Sometimes life can become a little stressful and hectic and we need some extra help to get us through.
The power of practicing regular relaxation exercises involving the use of breath has been shown to improve overall well-being by helping to manage stress and anxiety. Correct breathing is key.
We rarely utilize our lungs to their full capacity; so breathing exercises have the added benefit of improving the depth of our breath, which can help us through illnesses involving our respiratory system.
Once you become aware of how to harness the power of your breath through simple exercises, you will be able to call on this skill as an invaluable ‘go to’ tool that you can use anywhere as part of your health and well-being armoury.
The function of correct breathing
Breathing is an automatic body function that we rarely think much about in everyday life. Most of us ‘shallow-breathe’ without even knowing it, tending to only use the upper part of our lungs. This inefficient way of breathing can be seen by our shoulders and chest rising and falling as we breathe, resulting in stale breath being retained in the lower lobes of our lungs after we breathe out.
Even when we are actively exercising, many of tend not to use our lungs fully. In fact, some sports such as rowing or cycling, because of the position of our bodies (sitting and forward reaching), compromises our ability to use our lungs to their full capacity.
Someone who needs control over their breath, such as a singer, athlete or professional sports person, will be much more aware of the importance of how they breathe. They will learn the importance of using the large, stronger muscle known as the diaphragm, and the short intercostal muscles that lie between our ribs to draw breath deep into their lungs.
Deep breathing into the diaphragm means breathing all the way down into your stomach, instead of only breathing into your upper chest. The breath expands horizontally, with your stomach expanding outwards. This way of breathing gives you command over your breath.
Pranayama: Bringing you life-force and control
It’s appreciated that not everyone is drawn to the practice of yoga. However, if you are interested in knowing how your breath can help boost energy levels and manage stress, anxiety and mood, it’s well worth taking some tips from the teaching of yoga related to breathing.
In yoga terms, the basic function of breathing is to ‘bring life-force’ – ‘prana’ into the body and ‘pranayama’ allows you to develop more control over your breathing (‘ayama’ means ‘control’, ‘direction’ or ‘expansion’). In yoga classes, students usually learn pranayama alongside, or after, the physical practice of yoga (asana).
Physical benefits of pranayama
Pranayama is known to have an enormous curative effect on the body. Firstly, controlled breathing exercises will strengthen all the muscles that are involved with breathing and help to expand the capacity of the lungs. Pranayama encourages the replenishment of oxygen in the blood which in turn enables all our body systems to work more effectively.
Breathing exercises can help in a multitude of health-enhancing ways, including:
▪ Giving us energy when we are feeling tired
▪ Helping clear a cluttered mind
▪ Improving focus and concentration
▪ Alleviating stress and anxiety
▪ Relieving tension
▪ Reducing physical pain
Emotional benefits of pranayama
Emotions are intricately linked with breathing patterns. If you are anxious, excited or nervous about something your breath often becomes quicker, shallow and uneven and this in turn can exacerbate your agitation.
In contrast, we are more likely to breathe evenly and slower when we are in a relaxed state. By practicing pranayama, we learn how to control and calm the breath which in turn helps us to harness our thoughts and manage our emotions.
First steps to practicing pranayama
If you are interested in trying out pranayama or breathing exercises, it’s well worth beginning with a little bit of non-judgemental observation of your own natural breathing.
What do you notice? Is your breath a little erratic, i.e. a mixture of short and long breaths with varying gaps between inhalation and exhalation?
Do you find that your mind wanders when doing this exercise and that you quickly get distracted from focusing on your breath?
Once you have gained a basic awareness of your patterns of breathing, move on to trying some specific pranayama breathing exercises. See below for some examples of beginner breathing exercises.
Focus on breathing exercises you enjoy and feel most comfortable doing. You may find it helpful to practice breathing exercises in a quiet space away from any distraction.
Sama Vritti (‘Box’ or ‘square’ breathing)
This is a very simple exercise that can be used to focus your mind and cut out mental chatter. The aim of this exercise is to breathe for the same count for each step of the breathing process. Get into a comfortable position while sitting up straight. Be sure to relax your face, jaw, neck and shoulders. Try to keep your upper body still through the whole exercise and expand your stomach as you breathe in. Breathe in through your nose, inhaling for the count of 4, hold your breath for the count of 4, exhale through your nose for the count of 4, and then hold again for the count of 4. Repeat this process for a minimum of 12 rounds, as long as you feel comfortable to do so.
Extending and holding your breath
This exercise works on holding your breath between inhalation and exhalation, and making each breath out twice as long as each breath in. By making the exhalation twice as long as the inhalation, this will immediately relax your muscles and decrease your blood pressure. It also forces out stale air from the lungs, relaxes the nervous system, and creates a sense of calm. You should breathe in and out through your nose for this exercise.
It may be easier, at first, to complete this exercise while lying down on your back, progressing to sitting up as you become more accustomed.
Relax your breathing and pay attention to each breath. Examine anything you notice about each inhalation and exhalation, counting how long each breath takes. As you take control of your breathing, begin to make each exhalation double the length of each inhalation (so if you inhale for the count of 3, then exhale for the count of 6). Repeat this a few times.
Next, begin to hold your breath after each inhalation. To begin with, hold it until you feel ready to exhale. Eventually, you will be aiming to hold your in-breath for three times as long as you took to inhale. The ratio of 1:3:2 is our target, for example, inhale for 4, hold for 12 and exhale for 8. You should also build in a natural pause at the end of each exhalation. As you become more practiced, try to extend each count, while keeping the same ratio.
Brahmari (Humming-bee breath)
This exercise is focused on your exhalation, extending it and hearing the quality. Brahmari can be extremely calming, helping to ease any tension in your shoulders, upper back, neck or throat.
Adopt a comfortable position, if possible, sit cross-legged on the floor on a cushion or blanket to elevate your hips. If this is uncomfortable, sit up straight in a chair and avoid leaning against the back rest. Begin with a full inhalation through your nose, keeping your lips lightly sealed and teeth slightly apart. When you exhale, make a continuous humming noise, ie, making the sound of the letter M. Keep making the sound until you need to inhale.
The longer you can exhale, the more relaxing this exercise will be. Listen to the tone of the hum and play around with the sound inside your head and chest to help you find a sound that you are happy with. Try five to 10 breaths while humming on each breath out, and increase the number of breaths over time. You can practice until you feel good. Slowly increase your repetitions each week.
