The Power of Your Breath

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With how stressful the holidays can be, I figured it'd be appropriate to discuss one of the most relevant habits you can adopt — breathwork. However, instead of going into every known breathwork tactic in existence, I want to instead cover three of the most transformative and easiest tactics practically anyone can get the hang of… with a little practice of course. How does that sound to you — a nice quick and highly useful topic that you can implement almost immediately to help cope with the inevitable holiday stresses… well it sounds pretty good to me, so that's what we're going to do.

First, let's get a general overview of breathwork and why it's useful. For starters, stress-related conditions are clearly on the rise in today's day and age, which can ultimately lead to hypothalamic-adrenal-pituitary axis (HPA axis) dysfunction. If you happened to read one of my previous articles, you'd also know that not all stress is bad, and that the right dose of stress can actually make you stronger. On the flip side, when your body is dealt too much stress, problems begin to arise associated with your ability to regulate stress, mood, digestion, immune system function, libido, metabolism, and energy levels.

So what you can do about this? Well, as I've already hinted at, one of the best strategies to keep your HPA axis healthy is breathwork. In fact, scientists have figured out that short, rapid breathing stimulates the fight-or-flight sympathetic nervous system while slow, deep breathing stimulates the rest-and-digest parasympathetic nervous system. So you can see, breathwork isn't just for relaxation, but can be highly useful for even conjuring up energy as well, say before a holiday party that you're probably already exhausted for before it even starts.

With that being said, let's look at the best breathwork tactics, in my opinion, for common everyday scenarios.

1. Box Breathing

Let me first say that box breathing may be the easiest and most effective breathwork tactic I've ever adopted. Why? Well, box breathing is highly effective at "quieting the mind" so you can better cope with stressful situations. And as I've already said, dealing with stress is probably the best reason to adopt a breathwork habit.

So, how do you perform box breathing anyway? Well, the steps are pretty simple:

1. Close your mouth and slowly inhale through your nose for 4 seconds

2. Hold your breath for 4 seconds

3. Exhale through your mouth for 4 seconds

4. Hold your breath again for 4 seconds

5. Repeat this cycle a few times until you've entered a relaxed state

Now, besides obviously incorporating box breathing during a stressful social situation, this tactic can also be applied for other scenarios as well. For instance, if you've taken my advice from past articles and have now adopted a sauna and cold thermogenesis practice, you'd know it takes a lot of discipline to withstand long periods of time in either environment. So, to make it a little easier, you can simply begin box breathing to take your mind off of the discomfort, which will ultimately help pass the time as well.

2. 4-7-8 Breathing

Similar to box breathing, 4-7-8 breathing is also used to calm the body, but for a different purpose — sleep. So, the best way to incorporate this breathing tactic is after, say, you've finished reading a book and are laying in bed ready to fall asleep. To perform this tactic is fairly simple:

1. Begin by placing the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue behind your upper front teeth

2. Quietly inhale through your nose for 4 seconds

3. Hold your breath for 7 seconds

4. Exhale audibly through your mouth, this time making a whooshing sound, for 8 seconds

5. Repeat this cycle at least 3 more times or until you fall asleep

Again, like box breathing, this tactic is very simple to incorporate into your daily routine. And the best part about this tactic is that it solves a very common issue most people face when trying to fall asleep — racing thoughts. We've all experienced it at least once and it can definitely be frustrating. Even if you've tried writing down all your thoughts before bed, they can still somehow manage to creep up right before you're about to drift off. But with 4-7-8 breathing, the counting aspect allows your mind remain distracted from these thoughts until you ultimately fall asleep. Pretty cool, huh?

3. Breath of Fire

Finally, like I said, breathwork isn't just for calming the body. In fact, there are instances where you might rather want to increase your heart rate such as for better focus and attention. That's where breath of fire comes in. If you've every watched a dog pant, you get the gist of breath of fire. Nevertheless, to perform it:

1. Inhale and exhale as quickly as you can, preferably through the nose, though you may need to exhale through pursed lips in some situations

2. Press your belly out on the inhalation and out on the exhalation

3. Repeat this cycle until you've reached an invigorating state

So what are the best uses for breath of fire? Well, for me, the best uses are during workouts or ice baths… which I guess are workouts in and of themselves. For actual workouts, the best way to incorporate this tactic is to perform a few quick cycles right before an exercise set, like say, a heavy set of deadlifts.

As for ice baths, I know I said box breathing is a great tactic for this scenario, but only once you've already immersed yourself in the water. We all know the worst part about getting into frigid water is the initial plunge. So to help make it easier, try performing a few cycles of breath of fire to increase your heart rate, enter the water, then begin performing box breathing to calm you body once immersed. This tactic, in my opinion, is the hardest to get the hang of, but is surely the most rewarding.

Summary

So there you have it — the most useful breathwork tactics for everyday scenarios. Now, let me make it clear that these tactics are only effective if the majority is performed solely through the nose. This is because nose breathing helps activate the rest-and-digest parasympathetic system much more easily whereas mouth breathing promotes a stress response. And the nice thing is that the more you practice nose breathing — yes, even during exercise — the more you'll naturally nose breathe without even thinking. As a result, your body will naturally nose breathe at night as well, which can eliminate a ton of sleep issues in the long run. Finally, if you struggle with getting the hang of these breathwork tactics, I'd suggest looking into Somnifix mouth tape or a Relaxator to get an idea of what these tactics should feel like. And don't worry, if you think the three I've covered just aren't for you, there are plenty other breathwork tactics you can adopt, which you can learn about from any of the resources down blow. Nevertheless, breathwork is an extremely useful and potent tool, so try to find the tactics that work for you so you can conquer each and everyday to the fullest!

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Resources

Books:

• The Power of Your Breath by Anders Olsson

• The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown

• Breath by James Nestor

• Boundless by Ben Greenfield

Articles:

• Box Breathing

• What Is the 4-7-8 Breathing Technique?

• The Benefits of Breath of Fire and How to Do It

• The Good Side of Stress

Products:

• Somnifix Mouth Tape

• Relaxator