Which breathing technique is the best for me?
Breath is literally your life source, don’t underestimate the power of focusing on your breath. When you can control your breath, you can control your thoughts. When you can control your thoughts, you can be thoughtful about your actions. Think about how powerful that is!
Quiz created by Elmain from the 2, 3_breathe life
Based on a 2020 article by Julie Krupp from the Enhanced Perspective
Do you pay attention to your breathing during your day-to-day activities?
What emotion or mental state causes you to hold your breath and clench your jaw instinctively?
Have you ever been in a situation where you started hyperventilating?
What do you do when you catch yourself holding your breath or starting to breathe faster?
Which of the following do you feel causes most of you stress and anxiety?
What therapy do you feel is most beneficial to you, body and mind?
7. On a scale of 1(lowest) to 4(highest), what is your stress levels like on a typical day?
What do you currently do to relieve stress?
What type of getaway makes you feel calm and peaceful?
How would you describe your mental wellbeing at the moment?
Yoga Breath for Mindfulness & Centering
A yoga breath is a deep, slow inhalation and exhalation.
Lengthen your spine, close your eyes, and come into your space.
Inhale filling your lower abdomen, upper abdomen, lower chest, upper chest, throat, face, top of your head – everything is expanded, pause at full for a moment.
Exhale in reverse from top of the head, face, throat, upper chest, lower chest, upper abdomen, lower abdomen – everything is contracted, pause at empty for moment.
Repeat for at least three rounds in total.
Box Breath for Calibrating Yourself & Tuning Into Your Internal Rhythm
Begin the box breath by selecting a number. Suppose you select 3, you will inhale for a count of 3, hold at the top of the inhalation for 3 heartbeats, exhale for a count of 3, hold at the bottom of the exhalation for 3 heartbeats.
Keep following this box breath, equal inhalations, pauses for heartbeats and exhalations for at least three iterations. Play with with different counts to see what feels the most natural or soothing for you.
Reflecting for a moment, when was the last time you felt your own heartbeat, your own internal rhythm? When you control your breath and tune into your heartbeat, you are calibrating yourself, bringing yourself back to a neutral point.
Relaxation Breath to Reduce Tension
This exercise chooses a 5 heartbeat pause because 5 represents change.
Deep inhale and pause for 5 heartbeats… Exhale all the tension from your jaw.
Deep inhale and pause for 5 heartbeats… Exhale all the tension from your eyes.
Deep inhale and pause for 5 heartbeats… Exhale all the tension from your shoulders.
Deep inhale and pause for 5 heartbeats… Exhale all the tension from your hips.
Deep inhale and pause for 5 heartbeats… Exhale all the tension from your body.
Inhale white light and pause for 5 heartbeats… Exhale white light
Love in Your Heart Breath for Dealing with Difficult People
Inhale, thinking of someone who you are grateful for, pause… Exhale, send love to that person.
Inhale, thinking of someone who challenges you, pause… Exhale, send love to that person.
Inhale, thinking of someone else who challenges you, pause… Exhale, send love to that person.
Inhale, thinking of someone who you are grateful for, pause… Exhale, send love to that person.
Inhale, thinking of someone who brings you joy, pause… Exhale, send love to that person.
Happiness Breath to Improve Mood
This exercise chooses a 3 heartbeat pause because 3 represents joy.
Inhale happiness, pause 3 heartbeats
Exhale gratitude, pause 3 heartbeats
Inhale gratitude, pause 3 heartbeats
Exhale optimism, pause 3 heartbeats
Inhale optimism, pause 3 heartbeats
Exhale happiness, pause 3 heartbeats
Repeat as needed.
Target Breath for Health concerns
When you have health concerns, breathe into the area and determine exactly where it is located in your body. If you have pain in your back for example, breathe into that space on your back.
Consider the space that you identify as problematic as a grid. Can you isolate where the concern is coming from in the grid, which square exactly? If you can, zoom into that square with your breath and consider that smaller space you identified as a problem, as a new grid. Repeat.
After a few zoom ins, you may not be able to locate the concern. Our body uses signs to get our attention, but like a child, it doesn’t always have something to say. It just wanted our attention.
If after several zoom ins you are still in concerned, you have checked in and determined more precisely where it is emanating from. This detail may give you or your doctor better information for treatment.
Work with this tool if it resonates with you. Like anything, it doesn’t work 100% of the time, but I am always grateful when it does.
Rainbow Breath for Becoming Comfortable with Change, Improved Mood, Centering & Mindfulness
This exercise chooses a 5 heartbeat pause because 5 represents change.
Inhale red, hold for five heartbeats as the red transforms to orange.
Exhale orange, hold for five heartbeats as orange transforms to yellow.
Inhale yellow, hold for five heartbeats as yellow transforms to green.
Exhale green, hold for five heartbeats as green transforms to blue.
Inhale blue, hold for five heartbeats as blue transforms to indigo.
Exhale indigo, hold for five heartbeats as indigo transforms to violet.
Inhale violet, hold for five heartbeats as violet transforms to white light.
Exhale white light, hold for five heartbeats.
Tune into any colors that serve you now, inhale and exhale these colors for several breaths at your own pace.
