Breathwork

Forms of Breathing

• Cyclic Sighing: (source)
  • Daily 5-minute breathwork and mindfulness meditation improve mood and reduce anxiety
  • Breathwork improves mood and physiological arousal more than mindfulness meditation
  • Cyclic sighing is most effective at improving mood and reducing respiratory rate
• Psychological Sigh: (source)
  • “A kill switch for your stress response”
  • Two short inhales through the nose
  • One long exhale through the mouth
  • Repeat one to three times
• 10 deep breaths during moments of anxiety

Over time, shallow breathing limits the range of our diaphragms and lung capacity. The result is the high-shouldered, chest-out, neck-extended posture and other respiratory problems - Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art

• Square Breathing
  • 4 Second Inhale, 4 Second Hold, 4 Second Exhale, 4 Second Hold
• Wim Hoff Method (source)
  • Just watch this 11 minute video and follow along.
  • Inhale fully and exhale partially 30 times.
  • Inhale slowly and hold as long as you can. Exhale slowly.
  • Inhale and hold for 10-15 seconds. Exhale slowly.
  • Repeat 3-5 times.

Other fun facts

• Exhaling is calming, inhaling activates alertness. Any breath pattern that has more exhaling generally calms you down.
• Breathing through the left nostril increases the activity in the right side of the brain while breathing through the right nostril stimulates the left side of the brain. (source)