Deep breathing involves using your diaphragm (the thin muscle that separates your chest from your stomach) and your abdominal muscles to inhale slowly through your nose and exhale through your mouth. This increases the amount of Oxygen in the blood, lowers blood pressure and heart rate, and relaxes muscle tension.
Stress and anxiety have become common experiences in our fast-paced world. It is easy to achieve deep relaxation and calm through deep breathing exercises. Stress can be reduced, mood can be improved, and overall well-being can be promoted with these exercises. These are some techniques that can help you achieve a deep state of relaxation and calm when practicing deep breathing exercises.
Here are some deep Breathing Techniques or exercises that you can apply in your daily routines to ensure Better Health and Sleep.
You may feel tired when you begin this Diaphragmatic Breathing technique but over time the technique should become easier and feel more natural to place. You can put pillows under your knees for support.
Place one hand on your upper chest and one under your ribs to feel the movement of your diaphragm.
Breathe in slowly through your nose and feel your stomach pressing against your hand.
Contract your abs and exhale through pursed lips while keeping your top hand completely still. You can make the exercise more difficult by placing a book on your stomach.
Once you've learned the technique, you can increase the difficulty by sitting in a chair. You can then practice the technique while working on your Daily Activities.
A 2020 meta-analysis proved this Breathing to be helpful with patients suffering breathing challenges due to COPD, heart problems, or cancer. To ensure that you are performing this Exercise well and if you need any expertise, you can check apps like BreatheBetter ,
Breathe and Universal Breathing- Pranayama which provides you with expert sessions and medication based on your health status.
Relax your neck and shoulders.
Keeping your mouth closed, breathe in slowly through your nose for two counts.
Pursing and pursing your lips as if you were trying to whistle.
Through pursed lips, exhale slowly for a count of four.
In the beginning, practice this breathing 4-5 times a day so that you can master the breathing pattern correctly. The technique is really helpful in activities like running and stair climbing and can also be used during Anxiety or panic attacks to manage and reduce the effects.
Apps like Breathing Zone, Calm, and Prana Breath are designed to help you relieve stress and anxiety and can provide you with sessions that can improve your Breathwork and track your improvement graph and status.
This deep Breathing Exercise uses images or focuses on words and phrases. You can choose focus words that make you smile, relax, or are neutral. Examples include peace, letting go, and relaxation, but it can be anything you can focus on and repeat while practicing.
Once you've built up your practice to Focus on your breathing, you can start with a 10-minute session. Gradually increase the time until your session is at least 20 minutes. For performing this exercise:
Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down.
Focus on your breath while breathing rhythmically. Alternate between normal breathing and deep breathing several times.
Notice the difference between normal breathing and deep breathing. Notice how your abdomen expands as you take a deep breath. Practice deep breathing for a few minutes.
Place your hand under your navel and relax your belly, watching it rise with each inhalation and lower with each exhalation. Every time you exhale, let out a big sigh.
You can imagine the air you breathe sending waves of peace and tranquility through your body.
Imagine the air you exhale washing away tension and anxiety, making your body purer and Energized from the inside.
iBreathe and Relax: Stress and Anxiety Relief are the apps that have a structured course design to help you focus more on your breathing which can cure stress and sleep disorders and also help you increase the daily oxygen flow in your blood which helps you raise your life expectancy rate to 30%. It also uses soothing music and spectacular graphics that help you throughout the session.
Alternate-Nostril Breathing, known in Sanskrit as Nadi Shodhana Pranayama, is a relaxation breathing exercise. Alternate nostril breathing has been shown to improve cardiovascular function and lower heart rate.
Nadi Shodhana is best done on an empty stomach. Avoid practice if you feel sick or constipated. Keep your breathing calm and the same during exercise. For doing this technique
Choose a comfortable sitting position.
Raise your right hand and press your index and middle fingers down toward your palm, keeping the other fingers extended.
After exhaling, gently close your right nostril with your right thumb. Breathe in through your left nostril and close your left nostril with your right little finger and ring finger.
Exhale through your right nostril as you release your thumb. Inhale through your right nostril and close that nostril.
Release her finger to open her left nostril and Exhale through that side. Continue this breathing pattern for up to 5 minutes. End the session with a left exhalation.
If you are looking for an app that can help guide you through deep breathing exercises like this, apps like Kardia- Deep Breathing and Breathwork can help you with visuals and sounds that can guide you through the practice and be an exercise partner or trainer letting you easily perform any exercise.
Deep breathing exercises are undoubtedly needed in this generation as they can be helpful for you by clearing your mind and energizing your body throughout the day. For an app that can provide you with guided sessions to help you learn them and keep your health status checked, you can choose Better Breathe which you can find in the Google Play store or App store.
