How to Incorporate Breathing into Your Daily Stress-Reduction Routine
Anyone Can Benefit from the Therapeutic Benefits of a Simple Breath-Work Practice
Did you know the average human being takes approximately 23,000 breaths per day…23,000! Take a moment to ask yourself how many of those 23,000 breaths you pay attention to…one? Ten…on a good day? None?
Now ask yourself how many of those breaths you use to help regulate cortisol (aka stress hormone) levels? How many of those breaths do you use to reset and refocus? How many of those breaths do you use to ease the anxiety of the over-active mind?
It’s likely you’re not giving our most basic life-force its due in its ability to help you in your day-to-day life. Yes, if you ceased to breathe you’d cease to live but the breath can be so much more than that — a secret weapon, a tool to combat that evil demon we all know far too well: stress.
Let’s Get Started
Start right now with taking a few deep breaths…right now! Take air in through the nose, pay attention to the air: the quality of the air as it travels in through the sinuses and down the throat to fill up the belly, lungs and chest like a cup of fresh water being poured into a glass. Now press your belly-button to your spine forcing the air to be expelled: belly, lungs, chest, up and out through the throat and nose. Repeat this process twice more. It will take 30 seconds, do it. No excuses. Maybe even close the eyes to allow the mind to focus inward if you feel comfortable. Next, pause for a moment. Ask yourself, “How do I feel?”
Chances are you feel more relaxed. You’ve allowed more oxygen to infiltrate your blood sending it’s precious resources to your brain and muscles cuing your mind and body to lower your heart rate, regulate your blood pressure, reduce cortisol levels and stimulate the lymphatic system (which is in control of detoxification). With the benefits being undeniably positive, I wonder why we don’t take “Breath-Breaks” at work to replace the out-dated “Smoke Break.”
Set a reminder on your phone or computer. Get in the habit of taking 3 deep breaths every time you have to take your daily medication. Start and end each day with 3 deep, relaxing breaths and once you’ve begun to reap the benefits of simply noticing and indulging in the breath several times a day, start to take the next step and try this basic breath work that I’m about to introduce to you: Equal-Part Breathing or Sama Vritti.
Equal-Part Breathing or Sama Vritti in Sanskrit (which literally translates to equal fluctuations) is a simple but potent practice in which we inhale, hold the breath, exhale and hold the breath for equal counts. In the below step-by-step explanation, we’ll use a 4-count.
Step-By-Step Equal-Part Breathing Guide
Step 1: Find a straight spine. Whether sitting up, standing or lying down be sure the legs and arms are uncrossed and the spine is as straight as possible from sacrum (where the spine meets the pelvis) to the crown of the head. It helps for me to imagine a bright light or string running up my spine and out the top of my head. Slightly tuck the chin so that the back of the neck lengthens and isn’t crunched.
Step 2: Hand placement. Be intentional with how you choose to position the hands. Palms down will create more of a grounding sensation. Palms up offer surrender and openness to whatever the breath work may bring. If you’re brand new to breath work I recommend placing one hand on the belly and one hand over the heart to help pull focus inward. Paying attention to how the hands rise and fall in this position can give you a lot of information about how your body is working to help you breathe fully and deeply.
Step 3: Close the eyes if you feel comfortable doing so or invite a gentle gaze somewhere on the ground not too far in front of you. Set a count (in this example, we are using a 4-count) with a pace or tempo that feels comfortable and attainable. I suggest beginning with a 4 or 5-count. As you become more advanced challenge yourself to a 6, 8 or even 10 count.
Step 4: Exhale to the bottom of your lungs. Take a deep inhale and then press the belly-button to the spine to deeply push out any stale, old, trapped air. The next inhale will be the first 4-count, the official beginning of the Sama Vritti practice.
Step 5: Inhale for a 4-count (or whatever count you decided to set for yourself).
Step 6: Seal up the breath and hold the air in for a 4-count. Pay attention to what it feels like to have the breath trapped and circulating inside the body.
Step 7: Exhale for a 4-count. Try to concentrate on allowing the breath to release for all 4 counts. Try not to push all of the air out immediately within the first count or two. You also want to try to completely empty all the air in the lungs within the set count (4-count in this example). It takes some practice to get the hang of controlling the exhale. Be patient with yourself!
Step 8 (optional): Hold out the exhale for a 4-count. Add this step in when you feel ready, it is quite a bit more advanced. Pay attention to what it feels like to hold all the air out — a full lack of breath. Getting used to this feeling can be difficult. The body may want to panic due to the lack of air. See if you can use the mind to let the body know it’s okay while you pay attention to what holding out the breath feels like.
Step 9: Repeat Steps 5–7 (or 8) for a minimum of 3 rounds however you can practice this type of breath for as long or as often as you like.
Step 10: Reap the benefits! Return to a regular breath when finished and allow yourself to take a moment to absorb how differently you may feel, how nourished and relaxed the body may be from having taken this time for yourself.
Take a deep breath! Heck, take three — it’s okay. The benefits of deep breathing are vast…calming the nervous system, easing anxiety, decreasing stress hormone levels and resetting your focus to name only a few. With 23,000 opportunities each day to take a deep breath, decide to make the small amount of time necessary to participate in this simple self-care routine. Your mind and body will thank you. And I thank you for taking the time out of your day for reading this article about breath-work and challenging yourself to become a little better every day.
Questions? Drop us a line at Prosperous Yoga NYC.
Tara Lawton is a female entrepreneur and founder of Prosperous Yoga in Brooklyn, NYC. She provides personalized yoga instruction for corporate clients, small businesses and individuals as well as community outreach yoga and meditation programs in New York City.
