Breathing exercises help get rid of stress and improve health. We explain the seven best exercises and how they can be implemented in everyday life.
Why do we need breathing exercises?
We actually breathe automatically and without thinking about it – because breathing is vital. This supplies the body with fresh oxygen and excretes carbon dioxide. The problem: the way we breathe changes depending on our mood. If we feel stressed, we breathe shallowly and too quickly, which can have negative effects on the body. Through conscious breathing exercises, we can improve our health and reduce stress.
It has been known for millennia that correct breathing can heal. In India, breathing exercises as so-called pranayama have always been an important part of yoga, on Egyptian grave inscriptions the "healing art with the breath" is even classified as better than that with "the knife" or with "plant sap".
Breathing Exercises: How to Breathe Correctly?
At best, we should always breathe in and out slowly and deeply into the stomach. However, we usually only succeed in this when we sleep and if we actively pay attention to it – only a few people manage to breathe deeply unconsciously. In fact, most people only use a small part of their actual breathing volume, which is actually more than six liters, and breathe shallowly into the chest or shoulders. This is why breathing exercises are so useful: They help us to consciously let our breath flow through our entire body.
Breathing Exercises: Why is Deep Breathing Important?
Our bodies need a lot of oxygen to function properly. If you breathe properly, you can not only reduce stress, but also achieve the following positive effects on your health:
- Blood pressure is lowered
- Metabolism is boosted
- Up to 70 percent of toxins and pollutants are exhaled, relieving the strain on the intestines, skin and urinary tract
- The immune system is activated
- Relaxation arises
- Creativity is encouraged
What are the disadvantages of "bad" breathing?
Conversely, this also means that shallow and rapid breathing can negatively affect our health. Bad breathing can have the following effects:
Who are breathing exercises for?
Actually, everyone who is more often under stress in everyday life should do breathing exercises every day. Especially since you don't need any aids apart from your own body and you can do the exercise practically anywhere and at any time if you have a little rest. But sick people can also particularly benefit from breathing exercises. Daily breathing exercises are particularly useful for the following diseases:
- asthma
- Anxiety disorders
- Chronic pulmonary disease COPD ("chronic obstructive pulmonary disease")
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Signs of paralysis
Caution: Even if the aim of every exercise is to calm down and provide relaxation, you should still listen to your body. For example, if you feel dizzy or uncomfortable while doing it, you should stop the exercise. If done incorrectly, breathing exercises can trigger cramps or hyperventilation. In this case, it makes sense to see a doctor immediately.
The breathing exercise in four phases
Breathing exercises can generally be divided into four phases:
- Breathe in: It is inhaled slowly and deeply, mostly through the nose. The respective length of inhalation differs from breathing exercise to breathing exercise.
- Breathfulness: The breath is held in the lungs for a moment.
- Exhale: Depending on the exercise, you exhale fluently for a few seconds.
- Breath empty: Most of the air used is exhaled through the mouth and the body no longer has any breath.
After the last phase, start again with the first phase of the breathing exercise.
These are the seven best breathing exercises
1. Natural abdominal breathing
This is the recommended classical breathing, which we should always practice at best, but which most people only succeed if they do it actively. Tight clothing and the constant pulling in of the stomach prevent us from doing this in everyday life, for example. Therefore it makes sense to learn the actually natural abdominal breathing as the first of the breathing exercises. And so it goes:
- Put your hand on your stomach
- Breathe in deeply through your nose
- Feel through your hand how the abdominal cavity fills with air and expands, causing the abdominal wall to rise
- Breathe out slowly and calmly through your mouth
- Also feel through your hand how the abdominal wall sinks again and the stomach contracts.
The exercise can be repeated as often as you like.
2. The 4-6-8 method
With the 4-6-8 method you can not only relax and breathe away stress, it is also recommended if you have problems falling asleep or general sleep disorders, because it is very calming. Actually, the 4-6-8 method as a breathing exercise is "only" an extension of deep abdominal breathing:
- Lie down and again place one hand on your stomach
- Inhale through your nose and slowly count to four in your mind
- Hold your breath and slowly count to six
- Exhale through your mouth, slowly counting to eight
The breathing exercise is repeated five times.
3. Pointed tongue
The tongue and the diaphragm influence each other – which we can use for ourselves to lower our stress level. The associated breathing exercise is very discreet and can therefore also be carried out in public without any problems:
- With your mouth closed, press your tongue against your teeth at the front and against your palate at the back, as if you were trying to pronounce an "L"
- Breathe in deeply and consciously through your nose and then exhale again
- Alternatively, while exhaling, blow through your pursed mouth for a few seconds as if you wanted to blow out a candle with a steady stream of air
The exercise should be done several times in a row. After just a few breaths, breathing generally becomes deeper and calmer and the stress subsides.
4. Inflate your lungs through breathing exercises
Anyone who is constantly under tension, angry or restless, automatically breathes more shallowly and prevents the lungs from developing their full air potential. This tension can be breathed away with a kind of stop breathing:
- Take a deep breath and count to two in your mind
- Hold your breath and count to two again
- Inhale again and count to two
- Hold your breath again and count to two again
- Repeat until you can no longer breathe
- Exhale all air in one long, calm breath. Breathe normally and calmly for several breaths
The breathing exercise is repeated twice and gradually enables you to make better use of your own lung volume.
5. Exhale suddenly
Likewise to calm down and relieve tension the exercise of exhaling air suddenly is suitable. How it works:
- Sit down with one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach
- Breathe in relaxed and calm while mentally counting to five
- Exhale through your mouth five times in a row
The breathing exercise should be repeated five times and ensures that anger and restlessness can more easily leave the body.
6. Diaphragm training
Shallow breathing gradually weakens our "respiratory muscle", the diaphragm – which in the worst case can lead to shortness of breath. This exercise to strengthen the diaphragm works with the so-called lip brake: The lips stay on top of each other when you breathe out, only a narrow opening between the lips is used to let the air escape. This is how diaphragm training works:
- Sit or lay on the floor
- Bend your legs hip-width apart
- Place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach
- Breathe in deeply, counting to two, contract your stomach muscles and breathe in slowly
- Use the lip brake as you exhale and mentally count to four
- Consciously feel how the stomach relaxes, the chest should hardly move
The whole thing can be repeated four to five times and thus train the respiratory muscle.
7. The short office trick
At work, in particular, an email or phone call can be enough to cause the anger to boil up. To get back down quickly A small breathing exercise that can be done comfortably on the desk chair is sufficient:
- Sit upright and press your upper body against the back of the chair
- Take a deep breath and bring your arms up over your sides
- Hold the position and breath for a brief moment
- Lower your arms again and exhale slowly and calmly at the same time
- Remain briefly in the breathless state until the impulse to breathe in comes back
Like the other breathing exercises, this can be repeated several times until you feel like you've breathed away the anger.
Reading tips: Have you read enough about breathing exercises and now you want more tips on how to relax? Then have a look at our articles Autogenic Training, Bodyscan and Progressive Muscle Relaxation.
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