems that normally are not in our conscious control: digestive, immune, circulatory, cognitive, & more.

To explain a little more: When our nervous system is in stress, called the ‘sympathetic’ or ‘fight or flight’ state, our breathing automatically becomes shallower & faster, the hormones of stress are released into our bloodstream, and all of the blood and nervous energy goes to our extremities - our arms & legs - so that we can fight or flee from a potential danger. This means that there is less energy for all of our body’s day-to-day maintenance. This works when we are in actual danger, but more often, our bodies are in a chronic state of fight or flight due to chronic stress, which can then lead to chronic issues with everything from inflammation to digestion to immunity to sexual vibrancy. While we are usually not in an extreme state of sympathetic activation, we are often in this low chronic state, and therefore our body, our emotions, and our state of mind are not as clear & connected as they could be,

The complementary state is the parasympathetic nervous response, often called the ‘rest & digest’ state. This is when the body is calm, allowing for maintenance, cellular repair and restoration to occur. When we consciously slow our breath down, we are sending the message to our nervous system that there is no danger, and that the focus can shift to well-being, rather than on protection. Blood pressure lowers, digestion & elimination improve, inflammation is reduced, immunity is strengthened, hormone levels are balanced, sexual energy flows in a more harmonious way, we are in a less reactive state emotionally, and our mind is more oriented towards curiosity & being present, rather than looking out for potential threats.

It’s kind of ironic that the fastest way to calm the nervous system, and the mind along with it, is to slow down the breath.

There are SO many breath techniques that are becoming increasingly popular these days (which is great!) - for raising or lowering energy, calming anxiety, increasing focus - and much more. These breath techniques often have their roots in yoga (breath practices are under the branch of yoga called Pranayama), but they are also being reinforced with rigorous, scientific study, to more fully understand their effects & benefits. Here, I am offering out a few simple, tried & tested breath techniques that can be done anytime in order to bring the body into a parasympathetic state, a state of calm, so that our body, heart,& mind can find a more optimal balance, and so that the negative effects of stress on our health are reduced.

It’s powerful if these can be done for 5 minutes or longer, while seated or lying in a comfortable position with no distractions, but it’s equally powerful when these are done ‘on the spot’, ie. at different points in the day when we might be feeling impatient or not fully present, such as when waiting in line at the supermarket, or even right in the moment when the body is ‘triggered’ from a potentially stressful occurance. Running late for a meeting, waiting for results from a job interview, or even just reading the morning news, are a few examples of when the body might be tempted to go into fight or flight. While these examples might be cause for some mild stress, they are not life threatening, and they happen often enough that we need to train the body not to treat them as cause for alarm - but as an opportunity to connect more deeply to our inner reservoirs of calm.

In that vein, these techniques are not really appropriate if there is a real, imminent danger or emergency.
Emergencies are what the fight and flight system is exactly designed for :)

With all of these breath techniques, keep them as stress free as possible. While it may be tempting to go for the most challenging technique first, it can be stressful on the heart and the nervous system to force the body to breathe in a certain way. Start with the first technique described, and practice it for as long as it takes to feel comfortable. Then, gently move onto the next technique, with the same intention of not forcing the body, and letting this be the practice for as long as it takes to feel comfortable. Gently guide the attention to be as fully on the breath as possible, and on the sensation of the body breathing. You will reap many more rewards this way, I assure you.

Focusing on the physicality of breathing offers even more possibility for relaxation & tonification.

On the inhale, the body expands as air enters. The expansion often happens up in the uppper chest, neck & shoulders - and this is shallow breathing. While I very much enjoy taking slow, deep mindful breaths into the neck, shoulders & upper chest as part of a body scan, I do not keep my breath there. It has been shown that it is MUCH more beneficial, especially when the goal is relaxation, if the expansion of the breath is lower in the body - in the lower ribcage, abdomen & pelvic bowl. The hands can be placed on the abdomen to help bring attention there, so on the inhale we can feel the abdomen filling up with air, the muscles relaxed, expanding open, and on the exhale we can feel the abdomen draw in as the air leaves, as though the abdominals are pushing the air out. The pelvis & hips stay relaxed, able to respond to the breath.

As the exhale gets slower (further down in the list of breath practices), more abdominal activity is required, which causes an increase in its strength & tone (yay!). The image of the inhale can be of a balloon filling up slowly with air, while on the exhale, the image is that the abdominals are like a wet towel, and we are slowly wringing out all the water from the towel. One of the wonderful effects of breath practice is that it can wake up the natural pumping energy of the breath. When we exhale fully, wringing out every last drop of breath, the body wants to naturally spring open with a fresh inhale, and thus we are invigorated and filled with fresh vitality.

The pelvic floor is also involved in the breath. I describe this in more detail on Day 2 of the 5 Day Introduction to Fully Embodied Living (the free gift that you can access at the bottom of every page on this website), and I will write more about the pelvic floor in future posts (because this is an important issue), but here, I will simply say that the pelvic floor comprise the muscles that are in between the pubic bone and the tailbone, and that the best practice to start with is to keep the pelvic area as relaxed as possible, and allow it to naturally find its response to the breath. What may be felt, is that on the inhale, the pelvic floor muscles relax down, as the abdomen expands outward, and on the exhale, they lift up, as the abdomen draws in. The image that the pelvic floor is like an elevator: on the inhale it slowly relaxes down, and on the exhale it slowly lifts up. The glutes are not the pelvic floor, so gripping them is not helpful. Connecting to the pelvic floor muscles is quite subtle, and often requires more 1-to-1 training, but I wanted to mention it briefly here, because as you are tuning into the physicality of breathing, tuning into the pelvic floor is a part of that.

And finally, as you breathe, you may notice all sorts of places that the breath can travel to in the body - and this is great. I often refer to breath practice as a ‘breath massage’, because I can feel how the breath travels to all the tissues of my body, releasing tension and reminding me of places in my body that I had forgotten about.
I hope it is the same for you as you practice.

If you are interested in the anatomy of breathing, stay tuned to this blog series, via social media, because I am working on some posts on exactly this subject to be published soon.

Emotions live in the body

Another reason that I encourage you to start with practice #1, and to do it for a while before moving onto the later practices, is because our emotions live in the body, and as we breathe, we may stir them up. While it is very good to release emotions that are ‘stuck’ in the body, and the breath is a fabulous way to do that, it is very important that it is done with the proper dosage. Notice how you feel after the first breath practice - even taking the whole rest of the day to notice the response of the emotions - and if it is good, feel free to carry on to practice #2. If you notice that emotions are being stirred up in a way that is uncomfortable or unmanageable, - within the practice itself or later in the day - it is a good idea to ease up on the practice a bit - perhaps staying at #1, and practicing for a shorter amount of time. It may also be a sign that seeking outside support (a therapist, bodyworker, or primary heath care practitioner) is a very good idea. If you notice that emotions are being stirred up in a way that feels manageable - that they can move through you with relative ease & comfort - then enjoy this therapeutic effect of the breath practice.

Is breath practice a form of meditation?

I am also working on a longer series of posts dedicated to “How to Start Your own Meditation Practice”,
which will start soon. Stay tuned!

In this upcoming series, I describe how meditation begins by creating an ‘object of attention’ - something to focus on to help steady the mind and bring the attention to the present moment. A visual object, such as a candle, a sound, such as a bell or repeated words, are common object of attention, and so is the breath, along with the sensations in the body. In that sense, breath practices are a form of meditation. As you can read in this upcoming series, once the focus and attention is established, possibly by using some of these breath practices described below, the meditation then can shift and become more open to the fuller experience of the body, mind, & heart. For that reason, I almost always start my meditation practice with some of these breath practices, and then once my mind has settled a bit, I can open up my awareness to a more expansive attention. I give some ideas for this below, but also, stay tuned for this upcoming series, if you are interested in learning more about meditation.

As you will see below, I often suggest counting the breath, and not only does this allow for more steadiness in the breath, the counting itself can also be an object of attention. I do encourage you, however, to place the emphasis on having ease in the body, rather than acheiving some number with your breaths, and to use the counting as a way of noticing more about the breath, rather than needing to attain a certain breath length, which may create unnnecessary stress.

Here are the practices:

As a seasoned practitioner, aware of my body, mind & heart, I often do these all in a row - just a few minutes each - since they progress from the least manipulation of the breath to more, and each practice warms me up for the next.

*These breath practices are all meant to be done through the nose, if possible. Next week’s post will describe the many benefits of nose breathing AND include a few more practices that take full advantage of it. If nose breathing is not possible, don’t worry, you will still receive many of the benefits. The slowness & the awareness are the MOST beneficial aspects of the methods described here.

1. Notice the breath.
   The simplicity of this practice betrays its power. With a relaxed but focused attention, simply focus on the breath, without changing it. A common instruction is to place the attention on the sensation of the breath entering through the nostrils, and leaving the nostrils, perhaps noticing that the air is slightly cooler as it enters, and slightly warmer as it leaves. This is also a good time to gently place the hands on the belly, and to notice the belly slightly expanding on the inhale, and relaxing on the exhale. You could also place the hands on the chest and notice the movement there, or on the sides of the ribcage, or you could keep your arms down and just feel where in the body you feel the breath. The important point is the attention - the breath stays natural. Now - it must be said that just by placing the attention on the breath, it will naturally change if only slightly - and that’s totally ok. In fact, I recommend that this becomes the practice, that as you place your attention on the breath, you notice how it naturally changes - not by any conscious choice or effort - but just by having the attention placed there. It’s like you are noticing how the breath wants to be, once it has been given the opportunity. You may also notice that it is challenging to keep the attention on the breath, that the attention wants to wander. This is also totally natural and it is not wrong. When you do notice that the attention has wandered, simply & kindly return the attention to the sensation of the breath - at the nostrils, the belly, or wherever it is easiest for you to feel it. This in itself can be its own meditation practice.

2. The inhale and exhale are the same length
   This is the ‘next easiest’ technique to adopt. Start by noticing the natural rhythm of the breath, and then, count the breath to notice how long it is - for example a normal, relaxed inhale might be 2-3 seconds and a normal, relaxed exhale the same. First, intend that the inhale and the exhale have the same length, and try to do that without being too forceful. After some moments of this, gently, lengthen the inhale - perhaps to 4 or 5 counts, and the exhale the same. Keep the body as relaxed as possible, place the attention as fully as possible on the sensations of the body breathing, with the intention that each breath be of equal length, value, and quality. Notice how the body responds to this breath technique. I often use this breath technique while doing a body scan - a common technique to help relax the body, increase body awareness, and settle more into the present moment. Here is a short body scan meditation that you can practice this breath technique with.

3. The exhale is longer than the inhale.
   Start by noticing the breath (practice #1), counting the breath, and perhaps doing practice #2 for a few moments. Then gradually intend that the exhale become slightly longer than the inhale. For example, inhale for 4 counts, and then exhale for 5, noticing how the body & mind respond. After a few rounds of this, once it starts to feel comfortable, the exhale could be extended to 6. Get comfortable with this rhythm for a while, before increasing the length of the exhale to eventually be double the length of the inhale (ie., inhale for 4, exhale for 8). There are MANY studies that show that having an exhale that is longer than the inhale triggers a very immediate response of the parasympathetic nervous system (via the vagus nerve) to calm down the body, mind & heart, so as you practice this breath technique, notice how these places respond. The breath is in service of the body, heart & mind, and not the other way around.

4. Slow inhale - hold it in ‘as long as you comfortably can’ - followed by an even slower exhale
   This is the first time that we are introducing a ‘hold’, or ‘retention’ of the breath. Retaining the inhale is less stressful on the body than retaining the exhale, and so I recommend that it be practiced first. Modern science is showing that the ancient practice of breath holding not only can bring us into a parasympathetic state more quickly, but that it can greatly improve our capacity to absorb oxygen into the bloodstream, the body tissuees, the vital organs, & the brain. The most important part of the retention is that it be as comfortable as possible - so do not attempt to make it a competition with yourself or others about how long you can hold your breath. As you do this technique, check in with the body, that is stays as relaxed as possible. A commonly taught rhythm is to inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 8’, however it can take time to get to this. Do not force the process. The breath hold can be done either by contracting the muscles inside the nose, or you can gently pinch the nostrils closed with your fingers. Once more, notice the effect in the body, heart & mind - as this is a higher priority than the breath itself.

5. Box Breathing: inhale - hold - exhale - hold
   This technique is quite commonly taught, and rightly so, because it is really useful, and shown to have a strong parasympathetic response. I do find it a challenging technique to leap right into, and for that reason, I have it as the last one on my list. In this technique, the ‘box’ describes the pattern of breathing: there is an inhale, a hold, then an exhale, and a hold - and they are all of equal length - like 4 sides of a square. To start, I actually recommend ‘rectangle breathing’ - so that the inhale and the exhale are longer (4 counts, for example) and the 'holds are shorter (2 counts). This ensures that the heart and nervous system are not stressed, and therefore not triggering anxiety or overwhelm. The hold could even be 1 count (that still counts!) - like a small pause at the top of the inhale and the bottom of the exhale. The image that I like of the ‘hold’ is of a ‘suspension’ - like at the top of a rollercoaster - there is just a slight pause. This is where you may start to feel more activity in the abdominal muscles as they control how the air enters, stays, leaves, and stays out - like a bellows fanning a fire. Keep the neck & shoulders, jaw, hips, and the whole body as relaxed and comfortable as possible. Notice the response in the body, mind & heart.

With whichever practices you do, take time to return to practice #1 - just noticing the breath without manipulating it, as a way of closing the practice. This can help calm down everything even more, & to notice the effects of what you just did.

After the breath pratice, it can be a good time to sit in meditation. In my upcoming “How to Start Your Own Meditation Practice” series, I will be describing many different meditation techniques, but very simply here, after the breath practice - you could stay in stillness for a few moments and listen to the sounds around you, and to feel the ground below you. You could also set an intention of how you want to feel for the remainder of your day, and take a few moments to let that feeling fill up the body, mind & heart.
Or you could take a moment to acknowledge what you are grateful for today.
These are just a few examples.

These breath techniques are more powerful and potent than they may appear, so I encourage you to try them out in small bursts, with as much attention as you comfortably can, and then to notice the effects over the rest of your day, and over the long term. Slowing the breath down can be just the encouragement that the mind needs to slow the thoughts down, which can allow us to have more space to be present in the moment, to be able to respond in a mindful way to what is happening in our world, rather than reacting impulsively, often from fear, and to actually be able to listen to our thoughts, instead of being overwhelmed by them. Slowing the breath down can also be just the medicine that the body needs in order to return to a more harmonious state - allowing digestion, immunity, vitality, and more to find their optimal place.

Wishing you well, Take good care.