Two Breathing Techniques For Instant Calm 

Two Breathing Techniques For Instant Calm 

If you’ve ever been to a yoga or meditation class, you’ve probably experienced some sort of guided breathing technique, or maybe your teacher has even instructed a specific pranayama method. Whilst breathing techniques are often an addition to a yoga class, or used as a way to help the mind relax before meditation, it’s worth noting that way before physical postures became the epicentre of yoga, it was pranayama that was the main method of balancing the body and mind. We breathe on average around 22,000 times a day, and the way we breathe can either serve as a tool to improve health and wellbeing, or cause stress, fatigue and anxiety. Read on to discover more about how to use your breath for instant calm. 

Nasal Breathing vs Mouth Breathing 

Do you breathe through your nose, or your mouth? Most people would assume they breathe through their nose most of the time, but when we’re stressed, rushing around and even sleeping it’s likely we fall into a pattern of mouth-breathing. Over the last several years, mouth-breathing has been exposed as having a direct link to fatigue, high blood pressure, allergies, poor gut health, dehydration, brain fog, digestive issues, stress, and even cognitive decline. Children who chronically mouth-breathe have been found to be more likely diagnosed with ADHD, and develop facial deformities that mean their teeth aren’t able to ‘fit’ in the mouth properly, further leading to dental issues and removal of wisdom teeth. Yogis have been expounding the benefits of nose-breathing for thousands of years, and in many parts of the world where there still exist people living in traditional tribes, their teeth structure and overall health tends to be exceptional, and part of it is down to the way they teach their children to breathe. Mothers in many Native American tribes especially followed the same practices; carefully closing the baby’s lips with their fingers after feeding, and standing over them whilst they slept to ensure the baby’s mouth was closed. Other indigenous cultures maintained ‘medicinal’ breathing practices that contributed to their vigorous health, which were all practiced through the nose. If you notice your nose is a little congested and you find it difficult to nasal-breathe, this can be partly down to allergies, a dairy intolerance, and also due to simply not using the nose enough. Yogis have used nasal cleansing techniques for thousands of years too, and you can begin clearing your nose for better breathing too by using a neti pot, which is especially effective to clear the nasal passages during Spring colds and hayfever!   

Open the pages of books like James Nestor’s book Breathe, and you’ll discover that nasal breathing is directly linked to enhanced cognitive health, improved physical performance, greater immune health, better quality sleep, less stress and anxiety, and a much greater release of nitric oxide, which in turn is a natural anti-viral, opens the airways, and acts as a direct way to improve physical endurance. Not only is nasal breathing linked to all of these brilliant health benefits, but specifically slow, abdominal nasal breathing helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system (our ‘rest and digest’ system) where healing and rebalancing of the nervous system and body’s tissues takes place. Many researchers even suggest gently taping the mouth closed at night with a small piece of hypoallergenic micropore tape, but it’s up to each individual to decide how much they want to experiment with their nasal breathing practice! A regular focused breathing practice really can do wonders for the body and mind, and is a great place to start if you haven’t yet tried meditating yet too. Set yourself up with a Yogamatters bolster filled with organic buckwheat to encourage a healthy posture that supports open lungs, and practice the following two simple breathing techniques to encourage instant calm any time, anywhere.  

Coherent Breathing  

Coherent breathing involves gently breathing in and out through the nose for 6 seconds each, which brings the practitioner into a rhythm of five breaths per minute. Coherent breathing helps modulate the autonomic nervous system, essentially rebalancing digestion, the immune system, reducing stress, improving cognitive function, and specifically helps improve heart rate variability, or ‘HRV’. Heart rate variability refers to the variation of time between heart beats; when we inhale, our heart beats a little bit faster, and when we exhale it beats a little slower. When we’re in a stressed-out state, we often experience poor HRV, meaning the heart is in a constantly elevated rhythm, unable to slow and relax properly when we exhale.  

Our breathing and heart rate link directly to a nerve known as the ‘vagus nerve’, which also connects directly to the brain. When we breathe in a shallow way with a fast heartbeat, the vagus nerve sends a message to the brain that we’re in a stressful situation, encouraging a release of cortisol (the ‘stress hormone’) making us feel even more stressed. When we practice techniques like Coherent Breathing, we bring the heart into a balanced state, which then tells the brain that it’s safe to feel calm. This ‘calm’ message sends a flood of extra messages to our hormones and immune system, telling them to start healing and rebalancing. If you can make coherent breathing a regular part of your practice, studies show you’ll be able to recover from stressful situations a lot faster, as well as enjoying a healthier body and mind on many levels. I’ve specifically used the word ‘calm’ instead of ‘relaxed’, because whilst coherent breathing can relax us and even aid in better sleep, it’s also very helpful for eliciting a calm yet awake and alert state, and you can use it to help you find balance before events where you may feel anxious, such as meetings or speeches. You’ll find guided coherent breathing soundtracks on Spotify, Youtube, or at Coherence.com  

Physiological Sigh 

Sighing is a sign of state-change. Massage therapists, yoga and meditation teachers, and anyone who works with people to help them relax will probably notice their client or students sighing every now and then. Whilst sighing is sometimes thought of as a sign of boredom, it’s actually a very good indicator that the body is shifting into a relaxed state. When you wind down and prepare for sleep, you’ll likely sigh at least once, and if you watch your pet cat or dog as they prepare for sleep too, you’re very likely to notice them take a long sigh. Sighing is essentially the body’s in-built ‘re-set button’, acting as a tool to shift our state of being, and studies show it helps release physical tension too. The Physiological sigh is a technique neuroscientist and podcaster Andrew Huberman speaks about a lot. Purposefully using this practice can shift us towards relaxed state in a matter of seconds, and is something you can start using right away. To practice, inhale through your nose, then inhale again so you’ve taken two in-breaths, then let out one long, slow exhale. When working at a computer or looking at phones a lot, we tend to breathe fast and shallow, which pulls us into a state of stress, so this technique is particularly useful to adopt between Zoom meetings, after scrolling through social media, or when you feel anxiety start to creep in.  

To learn more about the power of the breath, read A Life Worth Breathing by Max Strom, or Do Breathe by Michael Townsend Williams, which includes breathing techniques to help reduce stress and improve productivity, create new good habits and drop the bad ones, and build courage and resilience.  

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