I’ve been giving some thought to which breathing methods I’ve found useful or have seen other people / children find useful and settled on 7 that seem to really help in day to day situations. None of them are new, all of them do work. I’ve given them each a short name to try and help make them memorable. Most can be done fairly quietly and unobtrusively (though not all) which does help if in a meeting / with other people and want to keep your actions private.
Here they are:
Drop Down – For when you want to calm yourself a little, feeling slightly uneasy, anxious or just a little over stimulated.
- Place finger and thumb above your nostrils, block your right nostril and slowly inhale through your left nostril.
- Switch and block your left nostril, allowing you to exhale through your right nostril, gently and relaxed.
- Repeat 5 times and this should help you drop down your state
Calm Down – For when you feel more anxious, nervous really over stimulated and need a quick way to bring your self to a calmer place.
- A physiological sigh, like when you see someone crying and they are trying to self soothe, you take quick two inhales through your nose and then let out an exhale through your mouth.
- Repeat 5 times, or more until you feel that sense of calm descend.
Relieve – For when you feel a sense of panic, air hunger, anxiety (also really helps in unblocking your nose)
- Take a small breath in through your nose, small breath out through your nose, hold your breath for 2 – 5 seconds, pinch your nose if need be and keep your mouth closed (whatever you are able to comfortably do at the point you need to use the exercise).
- Breathe normally through your nose for 10 seconds and repeat above.
- Try 5 rounds to help.
Pick Up – For when you want to wake yourself up a little, feeling tired and need to refocus your attention on what you are listening to or engaging with.
- The opposite to drop down. Place finger and thumb above your nostrils, block your left nostril and slowly inhale through your right nostril.
- Switch and block the right nostril, allowing you to exhale through your left nostril, gently and relaxed
- Repeat 5 times (or more if need be) and this should pick you up.
Power Up – For when you need a big boost of energy, this of all the breathing techniques is something that is more physically demanding, harder to do privately and the one that places greater stress on your heart – so if pregnant or have a heart condition one to stay away from. For everyone else it works well.
- This is all about the exhale – there are 2 ways to do this.
- First way is to forcibly exhale through your nose and passively let the inhale happen.
- This is quick, so less than half a second before you forcibly exhale again.
- Do for a round of 15 – 30. More if you see fit. You will feel light headed and hopefully uplifted
- Another way that children love is to incorporate noise and movement.
- Stand legs slightly bent, feet slightly wider than hip width apart, arms bent at the elbows and palms level with waist facing up.
- Inhale and move hands forward
- When arms straight let out a lour HWAAAAAHHH sound as you exhale, drawing arms back quickly to starting position
- Let arms naturally move back to straight as inhale reflex happens and repeat.
- 10 rounds of this will get everything going.
Focus – For when you need to really dial into what you are doing, before a presentation, before something that matters and need to stop the noise / chatter and focus your mind.
- Box breathing, something that special forces reputedly use for its efficacy.
- All nasal, inhale for a count of 4 to 6. Hold for exactly the same count, exhale for the same count, hold for the same count. Repeat for at least 6 rounds, if not more until you feel really dialled in to the task at hand.
Settle – For when you want to tell your body it is time to relax, be still and switch your state from one of work to rest. Really helpful to use at the end of a working day, post exercise or to just help settle.
- This is known as coherance / cadence / resonance breathing and works on the basis of plugging into the breathing rate that works in tandem with your heart. It is believed to be around 5 to 6 breaths a minute. I love this and find it incredibly soothing within 3 breaths.
- A timer really helps with this one (see the Breathing App to use for this)
- All nasal, breath in through your nose, slowly for a count of 5 to 6 seconds.
- Without a pause breath out easily, relaxed and fully through you nose for exactly the same count. I find that repeating in my head “just let go” on the exhale really helps settle me down.
- Dependent on time, I find I am settled within 3 breaths. Usually will do this for 10 minutes (as I like it so much) so I’ll leave for you.
