Breathing Techniques for Quick Relaxation
Breathing Meditations are often seen as the 'mother' of relaxation techniques. Seen from an oriental perspective, Prana, Chi, Ki, also known as the universal lifepower or energy, are an essential part of oxygen and thus of our breathing. Through the practicing of Breathing Techniques and Meditations, we can learn to control the subtle energies in our body, the ultimate aim being is to have complete control over our mind. Seen from a western perspective, we use Breathing Techniques mainly to relax when tense or when giving birth.
Breathing is a top indicator of how body and mind are feeling at this moment. Are we stressed, upset, happy, nervous, or putting in too much effort, just look at your breath and you will know at once. Moreover, we see that in western medicine, sports, and psychiatry, oriental Breathing Techniques are applied. We can change the speed or the place of our breath to relax. Our breathing is a suitable Meditation object because it is always there, anytime, anywhere, in a more or less constant and even rhythm. Moreover, you can apply Breathing Meditation Techniques anytime, anywhere - in the living room, at work, during a traffic jam, during moments of stress, etc.
Finally, when we look at effect, Breathing Techniques have two major advantages. Not only our body and mind relax through the Meditations, but our breathing itself improves as well. It is not very surprising then that many Meditation Techniques are based on breathing! On this page, we explain how breathing works and in our section on Meditation, you will find several Meditations based on our breathing.
How does our Breathing work?
With every breath, we provide the body with oxygen which is passed on to the blood by the lungs. Through the blood, the oxygen reaches the rest of the body where the oxygen is transformed into energy. In reverse order, waste products are transported back to our lungs where they are breathed out, mainly in the form of carbon dioxide.
In general, we can breathe in two ways. In the first place, we can breathe through our diaphragm and abdomen. Secondly, we can breathe through our chest, also known as chest breathing. Normally speaking, our breathing is a combination of the two. In actual practice, we see that many people use chest breathing. This breathing is relatively superficial, uneven, and also often a bit tight. When we are tense, it is often recommended to use abdominal respiration.
The diaphragm is a thin muscular partition between the chest and the abdomen, also called as the midriff. The midriff is sensitive to tension and strongly reacts to psychological disorders. A cramped midriff results into a cramped and imperfect way of breathing.
When we use abdominal respiration, the midriff contracts and moves down, which results in air being sucked into our lungs. The deeper the midriff is pushed down during breathing, the more air will enter our lungs. It is the same for breathing out; the midriff relaxes, moves up, and maximum discharge of the lung contents is the result.
A combination of chest and abdominal respiration enables us to breathe in a maximum amount of air and breathe the used air out again. It is obvious that when you only use chest breathing, you can inhale less oxygen and transport less used air.
Breathing is a continuous, vital function that works automatically and with which, in principle, we need not occupy ourselves. At the same time, it is also a function that we can actually control consciously.
It is, however, true that many people get confused when trying to follow or change their breathing. This is normal and with some exercise and patience, almost everybody succeeds in dealing with breathing actively and consciously. This is good news because, in general, our breathing changes according to circumstances. When angry or upset, the frequency and power of our breathing will increase. When sleeping or in a very deep state of relaxation, we will, most of the time, breathe more slowly and exhale longer. This is a very logical process. When the body needs more energy because of, for instance danger, breathing will increase. When needing only little energy, breathing will decrease.
Our breathing tells us much about the state of our mind at this particular moment. When breathing quietly, deeply, and evenly most of the time, we really are in a relaxed state of mind. When the breathing is unquiet, superficial, and uneven, we are often irritable, tense, and we find it difficult to concentrate.
Unfortunately, our mind is often wrong and the danger that we see is, most of the time, not that bad. Work, an insult, rain instead of sunshine, traffic jams, delays etc. do not have to be life - threatening! When breathing in the right way at these moments, one can create a relaxation response that very often, if not always, can take away unnecessary tension.
Therefore, our breathing is not only of life importance but also an instrument with which we can see when, for example, we experience stress and with which we are also able to influence our physical and mental condition.
To check how your breathing is going at this very moment, just sit down and put a hand on your belly. Put your other hand on your chest where your breastbone is. Which parts of your belly and chest are moving when you breathe? When you breathe optimally, you feel your stomach muscles expand first, then the chest and finally the upper part of your chest. Don't worry when you do not use a full breathing technique or only breathe from your chest, you are not the only one. Just realize that there is still much progress to be made in breathing and by doing so, you can also give your health, vitality, and peace of mind quite a new impulse. We can guarantee that when you do your breathing exercises regularly or meditate on your breathing, observing your breathing will become a piece of cake and that your breathing itself will improve!
Three Breathing Techniques for Quick Relaxation
Breathing is a top indicator of how body and mind are feeling at this particular moment. Are we stressed, anxious, happy, nervous, or exerting ourselves? Just pay attention to your breathing and you will know at once. During a meeting, conversation, activity, or sports achievement, you notice that your breathing is short, a bit panicky, and high, then this will mean that your body is in a state of alarm (fight-or flight reaction). This reaction of our body is quite normal, it prepares us optimally for possible danger.
When we end up in a fight-or-flight situation, the sympathetic nerve system will make sure that the metabolism, breathing, and blood pressure will increase, several hormones will be released (for instance adrenaline) and that muscle tension increases. Fortunately, nature has seen to it that we still use another part of our nerve system, the parasympathetic nerve system, which mainly deals with relaxation. This system works best when we are relaxed and is mainly responsible for the recovery and growth of our body cells, assimilation, and building up our reserves. These two nerve systems work like communicating vessels and normally speaking, these should be in balance. Through our breathing and Meditations we can, generally speaking, activate a relaxation response that helps our body to return to the proper balance and to relax again.
We can use our breathing to relax quickly and to get control of the situation again:
- Deep and regular breathing
When under heavy pressure, this will help to change your tight, superficial, and often short breathing into a deep, even, and constant breathing.
Start your inhalation from your belly, to your ribs and midriff, and finally up to the upper part of your chest. For breathing out, do the same thing the other way round - from your chest to your belly again. This type of breathing makes sure that the energy that you will need to get things under control again flows into you and is a bit similar to the way you breathe during sports, for instance. Your breathing is not superficial, high, and uneven anymore. Mind you, you are still in a state of agitation but you are in control again.
- Long exhalations
Often only a few deep, long exhalations are enough to relax. The exhalations must be longer than the inhalations. Through this type of breathing, we trigger the relaxation response that should slowly take us back to the balance in which normally, we are relaxed. Do not get alarmed when sometimes emotions or tiredness are released when we start to relax. This is a transitional phase to...
- Natural, relaxed breathing
Here, we let the breathing have its way and do whatever it likes. We observe without controlling it. There should be no tension and everything goes smoothly and wonderful!
You can use this routine throughout the day, as often as you like. When you feel your breathing is superficial and tense, just perform step/s 1,2, and/or 3 and the stress is gone in no time! When things are not that easy, you can also do our Meditation 'warming up' exercises. It is super effective, but not very suitable to be performed in public, because you will need to close your nostrils, left and right alternately, with your fingers. Good luck!
|
|
|
|
|
Basics & Backgrounds
in Dutch
Home
Print Article
Email Article
Comment on Article
Write New Article
Search Articles
