Three Simple Breathing Techniques for Anxiety
The exercises that helped me go from chronically anxious to mostly at-ease
You could say anxiety and I were destined to be together, genetically speaking. With three out of my four siblings and my father living with it to a diagnosable degree, anxiety and I had also been close companions for most of my life.
But lately, anxiety and I are not so close. Over the past several years as a yoga practitioner, meditator, and now instructor, I’ve become quite familiar with techniques for calming body and mind in a tangible way. And while there are a whole array of tools and habits I employ on a daily basis to keep my anxiety at bay, in this article I want to focus specifically on the power of breath. This is for a few key reasons:
- Breathing is accessible to most humans.
- The effects are immediate.
- The positive outcomes are profound relative to the very minimal cost (i.e. time and effort).
In yoga, the practice of controlling the breath is referred to as pranayama, prana meaning “life force energy” and yama meaning “to control,” and dates back to 1500 BCE. In more recent times, the Western medical community has developed a scientific understanding around why these techniques work, which James Nestor most eloquently elaborates in his best-selling book, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art (highly recommend).
I will save most of the science for Nestor to explain and for now simply offer instructions on a few techniques for you to put into your toolbox. These can be practiced as a preventative measure (as I do most mornings for about ten minutes prior to meditation) or when you begin to feel anxiety arise. The best part is that they really can be done anywhere at anytime.
Technique one: The Complete Yogic Breath
This breath, also called the three-part breath, is probably the simplest technique out of the three I’ll share (which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy).
How:
- Find a comfortable seated position with an upright spine. You can also perform this breath lying down if you prefer.
- Inhaling through the nose, take the breath into the belly first, then allow the breath to expand into the rib cage, and finally to your chest and collarbone. That is the inhalation.
- As you exhale, release the breath in the collarbone and chest first, then the rib cage, and finally gently contract the abdomen to expel any breath in the belly. That is the exhalation.
This is a slow and full breath in and out through the nose. You may even count the breath for a total of 5–6 seconds in and 5–6 seconds out, which is a scientifically proven timeframe to maximize breathing benefits, as explained in Breath.
Continue this practice for 2–3 minutes. Returning to the natural breath, take a moment to notice any shifts that have occurred in your body. Repeat as necessary until you reach a desired state of calm.
Technique 2: Square Breath
This is also called box breathing and divides the breath into a ratio of 4:4:4:4. That’s inhaling for a count of four, holding the breath in for a count of four, exhaling for a count of four, and holding the breath out for a count of four.
I love this breath. Fun fact, the Navy SEALS even use this breath to calm the mind during high stress situations.
How:
- Find a comfortable seated position with an upright spine.
- Inhale through the nose and into the belly for a count of 4 seconds.
- Hold the breath in for a count of 4 seconds.
- Exhale through the nose for a count of 4 seconds.
- Hold the breath out for a count of 4 seconds.
Continue this practice for 2–3 minutes. Returning to the natural breath, take a moment to notice any shifts that have occurred in your body. Repeat as necessary until you reach a desired state of calm.
Note: This might not be the most comfortable breath for beginners, especially when holding the breath out. This is perfectly natural and if you need to shorten this retention you may.
Technique 3: Extended Exhalation
Similar to the technique above, but this breath is practiced in a ratio of 4:4:6:2, the key being the extended exhalation. As we exhale, our body naturally activates the parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for bodily relaxation.
How:
- Find a comfortable seated position with an upright spine.
- Inhale through the nose and into the belly for a count of 4 seconds.
- Hold the breath in for a count of 4 seconds.
- Exhale through the nose for a count of 6 seconds.
- Hold the breath out for a count of 2 seconds.
Continue this practice for 2–3 minutes. Returning to the natural breath, take a moment to notice any shifts that have occurred in your body. Repeat as necessary until you reach a desired state of calm.
Note: You can play around with this ratio, increasing or decreasing your time for any of the stages of breath. I like a 3:3:6 breath without a retention at the end sometimes. So long as you extend the exhalation, you’ll likely get the desired effect. Also, if numbers aren’t your thing and you prefer not to count, you could simply just follow the breath intuitively.
If you’re new to breath work, you might find these exercises to be challenging at first. Many of us spend our days as “chest breathers” and are not accustomed to taking deeper, more diaphragmatic breaths, which could very well be a major source of chronic anxiety. So if these techniques feel difficult at first, be gentle with yourself and just know it’s a practice.
