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Conscious breathing can reduce anxiety and depression – tips for how to do it

The art and science of breathwork has been an important part of human life for more than two millennia. Grounded in ancient histories and a variety of human contexts (from philosophy, to healing arts and science, to spiritual practice), breathwork includes various techniques aimed at harnessing the power of breath. The significance of breath and breathing to promote physical health, mental wellbeing and spiritual growth has been recognised and explored through various conceptualisations and applications of breathwork. These range from ancient Vedic texts of India to philosophical reflections of ancient Greece, Taoist traditions of China and contemplative practices of Buddhism.

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 Breathe. Exhale. Repeat: The Benefits of Controlled Breathing

Take a deep breath, expanding your belly. Pause. Exhale slowly to the count of five. Repeat four times. Congratulations. You’ve just calmed your nervous system.

 Can you breathe your way to health, happiness and a psychedelic trip?

A look at breathwork, the ancient practice beloved by Olympians, models, and hundreds of people on Zoom.

Articles of Interest

Are breathing techniques good for your health?

This article is more than 5 years old Are breathing techniques good for your health? This article is more than 5 years old The market is flooded with books and classes claiming ‘breathwork’ can help with mental health, sleep and even Covid-19. But are experts convinced?

Are You Breathing Properly?

We all learn a few universal truths at school—the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and breathing is an involuntary and automatic process. But not all breaths are made equal, and just because we’re doing it constantly, doesn’t mean we’re doing it right.

Breathing Is the Hot New Wellness Trend

Breathing. For us humans it’s automatic. You stop breathing, you’re dead. We don’t need to even think about doing it. Or do we? Think about the way our breathing changes throughout the day – the long slow breaths we take as we wake up and yawn, the rapid gulps for air during a morning workout, or even the way we pant uncontrollably during sex. We slow our breathing down to alleviate pain and distress. It’s not such a jump to wonder: Could we lead better, calmer lives if we could control our breathing?

Breathwork 101: A Comprehensive Guide to the Practice and Benefits of Controlled Breathing

By becoming conscious of our breath, we can reduce stress, improve our sleep, and even tap into our inner wisdom and creativity.

Breathwork Can Help Your Mental Fog

Maybe you were nervous, agitated, or anxious; maybe you were crying or upset. Either way, at some point in your life, someone has told you to “just breathe.” It may seem obvious, but it helps. Breathing consciously has been shown to have profound benefits for your physical and mental health. In addition to regulating the nervous system and reducing stress, breathing mindfully can improve mental focus, promote self-esteem, enhance performance, and increase creativity.

Can 4-7-8 Breathing Really Help You Fall Asleep Faster?

Short answer: Yes. And that's not the only benefit of this simple technique.

For Better Well-Being, Just Breathe

Breathing holds up compared with other reputable well-being practices. In a 2020 randomized controlled trial, my Yale colleagues and I assigned stressed undergraduates to either a control group, a group that practiced SKY breathing, one that did mindfulness meditation, or one that learned skills to improve emotional intelligence. SKY showed more statistically significant benefits for mental health and well-being than the other interventions. Perhaps that’s because breathing is not mainly a self-awareness practice—it actively relaxes your physiological state.

How changing the way you breathe can improve your brain and body

You do it 20,000 times a day—but are you doing it right?

How one hour of slow breathing changed my life

An introductory breathing class fixed my sleep and left me calmer than ever. It took me years to find out why.

How The 'Lost Art' Of Breathing Can Impact Sleep And Resilience

The nose filters, heats and treats raw air. Most of us know that. But so many of us don't realize — at least I didn't realize — how [inhaling through the nose] can trigger different hormones to flood into our bodies, how it can lower our blood pressure ... how it monitors heart rate ... even helps store memories. So it's this incredible organ that ... orchestrates innumerable functions in our body to keep us balanced.

How to Start—And Stick to—A Breathwork Practice

A large body of research confirms the benefits of slow rhythmic breathing: a lighter mood, reduced feelings of stress, and improved glucose and cortisol levels, says Patel. Some of these findings hold true even after just one session.

Just Breathe: Body Has A Built-In Stress Reliever

There are plenty of ways to relieve stress -- exercise, a long soak in a hot bath, or even a massage. But believe it or not, something you're doing right now, probably without even thinking about it, is a proven stress reliever: breathing. Of course, breathing is not the answer to every medical problem. But Benson and others agree: The breath isn't something Western medicine should blow off. It's a powerful tool for influencing individual health and well-being. And the best part is all the ingredients are free and literally right under your nose.

Manage Your Stress and Anxiety With Lucid Breathing

Many experts praise breathwork as a powerful treatment for physical, mental, and even emotional health problems. Specifically, more people are becoming familiar with deliberate breathing, also often called conscious breathing, which is really just bringing more awareness to your breath.

The science is clear: Deep breathing can be a game changer for anyone. Elite athletes agree

Inhale. Exhale. If anyone had stumbled into the room at that moment, it might have looked a little odd — a little new-age or crunchy, a little woo woo, a group of NFL defensive backs breathing slowly in the darkness. But the intention, Merritt said, was for his players to recognize the value of consciously controlling their breath, to understand the tools that would allow them to calm their autonomic nervous system and enter a parasympathetic state.

Why Deep Breathing May Keep Us Calm

For generations, mothers have encouraged children to take long, slow breaths to fight anxiety. A long tradition of meditation likewise uses controlled breathing to induce tranquillity. Now scientists at Stanford University may have uncovered for the first time why taking deep breaths can be so calming. The research, on a tiny group of neurons deep within the brains of mice, also underscores just how intricate and pervasive the links are within our body between breathing, thinking, behaving and feeling.

‘Moon Breathing’ Is Said to Help Beat Insomnia. So What Exactly Is It?

Moon breathing (also known as moon piercing breath or chandra bhedana) is an ancient yogic technique that involves regulating your breathing pattern to help you nod off. In a nutshell: “You close off the right nostril and inhale through the left,” explains yoga teacher Gemma Nice. The thinking behind it is that “the left nostril is thought to help calm the parasympathetic nervous system (your rest and digest responses) rather than fight or flight which is the sympathetic nervous system,” says Nice.

Resources

5 Deep Breathing Exercises to Try When You Really Need a Minute

Deep breathing exercises are commonly recommended for achieving calmness and relaxation, and they’re one of the simplest things you can do to make a world of difference. Yes, we’re saying that simply breathing can help you feel less stressed sometimes.

Pocket Breath Coach

Controlled Breathing for Anxiety (4-4-4-4). Anxiety can make your breathing quick and shallow, keeping your body tense. Slow, controlled breathing exercises help break the cycle and signal your body to relax. The 4-4-4-4 breathing technique — also known as Box Breathing — is one of the easiest and most effective controlled breathing techniques for calming the nervous system. Here’s how it works: Inhale gently through your nose for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 4 seconds, exhale slowly for 4 seconds, Hold again for 4 seconds