5 Fabulous Breathing Exercises For Every Day Life

One balances the mind. One opens up the heart. One supercharges the body. One harmonies the nervous system. And one generates life-force energy. You ready?

Image by pollianapoltronieri from Pixabay

Depending on what your breathing habits are like, you’ll breathe anywhere between 15,000–20,000 breaths per day. But how many of those breaths are breathed with awareness?

This blog is all about focusing on a small fraction of those few thousand breaths that you breathe every day to regulate, harmonise, ease tension, and create more flow in life.

Now, because the breath can either speed up or slow down, it can be a fantastic ally for almost any situation, circumstance, and/or effect.

Its simplicity is its power.

I’ve carefully selected these five breathing exercises because they’re what I use in my own life and because they all serve a slightly different purpose. So, depending on what you need throughout your day, at least one of them can be helpful and support you.

So, let’s see what’s on offer, shall we?

Calming exercise

Box Breathing

Box breathing is a technique that is great for building emotional resilience, relieving stress, and creating a calm inner state.

It has gained tremendous popularity in recent years ever since the Navy SEALs revealed it’s what they use to relieve stress in intense situations.

1. Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds

2. Hold your breath at the top for 4 seconds

3. Breathe out through your nose for 4 seconds

4. Hold your breath at the bottom for 4 seconds

5. This is one complete round

6. Continue for as long as comfortable

7. Increase the number of seconds you breathe in and out and hold (5 or 6 seconds, for example) to further deepen the experience if it feels right to do so.

Or alternatively, you can follow along with a guided version below.

Open Up the Heart

Rhythmical breathing

This exercise I try and do as much as I can throughout the day. With an open heart and a relaxed nervous system, I find myself more open, calm, and creative.

1. Breathe in through your nose (smoothly and without force) for 4 seconds

2. Breathe out through your nose or mouth (smoothly and without force) for 4 seconds

3. Leave no pause at the top of the inhale or at the bottom of the exhale

4. Continue up to 5 minutes or 40 breaths

5. Finish by holding your breath in for as long as comfortable

6. Return to normal breathing.

If you find that four seconds is too long, try breathing in for two seconds and out for two seconds instead, or in for three seconds and out for three seconds until your breath naturally relaxes.

Then extend your breath once you feel more at ease.

Try not to judge or wish for your breath to be different here, just allow it to naturally soften as you continue to relax and observe.

As long as you’re breathing in a consistent rhythm without force, any rhythm is good. Your heart will know what to do next so it will naturally follow your lead and become coherent.

Then all the health benefits that are associated with heart coherence will open themselves up for you to receive.

Get creative

Hold It

This practice is fantastic for harnessing the breath’s life-force energy and it’s one of my favourite ways to start the day.

It’s based on the Wim Hof method but the one I love has been adapted by Soma Breath.

Are you ready?

1. Find a nice comfortable position lying down

2. Relax your hands and feet, allowing your soles and palms to face up to the sky

3. Breathe in smoothly, deeply, and fully through your nose

4. Exhale fully through your nose or mouth, emptying all the air out

5. Continue for 40 breaths

6. Then inhale deeply and hold for as long as possible

7. While holding your breath, bring your attention to your third eye and visualise something you wish to manifest

8. Connect to the feeling of what it would be like to have “it” already (appreciation, gratitude, love, and excitement are beautiful emotions to cultivate here)

9. Then, when you can’t hold your breath any longer, exhale fully and hold no breath for 10–20 seconds

10. Repeat twice more (total of 3 rounds)

11. Relax and meditate

Find balance

While exploring pranayama exercises thousands of years ago our ancient yogic ancestors in the Himalayan mountains discovered that the body has a natural rhythm which alternates from side to side every 90 minutes or so.

During these 90-minute cycles, one side of the nose is more dominant than the other.

Now, where this gets super interesting is that each side of the nose connects to each side of the brain.

So, when the left nostril is more open, the right side of the brain will be more active.

When the right nostril is more open, the left side of the brain will be more active.

The right side of the brain is associated with creativity, intuition, and relaxation while the left side of the brain is all about analytical thinking and cognitive behaviour.

So, let’s practice put it into practice so you can feel it for yourself.

Alternate Nostril Breathing

• Sit in a comfortable position with your back straight.

• Place your left hand on your left knee.

• Lift your right hand up toward your nose.

• Exhale completely and then use your right thumb to close your right nostril.

• Inhale through your left nostril and then close your left nostril with your forefinger.

• Open your right nostril and exhale fully.

• Inhale through your right nostril and then close your right nostril with your thumb.

• Open your left nostril and exhale.

• This is one complete cycle.

• As your breath begins to deepen try pausing your breath at the top of each inhale and at the bottom of each exhale for a couple of seconds at a time.

• Continue for up to 5 minutes

Or alternatively, follow on with the tutorial below:

Power Up

Breath of Fire

This breathing technique comes from Kundalini Yoga and it’s my go-to whenever I’m low on energy, feeling cold, sleepy, or anxious, or just want a free power boost.

1. Find a nice comfortable position with your back straight

2. Begin inhaling and exhaling forcefully through your nose (in equal measure)

3. Pump your diaphragm in and out with every inhale and exhale (1–3 breaths per second)

4. Keep your face muscles, shoulders, and body relaxed

5. Begin adding more power and speed to each breath if desired (without adding any tension to the muscles in your face or body

6. Continue for as long as comfortable (0–1 minute for a quick pick-me-up. 1–3 minutes to shake off any sleep and raise heat in the body. 3–5 minutes for a big energy boost!)

7. Finish by breathing fully in and holding the breath at the top of the inhale.

Or alternatively, follow along with Adrienne below — Skip to 8 minutes 40 seconds for the live demo.

Closing thoughts

Here’s how I use these techniques in my everyday life:

1. I wake up, do the morning things, and then sit down for my daily practice.
   I start with breath practice #3 — Hold it — using Soma Breath’s epic Daily Dose music as my guide

2. Then I flow into alternate nostril breathing to ground myself

3. Depending on what kind of day I’m having from there, I’ll perhaps do breath of fire 2–5 times throughout the day at different intervals because it’s one of the best ways I self-regulate.

4. Then, in between that and as much as I possibly can, I try and breathe in a rhythm so rhythmical breathing accompanies me throughout the day, especially when I’m writing.

5. Then before bed, I end my day with some box breathing as this completely relaxes my nervous system and gets me ready for sleep.

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Continue learning more about the breath: The Importance of Breathing Correctly