After looking over multiple research studies, I’ve identified three types of breath that are statistically proven to soften the effects of stress on your body.All three of them are very easy to do. As you practice them, remember thatfinding ease and relaxation in your body is the goal. If you feel your stress response kick in, back off a bit or try a different breath.Try these three different breaths to find the one that feels the most gratifying to you:
The Belly Breath
According to thisresearch: “Diaphragmatic breathing [belly breathing] involves contraction of the diaphragm, expansion of the belly, and deepening of inhalation and exhalation.” Participants attended 20 Belly Breath sessions over 8 weeks whichresulted in significantly lower cortisol (stress) levels and significantly higher sustained attention rates than the control group.
How to: Find your spine straight and long, whether sitting, standing, or lying down. Begin breathing into the chest, then continue filling your lungs with air as if you were filling your belly up with air like a balloon. Relax the abdominal muscles and allow your belly to push out. This is how I teach it to kids, but it works great with adults, too: Lying down, put something light like a notebook or small pillowon your belly + watch it go up and down. Do this for as few as 5 breaths, or up to 5 minutes.
The 2:1 Breath
According to thisresearch:“In 2:1 breathing,exhalation time is twice of inhalation.” Patients with hypertension practiced this 2:1 breath 10-14minutes per day for 3 months, which resultedin a statistically significant reduction of blood pressure, heart rate, and other stress response indicators.
How to:Find a position with your spine straight and long, whether sitting, standing, or lying down. Breathe out to a mental count of 6, the breathe in to a mental count of 3.You can use any ratio of 2:1 that feels relaxing to you. Do this as little as 5 rounds of breath, or if you want to reap the effects of the research study,up to 7 minutes twice perday.
The Sighing Breath
It turns out the sigh you emit that often comes after frustration or sadness is crucial to human existence. It helps to regulate breathing by triggering a huge-volume breath followed by a pause and was found to significantly decrease the stress responsein anxiety-prone individuals.
How to:Find a position with your spine straight and long, whether sitting, standing, or lying down. Take a slow and deep breath in, then let it all go with a big sigh. You can experiment with different exhalation sounds, quiet and loud, to find the breath that gives you the most relief. Do this sighing breath three to seven times.
PS- In response to my mother-in-love’s text, I wondered if her body was telling her something by letting out big breaths instead of “calm” ones. Isuggested she try theSighing Breath to see if it felt better.She loves it and feels much more comfortable! Pay attention to how your body responds to each breath, and be open to the idea that your breath may be telling you what your body needs!
