The Power of Breath: Unlocking Wellness Through Breathing

In our fast-paced, stress-filled world, we often take one of our most powerful tools for granted—our breath. Breathing is more than just a biological function; it's a gateway to better mental and physical health. Simple yet profound, breathwork techniques can help reduce stress, lower blood pressure, improve focus, and even boost energy levels. Whether you're looking to calm an anxious mind, enhance athletic performance, or improve sleep, conscious breathing can be a game-changer. In this blog, we'll explore the science behind breathwork and how harnessing the power of your breath can transform your well-being.

Just Breathe

Below I list out 6 simple and quick Breathing Exercise's for grounding, reducing anxiety and stress.

Diaphragmatic (Belly) Breathing

Simple to practice, but essential for ‘proper deep breathing’. This exercise encourages full oxygen exchange and calms the mind.

Steps:

1. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position.

2. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly.

3. Inhale deeply through your nose, ensuring your belly rises more than your chest.

4. Exhale slowly through your mouth, feeling your belly fall.

5. Repeat for 5 minutes.

Extended Exhale Breathing focuses on a longer exhale calms the body and activates the parasympathetic nervous system.

Steps:

1. Inhale deeply for 4 seconds.

2. Exhale slowly for 6–8 seconds. Just ensure your exhale is longer, ideally double your inhale.

3. Repeat for 5 minutes.

Physiological sigh or Cyclic breathing

The physiological sigh, also known as Cyclic is a breathing technique that involves inhaling deeply twice in a row, then exhaling fully through the mouth. It can help reduce stress, improve mood, sleep and mental health. Some say that the physiological sigh is effective in reducing stress symptoms within seconds. You can try performing the physiological sigh a few times to reduce stress. 

Here's how to perform a physiological sigh:

1. Inhale deeply through your nose half way, pause, then take a second, deeper breath to fill your lungs. 

2. Hold the combined breath for a moment, then slowly exhale through your mouth. The exhale should be gentle and last about twice as long as the inhales. 

3. Repeat the cycle three times or as desired. 

The physiological sigh can help reduce stress by:

• Cyclic sighing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which can help you relax and calm down. It can also lower your heart rate and respiration rate. 

• Increasing lung surface area: Inhaling twice reinflates collapsed alveoli, which increases the surface area of the lungs. 

• Removing CO2: Inhaling twice helps remove CO2 from the body more efficiently. 

• Slowing heart rate: Exhaling long activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which sends signals to the brain to slow the heart rate. 

Box Breathing

Box breathing is a deep breathing technique that can help reduce stress and improve mood, very good for moment of acute stress or anxiety, even panic attacks. Box breathing can help you move out of the body's fight-or-flight state and into the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for rest and digestion. It involves breathing in, holding your breath, breathing out, and holding your breath again, in a pattern that's repeated:

1. Inhale slowly to a count of four.

2. Hold your breath for a count of four.

3. Exhale slowly and steadily through your mouth, counting to four.

4. Hold your breath again for a count of four.

5. Repeat until you feel more in control.

Here are some tips for box breathing:

• You can start with counting to two or three seconds if four seconds is too much. 

• To help you focus, you can practice in a quiet, dimly lit space. Sitting up straight with your eye closed.

• You can visualise a box, with each count representing one side of the box. 

• You can try silently repeating an affirmation in sync with your breath. 

• If you get dizzy, sit for a minute and resume normal breathing. 

  
  

4 - 7 - 8 method

The 4-7-8 breathing method is a breathing technique very similar to box breathing, that can help reduce anxiety and stress. Popularised by Dr. Andrew Weil, an integrative medicine specialist, based on pranayama, an ancient yogic practice that focuses on breath regulation  may help people fall asleep and reduce stress in a moment or after a moment of acute anxiety:

The 4-7-8 breathing technique involves breathing in for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 7 seconds, and exhaling for 8 seconds.

Steps: 

1.      Inhale quietly through your nose for a count of four

2.      hold your breath for a count of seven

3.      exhale forcefully through your mouth for a count of eight 

Here are some tips for doing the 4-7-8 breathing method:

• Sit comfortably with a straight back

• Repeat up to three more times for a total of four rounds

• Make a “whoosh” sound as you exhale 

Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadi Shodhana)

Alternate Nostril Breathing, or Nadi Shodhana, comes from the ancient practice of Pranayama. This practice balances the nervous system, clears the mind, improves focus, detoxifies the body and helps regulate breathing.

Modern studies suggest Nadi Shodhana reduces sympathetic nervous system activity (associated with the "fight or flight" response) and increases vagal tone, improving heart rate variability and overall relaxation.

Steps:

1. Sit comfortably with your spine straight.

2. Decide which hand you will use to alternate closing your nostrils with.

3. Close your right nostril with your thumb and inhale through your left nostril. Filling your belly / lungs with air.

4. Close your left nostril with your ring finger and slowly exhale through your right nostril.

5. Inhale through your right nostril, close it, and exhale through your left.

6. Repeat this cycle for 5–10 minutes.

Humming Bee Breath, or the ‘Voo’ Breath (Bhramari)

Bhramari Pranayama, or Humming Bee Breath, is named after the bhramara (black bee in Sanskrit) due to the humming sound produced during exhalation. It also has roots in ancient Indian yoga.

This practice stimulates the parasympathetic activity which helps reduce anxiety and stress, enhances focus and memory, improves mood, relieves tension. The vibrations calm the mind, fostering mental clarity and sharper cognition. Science shows that the vibrations enhance the activation of the vagus nerve, directly lowering stress levels and increasing relaxation.

Steps:

1. Sit comfortably, closing your eyes and ears with your fingers.

2. Take a deep breath in through your nose.

3. While exhaling, hum gently, or create a strong ‘Vooooo’ sounds from your mouth, which creates a vibrating sound.

4. After you have emptied your belly / lungs, sit quietly to feel the sensation of vibration coursing through your body.

5. Repeat for 5 cycles