7 Breathing Exercises to Relieve Tension, Regain Strength and Focus
12 December 2012
Read by 1705 persons
Deep breathing has the benefit of providing a beneficial internal massage in an often tense area of the body: the belly. Focusing on breathing is also a very effective way to banish negative thoughts and refocus your thoughts on the present.
Here are 7 simple breathing exercises to apply on any occasion: upon waking to ease your morning routine, before an interview to relax, during a commute to unwind, before important work to increase your concentration, before bed to relax…
Exercise No. 1: Inflated breathing
Inhale through your nostrils, inflate your belly: it's an image, the belly inflating only under the pressure of the diaphragm, itself compressed by the air entering the lungs. Once you think your belly is inflated, hold your breath for 3 to 5 seconds, then exhale. Repeat the cycle ten times.
Exercise No. 2: Complete breathing
Start with the previous exercise, but once your belly is fully inflated, complete the inhalation by drawing more air into the top of your lungs (your belly will contract slightly). Hold your breath for 3 to 5 seconds, then exhale. Repeat the cycle ten times.
Exercise No. 3: Exhaled breathing
This is a variation of exercises 1 and 2. During exhalation, once it is complete, expel the last cubic centimeters of air from your lungs by contracting your abdominal muscles. Keep the muscles contracted for 2 to 3 seconds. Repeat the cycle ten times.
Exercise No. 4: Visual breathing
Visualize the path taken by the inhaled, then exhaled, air. The path to visualize: the air enters through the nostrils, passes to the back of your throat, enters the trachea (tube connecting your throat to your lungs), then into the bronchi and bronchioles, and finally the pulmonary alveoli of your lungs. At the level of these alveoli, oxygen passes into the blood and is transported to the various organs and muscles of the body. In the exact reverse order, it is carbon dioxide (CO2) that is exhaled. Repeat the cycle as many times as you deem pleasant or necessary.
Exercise No. 5: Walking breathing
When walking down the street or during a walk, inhale for 5 steps, for example, then exhale for 3 steps. Adjust this number of steps yourself; it should be adapted to your body. Concentrate your attention on the number of inhalations and exhalations. This type of breathing will allow you to breathe fully and find calm, serenity and concentration. It will banish any parasitic thought, any stress during the exercise. Useful, for example, when going to an important appointment.
Exercise No. 6: Numbered breathing
In this exercise, which I find very effective for immediately regaining calm and serenity, you will go through as many numbers as possible. Close your eyes, then visualize the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… and let your breath glide over each one. Concretely: inhale while mentally drawing the number “1”, exhale while drawing the number “2”, inhale while drawing the number “3”,… and go as far as possible! To help you at the beginning, you can draw each of the numbers on a sheet of paper and breathe while having these numbers in front of your eyes.
Exercise No. 7: Textual breathing
A variation of exercise No. 6, you replace the numbers with letters. The advantage of letters is to be able to associate a theme with your session. You can, for example, choose one or more words that do you good: relaxation, courage, concentration… You can also do the exercise on a quote that means something to you: on inhalation, draw the first letter, on exhalation, the next… An excellent idea to put yourself in the desired physical and mental state!
Gilles Payet.
Etre-bien-au-travail.fr
Posted on December 12, 2012.
Here are 7 simple breathing exercises to apply on any occasion: upon waking to ease your morning routine, before an interview to relax, during a commute to unwind, before important work to increase your concentration, before bed to relax…
Exercise No. 1: Inflated breathing
Inhale through your nostrils, inflate your belly: it's an image, the belly inflating only under the pressure of the diaphragm, itself compressed by the air entering the lungs. Once you think your belly is inflated, hold your breath for 3 to 5 seconds, then exhale. Repeat the cycle ten times.
Exercise No. 2: Complete breathing
Start with the previous exercise, but once your belly is fully inflated, complete the inhalation by drawing more air into the top of your lungs (your belly will contract slightly). Hold your breath for 3 to 5 seconds, then exhale. Repeat the cycle ten times.
Exercise No. 3: Exhaled breathing
This is a variation of exercises 1 and 2. During exhalation, once it is complete, expel the last cubic centimeters of air from your lungs by contracting your abdominal muscles. Keep the muscles contracted for 2 to 3 seconds. Repeat the cycle ten times.
Exercise No. 4: Visual breathing
Visualize the path taken by the inhaled, then exhaled, air. The path to visualize: the air enters through the nostrils, passes to the back of your throat, enters the trachea (tube connecting your throat to your lungs), then into the bronchi and bronchioles, and finally the pulmonary alveoli of your lungs. At the level of these alveoli, oxygen passes into the blood and is transported to the various organs and muscles of the body. In the exact reverse order, it is carbon dioxide (CO2) that is exhaled. Repeat the cycle as many times as you deem pleasant or necessary.
Exercise No. 5: Walking breathing
When walking down the street or during a walk, inhale for 5 steps, for example, then exhale for 3 steps. Adjust this number of steps yourself; it should be adapted to your body. Concentrate your attention on the number of inhalations and exhalations. This type of breathing will allow you to breathe fully and find calm, serenity and concentration. It will banish any parasitic thought, any stress during the exercise. Useful, for example, when going to an important appointment.
Exercise No. 6: Numbered breathing
In this exercise, which I find very effective for immediately regaining calm and serenity, you will go through as many numbers as possible. Close your eyes, then visualize the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… and let your breath glide over each one. Concretely: inhale while mentally drawing the number “1”, exhale while drawing the number “2”, inhale while drawing the number “3”,… and go as far as possible! To help you at the beginning, you can draw each of the numbers on a sheet of paper and breathe while having these numbers in front of your eyes.
Exercise No. 7: Textual breathing
A variation of exercise No. 6, you replace the numbers with letters. The advantage of letters is to be able to associate a theme with your session. You can, for example, choose one or more words that do you good: relaxation, courage, concentration… You can also do the exercise on a quote that means something to you: on inhalation, draw the first letter, on exhalation, the next… An excellent idea to put yourself in the desired physical and mental state!
Gilles Payet.
Etre-bien-au-travail.fr
Posted on December 12, 2012.
