Workouts

The 4-7-8 breathing technique is a breathing pattern developed by Dr. Andrew. When practiced regularly, it’s possible that this technique could help some people fall asleep in a shorter period of time.

The exercise helps regulate the hormone cortisol, which controls your fight or flight response. This is important because too much cortisol being released in your body too often can have negative long-term health effects.

How do you practice?

1. Find somewhere comfortable to sit or lie down. If you can, close your eyes.
2. Slowly inhale through your nose for 4sec.
3. Retain for 7sec.
4. Slowly exhale for 8sec.
5. Use your diaphragm while breathing.
6. Focusing your mind entirely on your breathing.

What are the benefits?

Use the 4-7-8 breathing technique to decrease anxiety, sleep better, manage food cravings and control emotional responses like anger.

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Box breathing, also known as square breathing, is a technique used when taking slow, deep breaths. It can heighten performance and concentration while also being a powerful stress reliever. This technique can be beneficial to anyone, especially those who want to meditate or reduce stress. It’s used by everyone from athletes to U.S. Navy SEALs, police officers, and nurses.

How do you practice Box Breathing?

1. Find somewhere comfortable to sit or lie down. If you can, close your eyes.
2. Inhale slowly through your nose for 4sec.
3. Hold the breath(Retain) for 4sec.
4. Exhale through your mouth for 4sec.
5. Hold the breath(Sustain) to the count of for 4sec.
6. Use your diaphragm while breathing.
7. Focusing your mind entirely on your breathing.

What are the benefits?

According to the Mayo Clinic, there’s sufficient evidence that intentional deep breathing can actually calm and regulate the autonomic nervous system (ANS).

The slow holding of breath allows CO₂ to build up in the blood. An increased blood CO₂ enhances the cardio-inhibitory response of the vagus nerve when you exhale and stimulates your parasympathetic system. This produces a calm and relaxed feeling in the mind and body.

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Humming or also know as Bhramari Pranayama works on calming the nerves and soothes them especially around the brain and forehead. The humming sound vibrations have a natural calming effect. Of course, you’ll want to practice it in a place where you are free to make a humming sound.

How do you practice?

1. Find somewhere comfortable to sit or lie down. If you can, close your eyes.
2. Place your first fingers on the tragus cartilage that partially covers your ear canal.
3. Slowly inhale through your nose for 3.5sec.
4. Retain for 1.5sec.
5. Very slowly exhale for 15sec or as long as is comfortable. Keeping your mouth closed, make a loud humming sound and gently press your fingers into the cartilage.
6. Sustain for 1.5sec.
7. After 3-4 cycles stop pressing into the cartilage and relax your hands.
8. Use your diaphragm while breathing
9. Focusing your mind entirely on your breathing.

What are the benefits?

Humming breath is considered to be beneficial for thyroid and sinus problems due to the effect of the sound vibrations. Many yogis also consider this breathing technique to alleviate stress, anger, the tension in the mind, insomnia, and anxiety. It’s also considered to improve and stronger the voice.

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There are two functions that support the flow of the lymphatic system: skeletal muscle motion and deep breathing. While skeletal muscle motion is considered a major pump for the lymphatic system, deep breathing is equally important. Or even more important.

How do you practice?

1. Find somewhere comfortable to sit or lie down. If you can, close your eyes.
2. Inhale through your nose for 2sec.
3. Retain for 8sec.
4. Exhale all the air from the lungs for 4sec.
5. Use your diaphragm while breathing.
6. Focusing your mind entirely on your breathing.

What are the benefits?

Deep breathing and the Lymphatic System work in unity since long and slow breathing effectively promotes lymph flow. Deep breathing also especially assists those with lipedema and lymphedema. It helps eliminate toxins, improves metabolism, assists the intestinal lymph nodes to absorb fat, and also boosts the body’s immune system.

Deep breathing promotes health and healing because it helps to reduce lymphatic stasis.

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Pursed lip breathing is a breathing technique designed to make your breaths more effective by making them slower and more intentional. It improves the lung mechanics and breathing all at once, meaning that you don’t have to work as hard to breathe well.

How do you practice?

1. Find somewhere comfortable to sit or lie down. If you can, close your eyes.
2. Slowly inhale through your nose for 2sec.
3. Purse your lips like you’re blowing on hot food and then slowly exhale for 4sec.
4. Use your diaphragm while breathing
5. Focusing your mind entirely on your breathing.

What are the benefits?

Relieving shortness of breath by slowing the breath rate. Keeping the airways open longer, which decreases the work that goes into breathing. Improving ventilation by moving old air (carbon dioxide) trapped in the lungs out and making room for new, fresh oxygen.

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Resonance breathing is a way of breathing (slow relaxed diaphragmatic breathing at around 6 breaths per minute) that has a regulating effect on the autonomic nervous system.

How do you practice?

1. Find somewhere comfortable to sit or lie down. If you can, close your eyes.
2. Slowly inhale through your nose for 5sec.
3. Slowly exhale for 5sec.
4. Use your diaphragm while breathing
5. Focusing your mind entirely on your breathing.

What are the benefits?

As resonant breathing slows your heart rate, it naturally lowers your blood pressure. This has a calming impact that helps most people ease out of an anxiety attack.

Resonant breathing may help stimulate the vagus nerve, which allows you to tip the scales more in favor of the parasympathetic nervous system. Just by slowing your breathing and thus your heart rate, you can keep your emotions in check while giving yourself an instant mood boost.

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Full yogic breathing is a deep breathing pranayama practice with a number of profound benefits.

How do you practice?

1. Find somewhere comfortable to sit or lie down. If you can, close your eyes.
2. Slowly inhale through the nose for 8sec.
3. Retain for 4sec.
4. Slowly exhale for 8sec.
5. Sustain for 2sec.
6. Use your diaphragm while breathing.
7. Focusing your mind entirely on your breathing.

What are the benefits?

It benefits the vital organs, which can easily become stagnant, constricted, or fraught with emotional and physical tension when we experience stress. Full Yogic Breath relieves stress, refreshes the mind, and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, encouraging a calmer, more balanced state of being overall. It also helps to correct unhealthy breathing patterns.

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By practicing breathing exercises from the Buteyko Method you can experience more open airways and improved blood circulation in a matter of minutes. This alone is enough to demonstrate the relationship between your everyday breathing and state of health.

How do you practice?

1. Find somewhere comfortable to sit. If you can, close your eyes.
2. Slowly inhale through the nose for 3sec. With every cycle, inhale time decreases.
3. Retain for 1sec.
4. Slowly exhale for 4sec. With every cycle, exhale time increases.
5. Sustain for 7sec. With every cycle, sustain time increases.

What are the benefits?

• Improved exercise tolerance – this is beneficial for all people who undertake the Buteyko technique, however, it is particularly beneficial in sportspeople as it allows them to train harder which can result in improved performance
• Improved quality of life
• Reduced mucus production – this reduces the effect mucus has on the airway – i.e. narrowing, and also reduced need for coughing
• In people with asthma – reduce frequency and severity of asthma attacks, this reduces reliance on medication

Learn more about the whole Buteyko Method.

Breath of Fire, also known as Tummo breathing, also known as Wim Hof breathing. Tummo is found in the Mahasiddha Krishnacarya and the Hevajra Tantra texts. It means the fierce goddess of heat and passion in Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Learn more about the whole Wim Hof Method.

How do you practice?

1. You should practice Breath of Fire with the Wim Hof Method.
2. Find somewhere comfortable to sit or lie down. If you can, close your eyes.
3. Take a deep inhale for around 1.4 sec.
4. Exhale for around 1.7 sec. Don’t force the exhale. Just let it go.
5. Repeat for 30-40 cycles.

What are the benefits?

Increase body temperature. Reducing stress-related health problems such as; anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, and cardiac irregularities.
Improved concentration. Higher confidence. Improved physical health.

How to practice Wim Hof

Inhale Hold Prep(IHP) and Exhale Hold Prep(EHP) are just an example of a Breathing Assistant for Tables workouts. You should find your own pattern of normal(relaxed) breathing and implement it. The difference between the two is that you do IHP when you hold your breath on Inhale Tables and EHP on Exhale Tables.

How do you practice?

1. You should practice IHP or EHP only with the Tables workouts.
2. Find somewhere comfortable to sit or lie down. If you can, close your eyes.
3. Follow the pattern.

What are the benefits?

Using the breathing assistant while doing the Tables workouts you are sure that your breathing is consistent and doesn’t change over time. Which leads to the more measurable and consistent improvement of hold time.

How to practice Apnea Tables