Breathe Your Way to Wellness: 5 Easy Exercises for Mind and Body

“If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip, it would be to simply learn how to breathe correctly.”

— Dr. Andrew Weil

It can be a mind-blowing concept that simply breathing effectively can improve our overall health and longevity, with a good chance of preventing a large number of illnesses. Though, is it truly that mind-blowing when you think about it? 

It’s no biologic secret that the human body cannot live without oxygen. If our oxygen supply is cut off, we would die in about 5 minutes; our brain begins to suffer damage in about 1 minute flat. Every cell in our body is counting on its most crucial nutrient — oxygen, delivered by both breath and water on a consistent basis. With breathing having been programmed into our autonomic nervous system, we inhale and exhale mostly without thinking. Our automatic breathing pattern depends largely on our habits and conditioning. After prolonged periods of stress, or if we live day to day in chronic stress, our breaths can become constricted and incoherent (or short and shallow) whether we are aware of it or not, therefore not serving the most crucial function — supplying oxygen to our body. The Hindus didn’t refer to the breath (prana) as Life Force without reason.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the detriment this can bring to the body as well as our mind. As a result, we may not sleep as deeply, think as clearly, and not function optimally as a whole. Not taking slow rhythmic breaths puts our body in survival (or fight or flight mode) which compromises all systems to some degree. Fortunately, we can practice mindful breathing to rectify stress-induced automatic breathing patterns. 

There’s a multitude of breathing exercises you can adopt to help address specific needs, for just about anything body, mind, and soul. Here are 5 techniques below to get you started on the journey of breathing your way to optimum health. They are simple yet trusted by yogis and wellness practitioners all over the world.

Box Breathing

Benefits: Calms anxiety, lowers heart rate and blood pressure, promotes whole body relaxation

Frequency: As needed

Also known as square breathing, because of its uniformed 4-second time counts for each inhale and exhale. This fundamental technique is used by high-pressure professionals, such as the U.S. Navy Seals to quickly calm down the nervous system and get out of the fight or flight MO. The exercise is simple:

1. Breathe in for 4 seconds

2. Hold the breath for 4 seconds

3. Breathe out for 4 seconds

4. Hold the breath for 4 seconds

5. Repeat

This technique works rather quickly and you should feel results in a matter of minutes. You can extend your counts as your breathing becomes longer and deeper with practice. 

Note: I personally like to exhale and hold at the end of the exhale for 2 seconds longer than the inhale.

True story: I was at the office of a Doctor of Chinese Medicine once and he was taking my pulse. When he mentioned my heart rate was faster than normal, I began box breathing without telling him. About 2 minutes later, he returned to take my pulse again and was surprised that my heart rate had returned to normal.

Alternate Nostril Breathing 

Benefits: Increases mindfulness, reduces anxiety, improves memory and motor functions, promotes whole body relaxation

Frequency: Regularly

A yogi’s favorite, this breathing technique improves brain function by balancing and connecting the left and right hemispheres of the brain. That means, with regular practice, you can expect better hand-eye coordination as well as less brain fog over time. The practice itself will instantly calm and focus your mind, and increase overall awareness and inner peace. Here’s how to perform alternate nostril breathing:

1. Close your eyes. Using your right hand, rest your forefinger and middle finger gently on your forehead.

2. Gently close your right nostril with your thumb, then inhale through your left nostril.

3. Pause the breath. Release your thumb and gently close your left nostril with your ring finger. Exhale through your right nostril.

4. Gently inhale through your right nostril.

5. Pause the breath. Release your ring finger and gently close your right nostril with your thumb. Exhale through your left nostril.

6. Repeat steps 2-5.

Note: As you inhale and exhale, be as slow and gentle as possible with your breaths and try to feel the air going in and out of each nostril.

Full Diaphragmatic Breathing 

Benefits: Promotes spine mobility, builds lung capacity, reduces stress and anxiety, promotes whole body relaxation

Frequency: Regularly

Another favorite of the yogis, full diaphragmatic breathing is one of the first techniques you will learn in yoga and meditation. It is an innate technique our body already knows but has forgotten due to our modern way of living. Because many of us are conditioned to sit at our desks every day for long periods of time, our body often hunches over with our arms extended forward, taking quick and shallow breaths through the chest. Our diaphragm becomes deactivated, losing its function over time.

The diaphragm is one of the most important muscles of the body. Shaped like an upside-down bowl right below the rib cage, it functions like an air pump that pushes air all the way up to the lungs, as well as manually moving the spine to increase its flexibility and mobility. As you can imagine, our body would be quite a mess if our diaphragm wasn’t doing its job.

This breathing exercise serves the important task of keeping the diaphragm activated to fill and expand our lungs with air. While there are a few variations of the technique, the one I will share here is one I personally use from working with yoga teachers, physical therapists, doctors, and energy practitioners over the years. Here are the simple steps below:

1. Find your diaphragm first by placing your right hand below your rib cage and slightly above your belly.

2. Take a deep breath slowly and mindfully in through your diaphragm filling it up all the way, and bring that same fullness to your chest, then upper chest, gradually filling up your entire upper body.

3. Exhale slowly and completely, emptying all the air out of your lungs and diaphragm.

4. Repeat inhaling and exhaling slowly and rhythmically, keeping your spine and muscles relaxed and releasing any rigidity, allowing your breaths to move the spine naturally.

Breath of Fire

Benefits: Cultivates energy and vitality, releases toxins and blockages, increases confidence and personal power, promotes whole body relaxation 

Frequency: As needed

A go-to breathing technique by kundalini yoga practitioners, the Breath of Fire is a powerful and intense practice where the primary action is focused on the exhale of the breath while the inhale is passive. If you are feeling sluggish, stuck, or lacking motivation, this is the exercise for you.

Like its name suggests, this technique generates an “inner flame” so to speak that moves you into an action state rather than stagnation, mentally and physically. You will start to feel an immediate difference, with just a couple minutes of practice (if you last that long). Beginners typically start with 30-second durations at a time and work their way up to 3 minutes or more. Here’s step-by-step instructions on how to perform the Breath of Fire:

1. Sit in an upright position, crossing your legs in lotus position if you can to keep your spine straight but not locked.

2. First, take a slow deep inhale, then exhale, relax your entire body except to keep your abdominal muscles engaged.

3. Keep your mouth closed and begin contracting your upper belly (diaphragm) and force an exhale through your nose (you should hear an audible sound through the nose each time you exhale).

4. Without pausing between each exhale, continue the motion of contracting and releasing the belly to force exhales through the nose for the entire duration of your practice.

Note: Keep consistent and rhythmic breaths of exhaling and inhaling without tightening up the rest of the body. Beginners of this practice may feel some lightheadedness or anxiousness at first. If you have a medical condition or are pregnant, please consult with a healthcare professional first before engaging in this practice.

Qi-Gong Breathing 

Benefits: Cultivates vitality and longevity, promotes blood circulation, boosts stamina, increases focus and concentration

Frequency: Daily

Qi-gong (chi-gong), or sometimes referred to as Nei-gong, is a general term to describe the practice of inner Qi (or energy), originated from China to regulate and strengthen energy and vitality. It has been widely practiced by martial artists in China for thousands of years. Qi-gong experts can achieve full control of their energy and direct it to any part of their body. And this practice begins with the breath.

While there are many different breathing techniques from different martial arts branches, ranging from traditional to modified, their goal is the same, and it requires focus, concentration and consistency to obtain. The one I will share here is a more traditional breathing technique often taught by Taiji practitioners:

1. Stand with feet hip width apart, with knees slightly bent, shoulders relaxed and arms at your sides.

2. Breathe deep into your lower belly from the pelvic floor, allowing your energy to accumulate.

3. As you continue with your deep inhalation, direct your energy (and feel it) rise up slowly from the lower belly up the abdomen, chest, throat, and all the way to your upper forehead.

4. Rest your breath at the top of your forehead briefly, then exhale slowly and return your breath down from forehead, throat, chest, abdomen, all the way to the pelvic floor, where it all began.

5. Repeat and practice this breath consistently every day. 

Note: I have heard of a guideline to practice this breath the same number of repetitions as your age each day, but the more important takeaway from that class was to be consistent with this practice and try not to skip a day if you are committed to increasing your vitality and longevity. 

I hope the above 5 breathing exercises will get you started on the path of getting to know your own life force more intimately. Not only will they increase your physical energy and enhance overall health and well-being, you will end up with noticeable self-awareness, mental clarity, and inner calm as a wonderful byproduct. That is a remarkable amount of benefits you could reap just from a few minutes of conscious breathing each day.

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