https://www.realsimple.

com/health/mind-mood/breathing-exercises

https://www.headspace.com/meditation/breathing-exercises

https://mindfulnessexercises.com/6-mindful-breathing-exercises/

https://www.everydayhealth.com/alternative-health/living-with/ways-practice-breath-focused-meditation/

What is mindful breathing

https://www.stopbreathethink.com/mindful-breathing/

https://www.headspace.com/meditation/meditation-for-beginners

https://www.gaiam.com/blogs/discover/meditation-101-techniques-benefits-and-a-beginner-s-how-to

https://mindworks.org/blog/breathing-techniques-meditation/

https://betterme.world/articles/meditation-breathing-techniques/

https://www.insider.com/why-is-mindful-breathing-important

https://www.meditationlifeskills.com/mindful-breathing-script/

https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/relaxation-techniques-breath-control-helps-quell-errant-stress-response

https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEE7JfvbLO1hHEye3kytx3u0qGQgEKhAIACoHCAow
rL9CjDC7vQCMJmD1wU?hl=en-IN&gl=IN&ceid=IN%3Aen
Breathe. Exhale. Repeat: The Benefits of Controlled
Breathing
Credit...Andrew Rae
By Lesley Alderman
Nov. 9, 2016

Take a deep breath, expanding your belly. Pause. Exhale slowly to the count of five. Repeat four times.

Congratulations. You’ve just calmed your nervous system.

Controlled breathing, like what you just practiced, has been shown to reduce stress, increase alertness and boost you
system. For centuries yogis have used breath control, or pranayama, to promote concentration and improve vitality.
advocated breath-meditation as a way to reach enlightenment.

Science is just beginning to provide evidence that the benefits of this ancient practice are real. Studies have found, fo
breathing practices can help reduce symptoms associated with anxiety, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, dep
attention deficit disorder.

“Breathing is massively practical,” says Belisa Vranich, a psychologist and author of the book “Breathe,” to be publish
December. “It’s meditation for people who can’t meditate.”

How controlled breathing may promote healing remains a source of scientific study. One theory is that controlled bre
change the response of the body’s autonomic nervous system, which controls unconscious processes such as heart ra
digestion as well as the body’s stress response, says Dr. Richard Brown, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry a
University and co-author of “The Healing Power of the Breath.”

Consciously changing the way you breathe appears to send a signal to the brain to adjust the parasympathetic branch
nervous system, which can slow heart rate and digestion and promote feelings of calm as well as the sympathetic sys
controls the release of stress hormones like cortisol.

Many maladies, such as anxiety and depression, are aggravated or triggered by stress. “I have seen patients transform
adopting regular breathing practices,” says Dr. Brown, who has a private practice in Manhattan and teaches breathin
around the world.

When you take slow, steady breaths, your brain gets the message that all is well and activates the parasympathetic re
Dr. Brown. When you take shallow rapid breaths or hold your breath, the sympathetic response is activated. “If you b
correctly, your mind will calm down,” said Dr. Patricia Gerbarg, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at New York
College and Dr. Brown’s co-author

Dr. Chris Streeter, an associate professor of psychiatry and neurology at Boston University, recently completed a sma
which she measured the effect of daily yoga and breathing on people with diagnoses of major depressive disorder.
After 12 weeks of daily yoga and coherent breathing, the subjects’ depressive symptoms significantly decreased and t
gamma-aminobutyric acid, a brain chemical that has calming and anti-anxiety effects, had increased. The research w
in May at the International Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health in Las Vegas. While the study was small an
control group, Dr. Streeter and her colleagues are planning a randomized controlled trial to further test the intervent

“The findings were exciting,” she said. “They show that a behavioral intervention can have effects of similar magnitu
antidepressant.”

Controlled breathing may also affect the immune system. Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina divided a gr

Here are three basic breathing exercises to try on your own.

Coherent Breathing

If you have the time to learn only one technique, this is the one to try. In coherent breathing, the goal is to breathe at
breaths per minute, which generally translates into inhaling and exhaling to the count of six. If you have never practi
exercises before, you may have to work up to this practice slowly, starting with inhaling and exhaling to the count of
working your way up to six.
Image

Credit...Andrew Rae

1. Sitting upright or lying down, place your hands on your belly.

2. Slowly breathe in, expanding your belly, to the count of five.

3. Pause.

4. Slowly breathe out to the count of six.

5. Work your way up to practicing this pattern for 10 to 20 minutes a day.

Stress Relief

When your mind is racing or you feel keyed up, try Rock and Roll breathing, which has the added benefit of strength
core.
Image
Credit...Andrew Rae
1. Sit up straight on the floor or the edge of a chair.

2. Place your hands on your belly.

3. As you inhale, lean forward and expand your belly.

4. As you exhale, squeeze the breath out and curl forward while leaning backward; exhale until you’re completely em

5. Repeat 20 times.

Energizing HA Breath

When the midafternoon slump hits, stand up and do some quick breathwork to wake up your mind and body.
Image
Time Required

15 minutes daily for at least a week (though evidence suggests that mindfulness increases the more
you practice it).

How to Do It

The most basic way to do mindful breathing is to focus your attention on your breath, the inhale and
exhale. You can do this while standing, but ideally you’ll be sitting or even lying in a comfortable
position. Your eyes may be open or closed, or you can maintain a soft gaze, with your eyes partially
closed but not focusing on anything in particular. It can help to set aside a designated time for this
exercise, but it can also help to practice it when you’re feeling particularly stressed or
anxious. Experts believe a regular practice of mindful breathing can make it easier to do in difficult
situations. 

Sometimes, especially when trying to calm yourself in a stressful moment, it might help to start by
taking an exaggerated breath: a deep inhale through your nostrils (3 seconds), hold your breath (2
seconds), and a long exhale through your mouth (4 seconds). Otherwise, observe each breath
without trying to adjust it; it may help to focus on the rise and fall of your chest or the sensation
through your nostrils. As you do so, you may find that your mind wanders, distracted by thoughts or
bodily sensations. That’s OK. You can notice that this is happening and try to gently bring your
attention back to your breath.

To provide even more structure, and help you lead this practice for others, below are steps for
a short guided meditation. You can listen to audio of this guided meditation, produced by
UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC), in the player below; if it doesn't play, you can
find it here or download it from MARC's website.

1. Please find a relaxed, comfortable position. You could be seated on a chair or on the floor on a
cushion. Try to keep your back upright, but not too tight. Hands resting wherever they’re
comfortable. Tongue on the roof of your mouth or wherever it’s comfortable.
2. Notice and invite your body to relax. Let yourself relax and become curious about your body
seated here—the sensations it experiences, the touch, the connection with the floor or the chair.
Do your best to relax any areas of tightness or tension. Breathe.

3. Tune into the rhythm of your breath. You can feel the natural flow of breath—in, out. You
don’t need to do anything to your breath. Not long, not short, but natural. Notice where you feel
your breath in your body. It might be in your abdomen. It may be in your chest or throat or in your
nostrils. See if you can feel the sensations of breath, one breath at a time. When one breath ends,
the next breath begins. If you are not able to notice the breath in all areas of the body, that is OK.
We are more connected to certain areas of the body than others, at different times of the day.   
4. Now as you do this, you might notice that your mind may start to wander. You may start thinking
about other things. If this happens, it is not a problem. It's very natural. Try to notice that your mind
has wandered. You can say “thinking” or “wandering” in your head softly. And then gently redirect
your attention right back to the breathing.
5. Stay here for five to seven minutes. Notice your breath, in silence. From time to time, you’ll get
lost in thought, then return to your breath.  
6. After a few minutes, once again notice your body, your whole body, seated here. Let yourself
relax even more deeply and then, if it is available, please offer yourself some appreciation for
doing this practice today.
The term "fight or flight" is also known as the stress response. It's what the body does as it prepares to confront or avo
appropriately invoked, the stress response helps us rise to many challenges. But trouble starts when this response is co
momentous, day-to-day events, such as money woes, traffic jams, job worries, or relationship problems.

Health problems are one result. A prime example is high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease. The stre
the immune system, increasing susceptibility to colds and other illnesses. Moreover, the buildup of stress can contribu
depression. We can't avoid all sources of stress in our lives, nor would we want to. But we can develop healthier way
One way is to invoke the relaxation response, through a technique first developed in the 1970s at Harvard Medical Sc
Herbert Benson. The relaxation response is a state of profound rest that can be elicited in many ways, including medi
progressive muscle relaxation.

Breath focus is a common feature of several techniques that evoke the relaxation response. The first step is learning to

Deep breathing benefits

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Deep breathing also goes by the names of diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing, belly breathing, and paced r
breathe deeply, the air coming in through your nose fully fills your lungs, and the lower belly rises.

For many of us, deep breathing seems unnatural. There are several reasons for this. For one, body image has a negativ
our culture. A flat stomach is considered attractive, so women (and men) tend to hold in their stomach muscles. This
breathing and gradually makes shallow "chest breathing" seem normal, which increases tension and anxiety.
Shallow breathing limits the diaphragm's range of motion. The lowest part of the lungs doesn't get a full share of oxyg
you feel short of breath and anxious.

Deep abdominal breathing encourages full oxygen exchange — that is, the beneficial trade of incoming oxygen for ou
surprisingly, it can slow the heartbeat and lower or stabilize blood pressure.

Practicing breath focus

First steps. Find a quiet, comfortable place to sit or lie down. First, take a normal breath. Then try a deep breath: Bre
nose, allowing your chest and lower belly to rise as you fill your lungs. Let your abdomen expand fully. Now breathe
mouth (or your nose, if that feels more natural).

Breath focus in practice. Once you've taken the steps above, you can move on to regular practice of controlled brea
comfortably with your eyes closed, blend deep breathing with helpful imagery and perhaps a focus word or phrase tha

Ways to elicit the relaxation response

Several techniques can help you turn down your response to stress. Breath focus helps with nearly all of them:

Progressive muscle relaxation

Creating a routine
You may want to try several different relaxation techniques to see which one works best for you. And if your favorite
you, or you want some variety, you'll have alternatives. You may also find the following tips helpful:

Choose a special place where you can sit (or lie down) comfortably and quietly.
Don't try too hard. That may just cause you to tense up.
Don't be too passive, either. The key to eliciting the relaxation response lies in shifting your focus from stressors to
and having a focal point is essential.
Try to practice once or twice a day, always at the same time, in order to enhance the sense of ritual and establish a
Try to practice at least 10–20 minutes each d
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