3 Breathing Practices That Transformed my life

Breathing is the foundation of life. Studies show that deep breathing can add years to your life. In fact, people who breathe deeply and rhythmically live an average of 5-7 years longer than those who don't. When I learned that I wasn't breathing deeply or properly and how that had been affecting everything from my sleep to my digestion to my mobility and was the reason I was experiencing "random" pain in parts of my body, my mind was blown.

Here are the 3 specific breathing techniques that I’ve adopted, how they work, and some of the benefits you can expect to experience if you practice them on a regular basis.

Box Breathing

Box breathing is perhaps my favorite breathing technique because of how simple and versatile it is. It is also the breathing technique that I feel the most immediate results from. The way it works is as follow:

• Breathe in for a pre-determined number of seconds. I tend to start with 4 seconds.

• Hold the breath for the same number of seconds.

• Exhale for the same number of seconds.

• Hold the breath again for the same number of seconds.

The versatility with box breathing comes when you begin to vary the number of seconds that you hold the breathe for or exhale for. For example, I will breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 5 seconds, and then breathe out for 8 seconds and hold again for 5 seconds. Once you make box breathing a consistent part of your breathing practice, you’ll find that you’ll want to expand the length of time you take for each side of the breath box.

The benefits of box breathing are numerous. The ones that I have personally experienced include:

• Being able to refocus in the midst of a busy or stressful day

• It activates my parasympathetic system which regulates rest and digestion which is great after a big meal

• It helps me to fall asleep and stay asleep more easily

• Just 5 minutes of box breathing can ease overwhelm, anxiety and my tendency to overthink

There are several apps and resources for guided box breathing available. I’ve found it to be very helpful to use an app when starting out so that you can focus solely on the breath and not be concerned about keeping count.

Deep Belly Breathing

Most of us don’t give much thought to our breathing. It is automatic and something that we don’t notice until we’re running out of breath. Because of this, we tend to take pretty short and shallow breaths throughout the day. While this keeps us alive, we have the potential to be feeling, thinking, and interacting with others in a much more optimal way when we learn how to and incorporate deep belly breathing into our daily rituals.

Breathing from our bellies rather than from our chests can feel a bit strange at first and, honestly, not always easy or comfortable. It definitely takes practice. When I first learned, my coach asked me to lay flat on the ground and to put a lightweight object on my belly. He then instructed me to take a breath in through my nose and to inflate my stomach so much that I could see the object on my belly rise. He told me that 80% of my breath should come from the belly and the remaining 20% should move up to my ribs. I repeated this 10 times and it took concentration and effort.

My eyes were opened to the fact that I was so accustomed to taking short and shallow breaths throughout the day and it required more effort for me to breathe deeply and from my belly. I also realized how much I had been breathing through my mouth versus my nose. The combination of nose and belly breathing is really transformational. Here are some of the results that I’ve experienced:

• My endurance during a workout is significantly more when I breathe from my belly and through my nose.

• I spend about half of the year in Aspen, which sits almost 8,000 ft above sea level. Deep belly breathing increases the level of oxygen in my blood and allows me to adapt to altitude and have little to no side effects.

• My digestion after meals is greatly improved. I used to suffer from bloating and energy drains after meals, especially while traveling. Taking 5-10 deep belly breaths after a meal has been so effective for remedying that.

• I fall asleep more quickly at night. For someone who has struggled with turning off her brain and falling asleep quickly, this has been a game changer.

Deep belly breathing can be done laying down, sitting, or standing up. If just getting started, the technique my coach used with me is a great one to try. Laying down really helps you to focus on the breath and moving the belly in and out as you breathe.

CO2 Tolerance Breathing

This third breathing technique is admittedly the most challenging one. Or at least it was for me! I learned this technique from my coach when I was going through a more stressful time of my life and needed help with navigating multiple challenges while still maintaining my physical and emotional health. He explained to me how being able to regulate CO2 or carbon dioxide in my body through nose breathing exercises would strengthen my ability to handle stressful situations and maintain a calm and focused mind.

The exercises included breathing only through my nose and holding my breath in conjunction with movement. I’ll break down the steps here:

• Begin walking at a normal pace, taking deep belly breaths through the nose

• After about 10 breaths and while still walking, take another deep breath, exhale it out completely and pinch your nose.

• Keep walking with your nose pinched until you feel like you are completely out of oxygen before taking another breath through the nose, exhaling and pinching the nose shut again.

• Continue doing this and after the first couple times, when you feel like you are completely out of breath, try to hold your nose for at least another couple seconds before taking a breath.

If this sounds a bit extreme, well, it can definitely feel that way and I absolutely encourage first-timers to try this with someone around to monitor you, preferrably someone experienced with CO2 training. Don’t do this alone! What you will realize is that your body has more than enough oxygen to sustain you during the exercise. If you can trust that knowledge and push through for just a couple more seconds each time, you will begin to build up your tolerance for carbon dioxide. And, if you’re thinking, “isn’t that poisonous for humans?” then yes, a large amount in the body can be poisonous. However, having a small amount is both essential and beneficial.

What does this do? Here are some of the benefits I personally experience when practicing this type of breathing:

• Helps me breathe deeply and slowly vs taking short and shallow breaths

• Helps with reducing anxiety

• Helps with my endurance during exercise

• Help to calm my nervous system which is great for improving mood and easing symptoms of depression

• Helps to reduce inflammation in my body

The methodology that I explained above is not the only way to practice CO2 tolerance breathing. As a matter of fact, box breathing can help with building up CO2 tolerance in the body and a great place to start. I want to reiterate that the results I mentioned above are those I’ve personally experienced. Everyone is different and are at different places in their physical, emotional and mental journeys. So, results may vary :).

How do you breathe? Have you tried any of the above techniques before? I’d love to hear how and if they’re working for you.