Breath is a tool that is available to us at any time and place, free of charge and so effective for coping with life’s stressors.
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Breath - A powerful tool to handle stressful situations
Sometimes you can’t do much to change how you feel but you can change the way you breathe. Taking control over your breath gives you ability to take control of yourself, especially when you are afraid or stressed. Breath connects your mind with your body.
Breathing is controlled by our autonomic nervous system and our central nervous system. So, it is an involuntary process. This process can also be voluntary if we choose to bring our presence to it. We have power to change its rate, depth, and quality.
When you’re upset, your breath is fast and heavy. When you’re scared, your breath is short and choppy. But when you’re calm, your breath is slow and steady. As you can see, when your breath is unsteady, your mind is unsteady too. When your breath is steady, your mind is steady too.
The purpose of any breathing technique in yoga is to gain control of the breath. We have the power to use the breath as an effective tool for improving our mental and physical well-being. You can use your breath to boost your digestion, calm and focus your mind, strengthen your respiratory muscles and so much more. How you breathe also affects how you deal with difficult situations.
I will teach you one of the techniques used by Navy SEAL to cope with stress.
A powerful tool to increase your ability to handle stressful situations
Box breathing or square breathing is an extended version of Equal ration breathing. It creates equality in the breath and plus includes inner and outer retention. Each component of this breath technique has its own benefits.
Adding breath retention after an inhalation or exhalation increases carbon dioxide levels, which stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system known as “rest and digest.” If you hold your breath after an inhalation, you will feel more balanced. If you hold your breath after an exhalation, you will feel more relaxed. Those feelings are akin to “rest and digest” mode.
Increasing carbon dioxide levels through breathing less allows the red blood cells release oxygen to the organs and cells.
Making your breaths equal in duration and intensity is a way to regulate our energy which works on our emotions which eases mood swings.
Box Breathing
To help you memorize the technique imagine a box or a square. You will move along each side of the box as you breathe.
Inhale for four seconds as you move up one side of the box, hold the breath for another four seconds as you move along the top of the box, exhale for another four seconds as you move down the other side of the box, and lastly hold the breath for another four seconds as you move along the bottom side of the box. Breathe through the nose.
Steps to practice Box Breathing technique
- Start in a comfortable seated position that is easy to maintain.
- Inhale for 4* seconds.
- Hold the breath at the top of the inhalation for another 4 seconds.
- Exhale for 4 seconds.
- Hold the breath at the bottom of the exhalation for another 4 seconds.
- Repeat (15 minutes is recommended).
*You can change the breath ration as long as the ratio is 1:1. Choose the one that works best for you.
To avoid over-breathing in this practice, inhale or exale only as much as is necessary. If you choose the ratio 4:4 for example, as soon as you reach 4 STOP, even dough your breath isn’t a full breath or your lungs are not fully empty.
Whatever you do, your body works to support you. It responds to what you’re doing. How you breathe will shape how you feel, how you think, how you react!
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