Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsPractical TechniquesBenefitsHow Often Should You Do Them?
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Practical Techniques
Benefits
How Often Should You Do Them?
Next time you’re feeling stressed, there are 10 calming breathing exercises for anyone to try. Learn how to use breathing techniques to ease stress and anxiety.
Understanding Diaphragmatic Breathing
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Breathing Techniques Practical for Any Situation
Deep breathingtechniques that involve engaging your diaphragm or belly can be done anywhere to help reducestress, anxiety, and even curb panic attacks.Make sure you are comfortable without restrictive or too-tight clothing.
Simple Deep Breathing
The goal of simple deep breathing is to breathe deeply into your belly without forcing it to fill with air.
Try these steps:
Practice Makes ProgressYou may not be able to reach five counts of breathing or exhaling at first, but with practice, your breathing capacity will improve.
Practice Makes Progress
You may not be able to reach five counts of breathing or exhaling at first, but with practice, your breathing capacity will improve.
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Pursed-Lip Breathing
Pursed-lip breathing is particularly useful for people living with shortness of breath fromchronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),asthma, or other lung conditions.
Box Breathing
Box breathingis a four-sided approach in which each “side” is a step with the same amount of completion time. Picture yourself visually creating a box with your breath.
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Alternate-Nostril Breathing
Alternate-nostril breathing techniques (ANB), orNadi Suddhipranayama, involves inhaling slowly through one nostril at a time while closing the other nostril manually (i.e., with your fingertip).
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Lion’s Breath
Lion’s breath (Simha pranayama) involves opening your jaw wide, sticking your tongue out, and audibly roaring with your breath. For intermediate Lion’s breath, you can stand in the Goddess yoga pose with your arms in the cactus position and skip to step three.
You can repeat Lion’s breath as needed, being aware of how you feel during the process.
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Mindfulness Deep Breathing
Mindfulness breathing involves intentionally bringing awareness to the breath without trying to control the situation.
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Resonance Breathing
Resonance breathing (coherent breathing) involves equal inhalation and exhalation or breaths per minute to improve oxygen supply and reduce stress response.
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4-7-8 Breathing
Relaxing breath or the 4-7-8 breathing exercise is a quick way to calm the nervous system and help you fall asleep.
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Bellow’s Breath
Bellow’s breath (Bhastrika) uses the diaphragm to increase breath capacity and oxygen supply. It is a more intermediate breathwork practice involving a series of active inhalations and exhalations.
Experts say you can practice this two to three times per day, being aware it is a vigorous abdominal exercise. Limit yourself to three rounds of seven to 10 breaths, remembering to take breaks. Eventually, you can work up to 120 breaths per round.
Benefits of Breathwork
Breathwork can have positively impact various areas of your life, including the following:
On Emotions
Breathwork has been shown to have a greater impact on calming stress levels than non-breathwork techniques, according to a 2023 review of randomized control trials on breathwork vs non-breathwork techniques for calming stress.
Mindfulness breathing, in particular, can be helpful for coping with big emotions. One 2019 study found a single 20-minute session of mindfulness breathwork was more helpful in reducing perceived levels of suffering in palliative or end-of-life caregivers compared with 20 minutes of supportive listening.
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On the Body
The benefits of breathwork extend to every body system. For example, a clinical research review shows regular alternate-nostril breathing has positive outcomes for the autonomic nervous system responsible for heart and lung (cardiopulmonary) systems. The increased supply of oxygen is also associated with increased cognitive functioning.
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How Often Should You Do Breathing Techniques?
Including breathwork into your everyday routine is recommended for best results.To help establish a breathwork routine, aim to practice in the same spot once or twice daily.
The ideal amount of time to practice calming breathing exercises each day is around 10-20 minutes.
Summary
Breathwork involves various breathing techniques to help calm the nervous system and improve overall mood and well-being. Practicing daily can help you establish a breathwork routine that can be employed to effectively reduce stress.
13 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Harvard Health.Relaxation techniques: breath control helps quell errant stress response.National Health Service.Breathing exercises for stress.American Lung Association.Pursed lip breathing.The Jed Foundation.How to relieve stress: breathing exercises you can do anywhere.Ghiya S.Alternate nostril breathing: a systematic review of clinical trials.International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences. 2017;5(8):3273-3286. doi:10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20173523Harvard Health Publishing.Lion’s breath.Veterans Affairs.A mindful breathing script.Chaitanya S, Datta A, Bhandari B, Sharma VK.Effect of resonance breathing on heart rate variability and cognitive functions in young adults: a randomised controlled study.Cureus.2022;14(2):e22187. doi:10.7759/cureus.22187American Heart Association.It’s not just inspiration – careful breathing can help your health.Yoga International.Learn bhastrika pranayama (bellows breath).Fincham GW, Strauss C, Montero-Marin J, Cavanagh K.Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: a meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials.Sci Rep. 2023;13(1):432. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-27247-yTan SB, Ching HC, Chia YL, et al.The effect of 20-minute mindful breathing on the perception of suffering and changes in bispectral index score (Bis) in palliative care informal caregivers: a randomized controlled study.Am J Hosp Palliat Care.2020;37(8):606-612. doi: 10.1177/1049909119894507Harvard Health Publishing.Relaxation techniques: breath control helps quell errant stress response.
13 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Harvard Health.Relaxation techniques: breath control helps quell errant stress response.National Health Service.Breathing exercises for stress.American Lung Association.Pursed lip breathing.The Jed Foundation.How to relieve stress: breathing exercises you can do anywhere.Ghiya S.Alternate nostril breathing: a systematic review of clinical trials.International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences. 2017;5(8):3273-3286. doi:10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20173523Harvard Health Publishing.Lion’s breath.Veterans Affairs.A mindful breathing script.Chaitanya S, Datta A, Bhandari B, Sharma VK.Effect of resonance breathing on heart rate variability and cognitive functions in young adults: a randomised controlled study.Cureus.2022;14(2):e22187. doi:10.7759/cureus.22187American Heart Association.It’s not just inspiration – careful breathing can help your health.Yoga International.Learn bhastrika pranayama (bellows breath).Fincham GW, Strauss C, Montero-Marin J, Cavanagh K.Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: a meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials.Sci Rep. 2023;13(1):432. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-27247-yTan SB, Ching HC, Chia YL, et al.The effect of 20-minute mindful breathing on the perception of suffering and changes in bispectral index score (Bis) in palliative care informal caregivers: a randomized controlled study.Am J Hosp Palliat Care.2020;37(8):606-612. doi: 10.1177/1049909119894507Harvard Health Publishing.Relaxation techniques: breath control helps quell errant stress response.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Harvard Health.Relaxation techniques: breath control helps quell errant stress response.National Health Service.Breathing exercises for stress.American Lung Association.Pursed lip breathing.The Jed Foundation.How to relieve stress: breathing exercises you can do anywhere.Ghiya S.Alternate nostril breathing: a systematic review of clinical trials.International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences. 2017;5(8):3273-3286. doi:10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20173523Harvard Health Publishing.Lion’s breath.Veterans Affairs.A mindful breathing script.Chaitanya S, Datta A, Bhandari B, Sharma VK.Effect of resonance breathing on heart rate variability and cognitive functions in young adults: a randomised controlled study.Cureus.2022;14(2):e22187. doi:10.7759/cureus.22187American Heart Association.It’s not just inspiration – careful breathing can help your health.Yoga International.Learn bhastrika pranayama (bellows breath).Fincham GW, Strauss C, Montero-Marin J, Cavanagh K.Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: a meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials.Sci Rep. 2023;13(1):432. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-27247-yTan SB, Ching HC, Chia YL, et al.The effect of 20-minute mindful breathing on the perception of suffering and changes in bispectral index score (Bis) in palliative care informal caregivers: a randomized controlled study.Am J Hosp Palliat Care.2020;37(8):606-612. doi: 10.1177/1049909119894507Harvard Health Publishing.Relaxation techniques: breath control helps quell errant stress response.
Harvard Health.Relaxation techniques: breath control helps quell errant stress response.
National Health Service.Breathing exercises for stress.
American Lung Association.Pursed lip breathing.
The Jed Foundation.How to relieve stress: breathing exercises you can do anywhere.
Ghiya S.Alternate nostril breathing: a systematic review of clinical trials.International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences. 2017;5(8):3273-3286. doi:10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20173523
Harvard Health Publishing.Lion’s breath.
Veterans Affairs.A mindful breathing script.
Chaitanya S, Datta A, Bhandari B, Sharma VK.Effect of resonance breathing on heart rate variability and cognitive functions in young adults: a randomised controlled study.Cureus.2022;14(2):e22187. doi:10.7759/cureus.22187
American Heart Association.It’s not just inspiration – careful breathing can help your health.
Yoga International.Learn bhastrika pranayama (bellows breath).
Fincham GW, Strauss C, Montero-Marin J, Cavanagh K.Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: a meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials.Sci Rep. 2023;13(1):432. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-27247-y
Tan SB, Ching HC, Chia YL, et al.The effect of 20-minute mindful breathing on the perception of suffering and changes in bispectral index score (Bis) in palliative care informal caregivers: a randomized controlled study.Am J Hosp Palliat Care.2020;37(8):606-612. doi: 10.1177/1049909119894507
Harvard Health Publishing.Relaxation techniques: breath control helps quell errant stress response.
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