Five Breathing Techniques and When to Use Them
By Kirsten Petersen, DC
Feeling stressed? Tired? Emotionally drained? The way you breathe strongly affects the chemical and physiological activities in your body. When you’re stressed, you might notice that your breathing speeds up and becomes more noticeable. You might even resort to getting more air by breathing out of your mouth. Others might say “take a deep breath!” to you when they notice the stress.
But is that seemingly logical advice the right next move? Maybe not. It might be hard to believe, but most of us actually need to breathe less, not more. We need more carbon dioxide. Deep breaths can sometimes actually decrease the amount of oxygen we get into our tissues, especially if we breathe into our upper chest.
This is just one example of how the outcomes we are looking for might best be accomplished in a way that is not intuitive, so breathwork strategies that have been honed over the ages are fantastic tools to guide us, even when they feel weird or counterintuitive.
When stress or exhaustion take over, turning to breathwork may be just the thing to help regulate your nervous system and recalibrate your body. Even if all you have in a day is sixty seconds, taking some time to step away, breathe intentionally, and reset the mind and body can help us to feel more grounded, productive, and connected.
Benefits of Breathwork:
When we undergo stress, our bodies activate a sympathetic response, which releases a cascade of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. This boost in stress hormones can lead to shallow breathing, elevated heart rate, increased blood pressure, and a dysregulated nervous system. Breathing intentionally can get our body back to a state of relaxation where it can do its best work.
While breathwork can help to calm down the body and the mind, the benefits go far beyond that. Consistent practice with breathwork can also:
- Increase energy
- Boost your immune system
- Help mitigate symptoms of depression, anxiety, grief, and anger
- Increase self-awareness, presence, happiness, and joy
- Increase self-love
- Improve sleep and sleep quality
- Release fear and trauma from the body
- Improve pain
- Release toxins
- Improve digestion
- Improve performance
My Top 5 Breathing Techniques:
Here are some effective breathwork techniques that I often recommend to my clients in clinical practice to support a healthy nervous system:
As with all breathwork, practice when you are in a safe place with another person nearby, and while sitting or lying down. You should avoid these techniques if you are pregnant or under the influence of substances.
(1) Conscious Breathing Anchor Method
This one is simple, rhythmic, and doesn’t include a breath hold, which is nice since we tend to hold our breath so much throughout the day anyway. It helps to increase carbon dioxide tolerance, which has many benefits.
Imagine you have an anchor that sinks lower and lower and lower into your body, doing this while prolonging your exhalation.
Count to 3 on the inhale, then to 6 on the exhale, imaging the anchor dropping. Usually it doesn’t take more than 3 breaths to feel more calm and focused.
(2) Box Breathing Method
This one is also easy, but powerful enough to be used by navy seals to increase their focus in tense situations. The “box breathing” method, otherwise known as “square breathing,” is a technique that can be implemented to help slow down your breathing, calm the nervous system, decrease stress in the body and foster deep relaxation.
This can be the perfect easy tool to implement at any point during the day when you are feeling stressed out. You don’t need to carve out a ton of time to practice this exercise so try it out between meetings, errands, while you are waiting
How to implement this technique:
Sit in a chair or lie down on your back with one hand on your chest and one hand on your stomach. Make sure you feel comfortable and supported. Breathe at your normal pace for 60 seconds while observing the natural rise and fall of your chest and stomach. Make sure you are practicing full, deep breaths by monitoring the expansion of both your chest and your stomach.
Now you are ready to begin the exercise. Start by closing your eyes. Breathe in through your nose while counting to four slowly. Feel the air fill up your lungs. Then, hold your breath for another four counts. Try to avoid clamping your nose or mouth shut. Simply hold your breath still for 4 seconds. Begin to slowly exhale for four seconds. Repeat these steps at least 3 times (or ideally, four minutes!)
(3) Buteyko Breathing Technique
The Buteyko Breathing Technique is designed around the concept of training the body to breathe in line with it’s metabolic needs. As mentioned above, for the vast majority of us, that means breathing less, not more as one might expect. We are under the impression that the more air we breathe, the more oxygen we get to our tissues. But oxygen transfer actually happens in the blood, and carbon dioxide is what facilitates this process. You breathe too hard, you get rid of too much CO2. Light breathing through the nose actually increases the amount of nitric oxide, which increases the amount of oxygen uptake by tissues.
This method helps you to breathe more slowly, calmly, and effectively. Invented in the 1950s by Ukranian doctor, Konstantin Buteyko, the Buteyko Breathing Technique is used as a form of alternative physical therapy that incorporates the use of breathing exercises as an adjunct treatment for asthma and other respiratory conditions, anxiety and sleep conditions.
How to implement this technique:
Watch the video below for guided instruction on how to practice the Buteyko Breathing Technique:
VIDEO: Buteyko Breathing Exercises in 3 minutes
(4) Wim Hof Method
You may have heard of the famous “Ice Man” Wim Hof, a Dutch extreme athlete who has accomplished incredible feats like climbing the tallest mountain in the world in shorts and running a full marathon in the Namib desert with no water. While these are not likely your personal goals, his breathing techniques build the foundation of a high-performance lifestyle that has garnered a massive cult following.
The Wim Hof Method utilizes controlled periods of brief hyperventilation followed by periods of breath retention to activate the cardiovascular system and maximize oxygen levels for deep healing.
You are voluntarily inducing a short stress response which ultimately will lead to more resilience towards everyday stress, mentally and physiology and feeling more in control.
How to implement this technique (from wimhofmethod.com):
VIDEO: Wim Hof Method Guided Breathing for Beginners (3 Rounds Slow Pace)
It is recommended to practice right after waking, or before a meal, when your stomach is still empty. Though this is a simple technique, you should note that this breathing can affect motor control and, in rare cases, lead to loss of consciousness, so practice with another person close by, and always sit or lie down before practicing the techniques. Never practice while piloting a vehicle, or in or near bodies of water.
Step 1: Get Comfortable
Assume a meditation posture: sitting, lying down — whichever is most comfortable for you. Make sure you can expand your lungs freely without feeling any constriction.
Step 2: 30-40 Deep Breaths
Close your eyes and try to clear your mind. Be conscious of your breath, and try to fully connect with it. Inhale deeply through the nose or mouth, and exhale unforced through the mouth. Fully inhale through the belly, then chest and then let go unforced. Repeat this 30 to 40 times in short, powerful bursts. You may experience light-headedness, and tingling sensations in your fingers and feet. These side effects are completely harmless.
Step 3: The Hold
After the last exhalation, inhale one final time, as deeply as you can. Then let the air out and stop breathing. Hold until you feel the urge to breathe again.
Step 4: Recovery Breath
When you feel the urge to breathe again, draw one big breath to fill your lungs. Feel your belly and chest expanding. When you are at full capacity, hold the breath for around 15 seconds, then let go. That completes round number one. This cycle can be repeated 3-4 times without interval. After having completed the breathing exercise, take your time to bask in the bliss. This calm state is highly conducive to meditation — don’t hesitate to combine the two.
(5) Nose Unblocking Method
Do you feel like you are unable to breathe freely through your nostrils? This is a unique and fun one with the specific purpose of clearing out the nasal pathways and facilitating smooth and natural breathing.
How to implement this technique:
VIDEO: Nose Unblocking Exercises – How To Get Rid Of A Blocked Nose
Sit upright on a comfortable chair. Start to calm and normalize your breathing. Take a two-second breath through your nose and a three-second breath out, if possible. If your nose is blocked so you are unable to breathe through it, take a small breath through the corner of your mouth.
Pinch your nose and hold your breath while keeping your mouth closed. Gently nod your head or sway your body until you feel as if you cannot hold your breath any longer. When you finally need to take a breath in, let go of your nose and gently breathe through it (a few times in and out) with your mouth closed. Bring your breathing back to a normal, relaxed pace, as quickly as possible.
Continue to do this exercise until you can breathe freely and fully through your nose. If your nose is still blocked after this exercise, wait 30 seconds and perform the cycle again.
Try incorporating one of these methods into your routine and keep exploring your physiology and its potential!