Did you know that paying attention to your breath not only helps you relax but also helps you stay focused? Check out some breathing techniques!
We know that oxygen is the source of life, however, breathing is something so natural and automatic that we often forget its importance. We commonly do the so-called high or chest breathing, the one in which the lungs fill with air and the chest puffs up. The more stressed we are, the more we tend to take short (loud and fast) breaths. However, paying attention to the breath and deepening it helps not only to relax but also contributes to health in general.
Yoga and meditation practices teach how to take advantage of the breath in order to reorganize the mind and body. However, you don’t have to be a yogi or a meditator to reap the benefits that some breathing techniques provide. Here are 13 types that will help keep anxiety under control and keep your mind clearer, calmer, and more focused.
Breathing techniques to manage anxiety and stay focused
Elongated expiration
Inhale for a count of 3 and exhale for a count of six. In this technique, the exhalation counts twice as the inspiration. If you increase the inspiration time, the expiration time must also be increased proportionately.
Square Breathing
Breathe slowly, counting to three. Hold the air for three seconds and exhale for a count of three. Gradually you can increase the duration of each stage up to 7, for example. Always keep the same time.
The contraction of the diaphragm
Hold your abdomen with one hand and your chest with the other. With your shoulders straight, inhale slowly and deeply through your nostrils and release through your mouth. Repeat 6 to 10 per minute. The ideal is to do at least 10 minutes a day.
Alternating Nostrils
Inhale through one nostril and exhale through the other, using your index finger or thumb to help press down on them. Alternating order. Inhale through the left nostril covering the right; close the left and exhale through the right; Change to inhale through the right nostril, covering the left; close the right and release the air from the left, with cadence. Right, left… This not only relaxes, it also energizes.
Abdominal breathing
This technique is known as baby breathing. As you inhale, inflate your belly (not your chest). And as you exhale, deflate the belly, reducing the volume of the abdominal region. In a calm, slow and deep rhythm, without forcing.
Seven-second count
Inhale, hold and exhale for seven seconds. It resembles square breathing and can be started as long as you are able, but the idea is to increase it until you reach seven seconds. The cycle must be repeated at least three times.
Awareness of the present
This you can do six times a day, marked on the clock (it is ideal to leave the alarm clock). Inhale and exhale slowly and deeply three times and think (right foot, right leg, right thigh, right hip, right hand, forearm, arm, shoulder. Left foot, left leg, left thigh, left hip, hand, forearm, arm, and left shoulders. Abdominal wall, abdominal cavity, kidneys, bladder, small and large intestines, heart, lungs, rib cage, neck, jaw, upper and lower lips, tongue, the roof of mouth, eyes, forehead, scalp).
Progressive relaxation
Breathe slowly, contract, and relax the muscle groups in your body for three seconds, alternately. try this minimum five minutes.
Pursed lip breathing
Relax your neck and shoulders and, keeping your mouth closed, breathe in slowly through your nose. Purse your lips, as if to whistle, and exhale slowly, blowing air through your pursed lips. She repeats for a few minutes and whenever she needs to during her day.
Breathing carefully
Sit down, close your eyes and breathe in. As you do this, imagine that the air is filled with a sense of vitality and peace. Feel the air spreading through your whole body, as well as the positive feeling. Then, as you exhale, imagine the air leaving, taking away your stress and tension. Continue breathing and metalizing for a few minutes.
Cleansing breath
Sit comfortably and close your eyes. As you breathe in, think of colors such as blue (strength and faith), golden yellow (wisdom), pink (love), crystal white (purity and ascension), green (healing and truth), and golden ruby (wisdom), violet (transmutation). ). You can switch to positive affirmations too, such as thinking that you are breathing in “peace and calm” and breathing out “tension, anxiety, and stress”. As you think of colors or words, imagine all the good filling your body and the bad coming out on the exhale. Practice for at least 10 minutes.
High breath
As said initially, this is the automatic way most of us breathe. We fill our lungs and puff our chests as we inhale the air. And as we exhale, we empty the lungs and deflate the chest region. Just paying attention to this movement helps you become aware of your breath and the here and now.
Full breath
Full breathing combines high breathing and abdominal breathing, using the respiratory system to its fullest extent. To do this, breathe in the air and feel it filling your entire abdominal area and chest (inflating both). When exhaling, empty the abdomen first, then the diaphragm and the entire chest region. Restart the cycle again, for at least 10 minutes. Do everything calmly, at your own pace, without straining your breath.
