For years I tried to meditate. I bought books and listened to podcasts touting the benefits, but I never really stuck with it outside of the short meditation at the end of class called shavasana which is the Sanskrit name. Shavasana is also referred to as “corpse pose,” where you lie on your back in a state of relaxation normally at the end of a yoga class. That was the extent of my meditation and/or relaxation practice.
It was only during my NLP training did I really start to understand the power of not just meditation but breathing in general. Much of my training used breath and visualization to work through a feeling, emotion or past situation that I wanted to work through. I liked the way I felt after I spent a couple minutes in quiet silence, just breathing (even though I always had too many thoughts in my head). I had a belief I needed to have a clear mind in order to do breathwork correctly. However, I finally understood that this busy mind is part of the journey in breathwork and meditation.
I’d experienced panic attacks and crippling anxiety but they happened more frequently during the pandemic. I finally understood and recognized what these really were, which led me to these the three breathwork exercises I will demonstrate today.
How Work Stress and Anxiety Show Up In Your Body
Breathing deeply on the inhale and exhale is a signal to our bodies and mind we are safe. When we are in a state of panic, fear or flight, we have rapid shallow breathing. This rapid breathing tells our bodies bad things are about to happen and so our bodies and mind start reacting. Your body and mind prepares to defend itself or run away and that anxiety (or in my case a panic attack) is a signal to you that are experiencing something really bad. Understanding this, I was able to realize that panic attacks were a result of work-related stress happening normally during a specific time of the month and often in the middle of the night.
Once I realized that my increased stress was directly related to work, I made some hard but important decisions. I reduced (and in some cases eliminated) stress inducing things from my life. I took time to focus on activities that not only brought me more joy, but were specifically focused on self-care and reducing my stress.
While yoga was one of those activities as were things like regular massages, acupuncture, and time with my friends, I wanted to learn about things I can do when I notice an increased level of stress and that’s what I discovered breathwork.
Three Breathwork Exercises to Reduce Stress Levels
These three breathwork exercises are designed to be used in the moment – meaning when you recognize the increased stress or anxiety levels present you stop what you are doing and just breathe. One breathwork exercise is not better than the other, however, some are more accessible depending on when and where you are. They all work for me and I consider them to be important tools I can call upon when I am experiencing anxiety and stress.
Box BreathingÂ
With box breathing your breath will be like a box. All four parts of your breath will be equal with an inhale, hold, exhale and hold in that order. Each side of your breath will be equal normally four counts. Your will breath four counts of breathing in, four counts of holding your breath, four counts of exhaling and four more counts of holding after your exhale. As my breath work has grown so has my ability to breath and at present, my box breath is 12 counts making my four sides a total of 48 seconds. By reducing our number of breaths we can slow down and return to a more relaxed state.
Tapping
Tapping involves using acupressure points to signal to your body that you are safe encouraging it to enter a more relaxed state. You’ll take a breath in, tapping at least four times in one spot using both hands and on the exhale relaxing, and then on the next inhale moving to the next acupressure point. In the video you can see the points that I use, but follow your intuition. This does not need to be a perfect activity. I always start at the top of my head using all four fingers to tap moving to my eyebrows, chin, neck shoulders and armpits. Your fingertips touching the desired acupressure point have their own acupressure points as well so all these points including your fingertips are signaling to your body to calm your body and your central nervous system.
Alternate Nostril Breathing
Alternate nasal breathing is one of my favorite breathing exercises to do in my Kundalini Yoga classes I teach. It’s a great way to not only signal to the body you are slowing down and in a safe place, but it also helps stimulate different parts of your body. You will start by sitting in a comfortable position with a straight spine. Block your right nostril with the thumb of your right hand. Breathe deeply with an inhale and an exhale before switching to the left nostril using your index finger or your pink finger to close your right nostril. My video tutorial gives you a better idea of what to do.
It is common in alternate nostril breathing to not switch but to breath on the left side for a period of several minutes before switching to the alternate side. Experiment with both and use your own judgement and preferences to decide which way you like the best knowing that this preference might change and that’s okay.
Final Thoughts on Breathwork
The most important thing to know about breathwork is that is highly personal and the best things about it is that it is (1) free and (2) something you can use at any time even multiple times a day. I have been known to tap or do box breathing after I have an encounter with my teenager daughter, a charged conversation with a client or coworker, and just before I go on stage to speak at a conference or event. Tools like this are great to help not only reduce stress levels but help you in your own self-identification and understand of your feelings, emotions, reactions, and those patterns in all areas of your life including work, among friends or with family.
