Breathing techniques for physical and mental peace

Living is the most basic human instinct. We all breathe in and out to live, we do it involuntarily. But do you know that there are different ways of breathing? Have you ever heard about the emotional, mental and physical effects of bad breathing? Today, we are going on a serene journey with breathing techniques for physical and mental peace. 

Imagine that an angry bear is chasing you from behind. In this situation, you take fast breaths, your chest goes up and down more, you make more effort to breathe. This is called chest breathing. Chest breathing activates the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the fight-or-flight response that is activated in case of danger, stress or threat. Chest breathing does not fully utilize the lungs and sometimes causes hyperventilation.

It's impossible to say that chest breathing is bad, because it's chest breathing that allows you to escape that bear chasing you or to get through those challenging exercises. However, sometimes unnecessary chest breathing can make you feel more tense and stressed.

How do you breathe after doing something relaxing? Most likely you breathe slowly, with less effort and by sending the breath into your abdomen. This is called diaphragmatic breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which allows you to relax, the opposite of the fight-or-flight response.

Diaphragmatic breathing or abdominal breathing is very beneficial for both mind and body. On the other hand, diaphragmatic breathing has also been scientifically proven to help combat post-traumatic stress disorder, pain, depression and anxiety.

If you feel that you sometimes take chest breaths when it is unnecessary or if you want to improve your diaphragmatic breathing, lie on your back on a flat surface. Breathe in through your nose and visualize the journey of the air from the moment it enters you. Notice the slow rise of your abdomen and the equally slow descent as you exhale.

You can do this little exercise to calm yourself down and help your mind to think things through more clearly when you are feeling down. If you want to breathe more deeply, you can also try this.

This is actually a simple technique that you can do anytime, anywhere. Sit or lie down somewhere. Allow yourself to breathe in and out naturally for a few seconds. Then, when you feel ready, slowly breathe in through your nose, feeling your belly fill completely.

Perhaps closing your eyes while doing this can help you to go deeper. Once your belly is completely full, wait 1 second and exhale slowly through your mouth or nose. Notice that your belly is gradually lowering. If you like, you can place your hands on your belly and feel the subtle movement of the breath through your body. Repeat this at least 8 times.

In this technique, which aims to fill your belly with more breath, inhale through your nose for 4 steps, hold your breath for 7 steps and exhale for 8 steps. This helps to calm you down and deepen your breathing.