5 Breathing Exercises to Help You Relax in Under 5 Minutes

Stressed out, burned out, and not getting enough sleep? I can relate. Stressful times hit us all in different ways. Maybe you get more irritable, or you feel your pulse race. Perhaps you feel your throat tighten as your breath becomes shallow and short.

Fortunately, there are many ways to regain your sense of calm. And even better — they’re free! All you need are a handful of minutes, your lungs, and some air.

What is deep breathing?

Deep breathing goes by many names: belly breathing, diaphragmatic breathing, and abdominal breathing. Experts define deep breathing as a mind/body training to help manage stress or psychosomatic conditions.[1] (Psychosomatic means a physical illness or condition aggravated by something in your mind, like stress or an inner conflict.)

Psychological studies show that having a breathing practice can be an effective non-medicinal way to improve your emotions and reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.[2] If you’re the type whose blood pressure shoots up when stressed, deep breathing can help. It gets much-needed oxygen into your system. As a result, deep breathing can slow down the heartbeat and stabilize or lower blood pressure.[3]

Deep breathing is considered the basis for almost all meditation or relaxation techniques. There are many ways to go about it. We’ve chosen five breathing exercises for anxiety and stress to help you start relaxing today:

1. Breath Focus

This is a helpful technique for getting to know your breath. It’s also a great introduction to mindfulness — a definite benefit for the wandering mind. You can also use this as a “mini-relaxation” when at the doctor’s office, during rush hour, or when faced with situations that frustrate you.[4]

How to: Begin by finding a comfortable place to lie down or sit. Take a regular breath, followed by a deep, slow inhale through your nose. Alternate between normal and deep breaths. Pay attention to how your abdomen expands more when you breathe deeply. Compare how your normal, perhaps more shallow, breaths feel. Place your hand under your belly button, on your lower abdomen, to feel the difference.

Once you’ve done this for a few breaths, shift into only breathing deeply and slowly. Combine it with imagery or a word/phrase to help support your relaxation. 

An example of using imagery would be to envision the air you breathe as washing over you peacefully. If you prefer to use a word or phrase instead, consider ones like “Breathing in calm. Breathing out tension.” or even simply “Breathing in. Breathing out.”

2. Numbered Breathing

There are a number of ways (no pun intended) to do the numbered breathing technique. Dr. Andrew Weil developed one called “4-7-8 breathing,” which is a breath pattern based on ancient yogic techniques. This technique is claimed to put you in a relaxed state almost instantly.[5] You’ll love how simple it is!

How to: Exhale completely and through your mouth. It should make a whooshing sound. After this, close your mouth and inhale slowly and quietly through your nose to a count of four. Hold your breath for a seven-count. Then, exhale through your mouth — completely and making that whoosh sound again. Do this for a count of eight.

Repeat this cycle three more times. Dr. Weil notes that the actual time you spend on the breath isn’t as important as maintaining the ratio of 4:7:8. This will ensure that your exhale remains twice as long as your inhale.

3. Pursed Lip Breathing

This exercise is intended to slow down your breath and make it more intentional. It’s one that’s beneficial to use during and after exercising — or with any activity where you feel short of breath. This makes it a helpful breathing exercise for COPD and asthma.[6] It does this by making your breath more effective and helping to remove air that’s trapped in your lungs.[7]

How to: This exercise is similar to the 4-7-8 technique in that it recommends breathing using a ratio. The difference is in the exhale.

Breathe in through your nose for a two-count. You may find it helpful to count to yourself. Then, pucker or purse your lips (pretend you’re blowing out a candle), and gently exhale out all the air in your lungs. Try doing this for a four-count. Repeat.

4. Alternate Nostril Breathing

An essential part of yoga is breath control. A common technique within a yoga or meditation practice is alternate nostril breathing. It’s designed to slow down your breath, reduce anxiety, and relax both your body and mind. This can help improve your focus and awareness.

How to: The recommended sitting position for this is cross-legged. But it can also be done while in a car, airplane, etc. You may not want to do this one with a stuffy nose, though.

Lift your right hand up to your nose (you won’t need your left hand for this). Exhale completely.  Cover the right nostril using your right thumb. Inhale through the left side. Once you’ve inhaled, close your left nostril with your fingers, and open the right nostril. Exhale through this right side.

Now, inhale through the right nostril and then close it. Open the left nostril and exhale out the left side.

This is considered one cycle. Repeat for up to five minutes. It’s also recommended to complete your practice by finishing up with an exhale on the left side.[8]

5. Lion’s Breath

Yoga Journal considers this a fun, silly technique to blow off steam and wake up the face.[9] It’s also a great way to introduce breathing exercises to your family. And for some, as an added bonus, it could weird out passersby if you do it in public.

This pose helps to strengthen your lungs, voice, and throat. It also helps to cut down on stress and anger. There are a couple of variations for this pose — we’ll describe the easier one for you.

How to: Sit cross-legged on the floor. Have your hands at your knees and face your palms forward, with your hands opened wide. Inhale to lengthen the spine.

As you exhale, look upwards, stick out your tongue as far as you can, and make a roaring “Haaaa!” sound. This sound should pass over the back of your throat and be more of a whispery sound instead versus using your vocal cords.

Inhale back to your beginning position and repeat.

Visuals may be helpful for this one:

Click here for the above pose.

Click here if you’re feeling more adventurous.

Practice, Practice, Practice

As with anything new you that try, practice makes you better. With deep breathing, here are a few pointers to help get you going:

• Create a routine. Try practicing in the same place every day, such as when you park at work or before you go to sleep.

• Start small. Set a timer for two minutes. Do that for a bit, and then work your way up.

• Practice a couple of times a day. This will help deep breathing to become more routine and feel more natural.

• Use an app. Many apps exist now that provide guided breathing exercises. Healthline ranked The Mindfulness App, Headspace, and Calm as their top picks for 2019.[10]

Now that you have some ways to practice deep breathing, it’s worth noting what deep breathing is not. Deep breathing is designed to be done slowly. You shouldn’t feel light-heated, nausea, or dizziness. If you do, it could be a sign that you’re over-breathing. Shifting to breathing through your nose can help prevent that.

We recommend that you check with your Health Care Provider on the best exercises for you — especially if you have certain respiratory or lung conditions that impact your breathing.

Take a Breather

Terri Guillemets puts it well: “The wisest one-word sentence? Breathe.” Your breath can be one of the best defenses against daily frustrations and stressors. Establishing a practice of deep breathing helps. Play around with a couple of the above techniques — see which ones you like best and watch the stress start to melt!

Sources:

1. (2017, June 6). The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention ... - NCBI. Retrieved January 22, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5455070/

2. Ibid.

3. (2018, April 13). Relaxation techniques: Breath control helps quell errant stress .... Retrieved January 22, 2020, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/relaxation-techniques-breath-control-helps-quell-errant-stress-response

4. (2008, July 1). Relaxation techniques: Breath focus - Harvard Health. Retrieved January 22, 2020, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/relaxation_techniques_breath_focus

5. (n.d.). Video: Dr. Weil's Breathing Exercises: 4-7-8 Breath. Retrieved January 22, 2020, from https://www.drweil.com/videos-features/videos/breathing-exercises-4-7-8-breath/

6. (n.d.). Breathing Exercises for COPD | COPD Foundation. Retrieved January 22, 2020, from https://www.copdfoundation.org/Learn-More/I-am-a-Person-with-COPD/Breathing-Exercises-for-COPD.aspx

7. (2017, November 14). COPD Patient Resources and Videos | American Lung .... Retrieved January 22, 2020, from https://www.lung.org/lung-health-and-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/copd/patient-resources-and-videos/

8. (2018, July 9). Alternate Nostril Breathing: Benefits, How To, and ... - Healthline. Retrieved January 22, 2020, from https://www.healthline.com/health/alternate-nostril-breathing

9. (2017, October 9). Lion Pose (Simhasana) - Yoga Journal. Retrieved January 22, 2020, from https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/lion-pose

10. (2019, April 23). Best Meditation Apps of 2019 - Healthline. Retrieved January 22, 2020, from https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/top-meditation-iphone-android-apps