The Intention of Breathing: Applying Techniques in Everyday Life
Different types of breathing exercises and their application.
In addition to the beating of our hearts, humans have another action given by inertia, which is the act of breathing. If there's a frequent action that accompanies us with every step we take, it's breathing. However, we don't explore enough the benefits that this mechanism provides us naturally.
How does breathing work?
Breathing is the most persistent, involuntary, and essential bodily rhythm for individuals throughout their lives. This mechanism of oxygenation exerts a great physiological effect on the ANS - Autonomic Nervous System and fundamentally on the parasympathetic system, which is responsible for providing us with the experience of calm, security, and regulation of our stress system. At the same time, breathing is a great modulator of a wide range of cognitive processes such as attention, perception, alert system, interaction with thoughts, among others. In fact, it would be enough to practice brief and deep breaths during the day to begin to notice great and new emotional and mindful experiences. In fact, authors such as Sheikhbahaei, S. and Smith, JC (2017), mention that breathing is a rhythmic movement that our ancestors used within relaxation rituals to calm their nerves.
What is a breathing technique and what are they?
There is an important distinction between what is known as "natural breathing" and breathing techniques. Regarding the former, we can refer to what we previously mentioned as "breathing." It's our type of spontaneous and automatic breathing with which our body is mostly accustomed to inhaling and exhaling air. We don't intervene consciously to modify or do anything about its duration, rhythm, or any other aspect of how it usually is. We simply let it happen naturally and autonomously. However, breathing techniques are more specific methods designed to deliberately influence our breathing behavior under certain contexts with the purpose of obtaining certain changes in our body. These techniques seek to make people's breathing a conscious and outgoing act, actively causing the modification not only of the rhythm, speed, depth of breathing but also the type of exchange and attention we have on it.
There is a wide variety of breathing techniques, each with its own application and adaptation. Therefore, they will be classified here taking into account the level of skill, complexity, and knowledge that the person considers having with the exercise or practice of breathing. The categories are: Techniques for beginners, intermediates, and advanced.
Technique for Beginners:
Abdominal Breathing Technique
It involves inhaling gradually through the nose and exhaling through the mouth while using the diaphragm and abdominal muscles. This method is one of the simplest and most recommended for those who want to start with a brief and gentle practice to perform daily. It's considered native in humans, since at birth our first type of breathing is diaphragmatic. Over time, the development of our body and respiratory system causes this to change. However, it's a known type of breathing and easy to put into practice in a few attempts. Abdominal breathing facilitates the increase of oxygen in the blood, the reduction of blood pressure, the deactivation of the alert/stress system, and the decrease of heart rate and muscle tension.
How it's done: Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. Inhale deeply through your nose, focusing on filling the diaphragm, not the chest, with enough air to fully expand the lungs. When inhaling, you can imagine that your abdomen is like a balloon that should inflate and expand as much as possible. Then, start exhaling slowly through your slightly closed mouth, noticing how your abdomen begins to contract and descend gradually. The challenge is to repeat the action about 6 to 10 times slowly for 10 minutes.
Technique for Intermediates:
Alternate Nostril Breathing Technique or 'Nadi Shodhana
It involves alternating breathing through the nostrils, using the thumb and ring finger to close one nostril while inhaling and exhaling through the other nostril.
This practice is widely recognized and valued in the yoga community, as it seeks to balance the left and right hemispheres of the brain through the harmonization of the body's energy channels. This is achieved through conscious and alternating breathing, where you inhale and exhale through each nostril, in order to synchronize breathing rhythms and reach a state of balance and serenity.
From experimental research contributions, in a study by Stanacak and Kuna (1994) on forced alternate nostril breathing, it was observed that the airflow through the left and right nostrils could have different effects on brain processes with a tendency to deactivate the alert state. However, additional research is needed to confirm and specify the specific brain effects of breathing patterns associated with each nostril.
How it's done: Sit in a comfortable position with a straight spine and feet flat on the floor. Take three deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling gently before starting. Then place the thumb of your right hand to close the right nostril and the ring finger to close the left nostril. Your left hand can rest completely on your knee with your palm facing up. Start by closing the right nostril with your right thumb and exhaling through your left side. Then inhale slowly through the same left nostril. When complete, close the left nostril with the ring finger and exhale through the right nostril and exhale through the same left nostril. Then continue alternating exhalation and inhalation through each nostril, making sure to maintain a steady and gentle rhythm. The challenge is to repeat between 6 to 10 times per nostril for 10-15 minutes.
Technique for Advanced:
Breathing Technique as an Anchor
It involves a type of practice in which the person can rest or anchor themselves to breathing consciously as many times as necessary during a visualization, imagery practice, or simply free exploration of the internal world. It's a way to return to a safe and present place within our own body over and over again. Additionally, this practice significantly favors the ability of cognitive flexibility, mindfulness, concentration, compassionate behavior, and emotional acceptance.
How it's done: Find a quiet place where you can sit in silence and without being disturbed for a few moments. It may be helpful to set a timer for about 7-10 minutes, but after some experience, you shouldn't worry too much about the time you spend practicing. Start by bringing your attention to the present moment by noticing your breathing. Pay attention to your breathing as it enters and exits your body. In a short time, your mind will start to wander, trying to powerfully draw your attention, perhaps you'll notice thoughts, ideas, memories, images. You can also identify an experience with your emotions, even sensations in your body may appear. Your role this time is to be simply an external observer who watches what happens within you. Take note, observe, record each phenomenon that occurs, each experience that appears within you. When you notice that your attention has been caught by some thought, feeling, or idea and doesn't allow you to continue observing, allow yourself to go to your safe place, allow yourself to return your attention to breathing and stay there for as long as you feel necessary and invite once again to continue observing. The challenge here is simply to notice the experience and move towards breathing as the center of attention as many times as necessary. Even if it feels like you've been caught up in some thought or you're judging yourself for being stuck, train your attention on your breath.
Final recommendations
There's a mistake in considering that techniques should be used in moments of urgency; however, most of the time, this only makes situations worse. The risk of focusing on breathing techniques as a method of control or immediate search for a solution to get out of discomfort or distress in the present not only perpetuates the sensation but also prevents learning to live more successfully with the experience. Breathing techniques are intended to make conscious use of a natural system that provides us with an optimal state with our body and helps us to function usefully in our lives. For this, it's important to mention that like any training, it should be thought of as an investment in the future and used as a rehearsal within a process with great benefits.
In summary, the breathing practices suggested in this article are recommended to be applied frequently and when the person presents a neutral or positive mood. In this way, it ensures an effective practice not only in exercise but also during times of stress or deregulation.