The Five Best Breathing Techniques to Add to Your Day

Breathing has incredible benefits, from lowering blood pressure to improving digestion. It is one of the easiest ways to improve overall health, working instantly. It is the basis of meditation and yoga practices. The top-tier activity that keeps us alive. However, if you’re into conscious breathing, there are many breathing techniques to try.

With easy breathing techniques out there, you can find one that works for you and your schedule!

Benefits of Breathing

There are many benefits of breathing correctly, some of which include:

• Reduced insomnia
• Increased heart health
• Improved immune system
• Reduction of stress
• Reduced feelings of anxiety
• Reduction of chronic inflammation
• Relaxation of muscles
• Detoxification of body

And many more.

Breathing deep is an underutilized skill that can have tremendous health benefits.

Breathing Techniques

Here are five of the most common breathing techniques out there. Try them out and incorporate the ones you feel most comfortable with.

1. Abdominal or Diaphragm Breathing

Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down.

Place one hand on the abdomen just below the ribs and the other on the chest.

Take a deep breath through your nose making the abdomen rise, the chest should not move.

Let the air out of your mouth slowly. The goal is to take 6 to 10 slow breaths per minute.

2. Box Breathing

Take deep breaths, inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, relax for another 4 seconds, then start over again.

Repeat for about 4 times or more.

3. Counts of 4, 7, 8

Based on an ancient yogic technique called pranayama, it helps to control the breath for its maximum benefit.

It can be done in any comfortable position, but for beginners, it is preferable to do it sitting up and with a straight back.

Inhale air through your nose, counting up to four seconds.

Hold your breath for seven seconds.

Fully exhale the air from your lungs for eight seconds through your mouth and make a whooshing sound or hiss that you can hear.

4. Energizing Breath

Take slow, deep inhalations, expanding the diaphragm to its full capacity, then exhale quickly, contracting the diaphragm.

These breaths are done entirely through the nose.

Repeat about 10 times.

5. Free Breathing

You can simply focus on taking deep breaths for a few minutes, several times a day at your own pace, inhaling, holding, and exhaling for a few seconds, however, you feel comfortable.

Taking deep breaths before bed and when you wake up is especially great for your overall health.

This helps oxygenate the blood, improve circulation to your organs, clear the mind, and releases endorphins, a chemical responsible for calming effects on the body.

The Takeaway

Whatever breathing exercise you decide to do will result in great benefits! Breathing is a basis of meditation and yoga and can be a great way to better mental wellbeing. Your heart rate and blood pressure can stabilize, your mood can improve, and much more, with the incorporation of a breathing exercise.

It will give you wonderful results in relieving stress and improving health, increasing fitness, and bettering your mental wellbeing.