Breathing Exercise Guide: 5 Stress-Relieving Exercises

Breathing exercises are step-by-step practices that facilitate deep breathing, which helps to relieve stress, release tension, and encourage pulmonary health. Autonomic breathing can be very shallow, which gradually increases anxiety. For thousands of years, people have used breathing exercises as a relaxation technique—often as part of a spiritual practice—to mitigate shallow breathing.

Here are just some of the wellness benefits associated with practicing deep breathing techniques.

1. 1. Aids stress management. The human body naturally defaults to shallow breathing (or chest breathing), especially in the face of stress. For instance, shortness of breath is one of the main symptoms people experience during panic attacks. A lack of oxygen in your brain and inconsistent breathing patterns only further aggravate your body’s stress response. Practicing a simple breathing exercise daily can help keep your stress response at bay, and even lower your blood pressure.
2. 2. Encourages mindfulness. Paying attention to your breath (through counting, slight movement, and intentionally expanding your diaphragm) makes it easier to focus on the present moment. Practiced regularly, breathing exercises can become a mindfulness meditation ritual that practitioners can return to in order to relieve stress and increase positive feelings.
3. 3. Improves lung function. Shallow autonomic breathing doesn’t take full advantage of a person’s lung capacity. Deep breathing strengthens the diaphragm and lungs, increasing their capacity over time. Developing breath control also strengthens the diaphragm.
4. 4. Promotes stress relief. Deep breathing triggers the parasympathetic nervous system, putting you in a state of relaxation and helping your body regulate its “fight or flight” response. Diaphragmatic breathing also activates the vagus nerve, which slows your heart rate and increases muscle relaxation.

Here are some breathing exercises that have calming effects on the body.

1. 1. Box breathing: To perform the box breathing exercise, sit in a comfortable position. Take a relaxing breath in through your nose for a count of four, then hold at the top for another count of four. Exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of four, making a whooshing sound, then hold your breath for a final count of four before repeating the cycle. Learn more about box breathing.
2. 2. Diaphragmatic breathing: Also known as “belly breathing” or “abdominal breathing,” this technique helps deactivate “fight or flight” mode and regulates stress levels. Diaphragmatic breathing stimulates the vagus nerve, which has a calming effect on your whole body. This exercise involves placing your left hand on your sternum and your right hand on your belly as you sit or lie down. Inhale deeply, filling your belly, then rib cage, then upper chest. Exhale slowly. Repeat this diaphragmatic breathing pattern until your stress-related symptoms subside.
3. 3. Pursed-lip breathing: This breathing exercise—common for those with COPD—elongates your breath and helps you build up lung capacity over time. Sit in a comfortable position, and breathe in through your nose for two counts. Then, breathe out slowly through pursed lips.
4. 4. Nadi Shodhana breathing: Nadi Shodhana is a Pranayama breathing technique commonly practiced in yoga. Also known as “alternate nostril breathing,” this technique involves alternating inhalations and exhalations through the right nostril and left nostril, which correlate to the emotional and logical halves of our brain. The balancing aspect of this technique can be calming and aid in concentration.
5. 5. Ujjayi breathing: Another yogic breathing exercise, ujjayi breathing often makes an appearance in yoga practices. Pranayama breathing also calls this technique “victorious breath,” as it involves gently narrowing your throat to create resistance as air passes through the body, creating the sound of a whisper-like roar.

Find something comfortable to sit or lie on, grab a MasterClass Annual Membership, and dial into the present moment with Jon Kabat-Zinn, the father of the Western mindfulness movement. From formal meditation exercises to examinations of the science behind mindfulness, Jon will prepare you for the most important practice of them all: life itself.