Mindfulness Breathing Exercises to Reduce Stress

Stress is part of our daily life and negatively impacts our physical and mental health. Mindfulness breathing is a technique that everyone can learn that reduces the impact of stress. There are many different breathing techniques.

“Breathe Deep”, Courtesy of Darius Bashar, Unsplash.com, CC0 License; How does mindful breathing help reduce the impact of stress? Breathing is an automatic function that seems simple, and we don’t even have to think about it. However, learning specific breathing exercises, thinking about and managing breathing further expands the benefit of breathing from just keeping us alive to improving our mental and physical health.

Mindful breathing can increase the oxygen levels in our brain, lower our blood pressure, improve overall circulation, and calm our nervous system.

Our breathing is such a powerful tool for battling stress and anxiety because it connects us to the presence of God. In the Bible, the Greek word “pneuma” is used to signify God’s life-giving power, humanity’s mortality, and the Holy Spirit.

In Genesis 2:7, it is noted that God formed man and breathed into him the breath of life, and man became a living being. In Job 32:8, it notes there is a spirit in people, the breath of the Almighty within them, that makes them intelligent. Isaiah 42:5 notes that God gives breath to everyone on earth.

There are many different breathing exercises, and all are effective, so it’s important to find the one that works best for you or find several in order to keep the variety available for you.

Basic Mindful Breathing

• Get comfortable by sitting or standing and loosening tight clothes.
• Remove distractions. Turn off the TV and your phone. Close your eyes.
• Start by just noticing your breath, don’t force it, just be aware of the air coming in and going out through your nose or your mouth.
• Then deepen your breathing by gently breathing in through your nose, expanding your chest, and inflating your belly. Then, exhale slowly and allow your body to relax.
• increase your awareness by noticing the cool air flowing in through your nostrils and then the warm air flowing out. Notice if your breathing is shallow in your chest, and if so, focus on breathing more deeply while expanding your belly.
• If your mind wanders, just notice the thought and let it float past as a cloud. Then return your focus to your breathing.
• When you’re ready, take one or two last really deep breaths. Allow your breathing to return to normal. Open your eyes and return to your day.

Box Breathing

• It is best to find a comfortable spot to sit or lie down. However, box breathing can be done at any time and in any position. It is an excellent way to calm your nervous system.
• Slowly exhale all of the air from your lungs.
• Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose for a count of four.
• Hold your breath with full lungs for a count of four.
• Exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of four.
• Avoid taking another breath for a count of four.
• Repeat as many times as necessary.

Belly Breathing (Diaphragmatic)

• Place your hands on your stomach.
• As you inhale, your stomach expands.
• As you exhale, your stomach deflates.
• Repeat as many times as you’d like.

Sighing Breathing

• Deeply and fully inhale through your nose.
• Take another quick, shallow breath or sip of air through your nose to top off your lungs.
• Slowly exhale all the air through your mouth, making a gentle sighing sound.
• Repeat one to three times to quickly reduce tension.

Breath Counting

• Sit in a quiet spot and in an upright posture with your hands relaxed.
• Gently close your eyes or soften your gaze downward to avoid distractions and bring your awareness to your breathing.
• Count your breaths as they naturally occur without changing the rhythm of your breathing. Count inhaling as one and exhaling as two. Continue up to 10 and then start over.
• If your mind drifts or you lose count, just start again without judgment
• As counting to ten becomes easy, you can try counting to twenty or thirty to build increased focus and concentration.

4-7-8 Breathing

• Get in a comfortable position. If possible, with little or no distractions. Throughout this breathing technique, your tongue should stay toward the roof of your mouth with the tip of your tongue touching the back of your two front teeth
• Breathe out deeply through your mouth, making a swishing sound.
• Inhale through your nose while mentally counting up to four. Don’t go too slowly or too quickly; pick a pace that works for you.
• Without straining or stressing, gently hold your breath while counting to seven.
• Breathe out slowly while counting to eight with your lips slightly pursed, and you should hear a swishing sound.
• Do this three to five more times. At first, you may experience a little bit of lightheadedness or shortness of breath, but this should go away as you practice this technique.

Your sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the body’s fight or flight response. When you’re stressed, the system goes into overdrive, which makes you feel amped up, including fast breathing, increased heart rate, shallow breathing, and other signs of stress like sweaty hands, shakiness, and an upset stomach.

Your parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for relaxing your sympathetic nervous system and helping you calm down. Mindful breathing techniques can play a huge role in activating your parasympathetic nervous system, which will help you shift back toward tranquility. Calming your mind and reducing your anxiety can go a long way toward getting a good night’s sleep.

With practice and repetition, you can teach your nervous system to calm itself down. While it may take some time and practice, the more you do it, the more you allow your body to go into the parasympathetic mode. If you regularly practice mindfulness breathing, especially during times when you’re not particularly stressed, your body will actually learn to incorporate it into your go-to response.

It is important to note that it is the exhale that activates the vagus nerve, which controls the parasympathetic nervous system. Using mantras or anchors in conjunction with your breathing creates new neural pathway connections in your brain. A mantra can be something as simple as “I am safe; God is with me; I can do this or I am capable.”

Since it is on the exhale that our vagus nerve is activated, our system is calmed, and our brain has been filled with oxygen. Having a strong positive mantra can be effective. While it does not have to be spoken out loud, it is more effective than just having the thought. Repeating the mantra on the exhale during any of the techniques will accomplish this process.

There are apps that are available that can guide you through these mindfulness techniques by helping you keep the count and the rhythm. Find one that works for you.

Again, the most important thing is to find a technique or two that works for you and consistently do it to help keep your stress levels low and your body trained to relax on cue of a deep breath. After practicing a while with the mantra, as soon as you take a deep breath, that thought will automatically pop into your head.

Isn’t it amazing that God created us to be able to have such an impact from the simple act of breathing?

If you would like to learn more about mindfulness breathing exercises and other ways to manage stress and anxiety, call Texas Christian Counseling to schedule an appointment.