Breathe in, breathe out
Exploring breathing techniques and reminding myself to be intentional about breathing in everyday life.
Breathe in, breathe out
A Slow Breathing Excercise
Follow these steps, taken from Kung-Fu & Wim Hof certified instructor Kitaru Waga:
Find a comfortable position where you can relax.
Close your eyes and take a moment to notice your natural breath.
Begin to slow your breath down. Inhale deeply through your nose for a count of 4, then exhale slowly through your mouth for a
When you're excited or stressed, the aperture of your visual window shrinks. When you're relaxed, the aperture of your vision expands.
Charlotte Grysolle • Breathwork Fallacies, How to Tap Into Your ANS & a Slow Breathing Exercise
- To activate the sympathetic nervous system: narrow your vision. Go into “Portrait Mode” and let everything else fall into the background.
- To activate the parasympathetic nervous system: widen your visual field. See as much of your environment as you can.
Charlotte Grysolle • Breathwork Fallacies, How to Tap Into Your ANS & a Slow Breathing Exercise
Here’s a tool you can immediately try out to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and push back the stress response in real-time:
The physiological sigh.
It’s simple:
The physiological sigh.
It’s simple:
- 2 inhales through the nose (one long until you feel you can do no more, and then a second small one)
- 1 long extended exhale through the mouth
- 1–3 times
Charlotte Grysolle • Breathwork Fallacies, How to Tap Into Your ANS & a Slow Breathing Exercise
To activate the sympathetic nervous system (autonomic arousal ⬆️): emphasize longer and stronger inhales. To activate the parasympathetic nervous system (autonomic arousal ⬇️): emphasize longer and slower exhales.
stretch-letter.com • Breathwork Fallacies, How to Tap Into Your ANS & a Slow Breathing Exercise
Breath of calm
This practice uses the technique of alternate nostril breathing that has been shown in studies to effectively reduce anxiety, combined with an exhale that is twice the length of the inhale. Longer exhales are key for the down-regulation of the parasympathetic nervous system
Jonny Miller • The Operating Manual for Your Nervous System
example, take five breaths, inhaling and exhaling a little more fully than usual. This is both energizing and relaxing, activating first the sympathetic system and then the parasympathetic one, back and forth, in a gentle rhythm. Notice how you feel when you’re done. That combination of aliveness and centeredness is the essence of the peak performa
... See moreRick Hanson • Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom
Take turns stimulating the sympathetic (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)
Big Exhalation Inhale as much as you can, hold that inhalation for a few seconds, and then exhale slowly while relaxing. A big inhalation really expands your lungs, requiring a big exhalation to bring the lungs back to their resting size. This stimulates the PNS, which is in charge of exhaling.
Rick Hanson • Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom
“There are as many ways to breathe as there are foods to eat,” said one female instructor who had held her breath for more than eight minutes and once dived below 300 feet. “And each way we breathe will affect our bodies in different ways.” Another diver told me that some methods of breathing will nourish our brains, while others will kill neurons;
... See more