Author: Jothi

By Breathing of course.

Have you ever given awareness or paid attention to your breathing? Sometimes when I’m watching TV in the evening, I’ll randomly do a check in, to see how my breathing is going. Sometimes, I’m surprised to find that I’m breathing rather shallow. Especially, I notice it when I’m watching sports and I want my team to win. I’m stressing out over something silly, like a sports game, that actually doesn’t matter at all.

Working, driving, family, friends, money, pets, a chronic condition, waiting on test results, any number of things or life in general, can be stressful!

I’ll let you in on a secret of mine.

I’m afraid of needles, especially blood tests. I laugh at the irony of it all the time. Go figure, I would get a blood cancer.

For months, in the last number of years, I have had to go in for weekly blood tests. I could feel myself wind up as the days went by, to see the vampires, got closer and closer. Feeling that heavy pit in my stomach. Sitting there, in the chair, as they put that rubber band on your arm. Waiting as they are about to stick in the needle. Darn! They missed the vein, now they have to dig around for it or stick me again (I actually have easy veins too). Sometimes, I break out in a sweat, heart pounding. Shaking, when it’s all over.

Well, that doesn’t sound like a good state to be in.

I was just put into fight or flight mode, and I need to be in rest and repair mode as much as possible. A person doesn’t think clearly when they are in fight or flight state.

Breathing is the best way to get back into rest and repair mode and stop stressing or freaking out. It doesn’t matter the reason you are freaking out for these techniques to work. Sometimes just giving awareness to your breathing can be helpful. Just recognize and correct the situation.

I would like to give credit first, mainly because I don’t think it’s said enough, to India, to yoga, to preparing to meditate and meditation. Not to our western version of yoga, the real deal thing developed in India, where these breathing techniques come from. I will always be grateful for the life altering practices that I learned there.

Technique 1:

Alternative Nostril Breathing. This is my personal go to. I do it when I feel stressed and need to calm down and reset.

Technique 2:

Sigh Breathing. I really like this one too. I do enjoy a good sigh.

• Sit up straight.
• Take a deep, slow breath in through your nose, filling your lungs to full capacity.
• Hold your breath for 3-5 seconds.
• Release your breath through your mouth with a sigh (or a good groan 😜).
• Repeat until you feel better.

Technique 3:

4-7-8 Breathing. This one is amazingly good and quick for snapping you back into instant clarity. I think maybe it has to do with the lack of oxygen coming in at times. Again, alternative nostril breathing is my number one choice, but this one is really helpful in certain situations.

• Start by exhaling completely.
• Breathe in for a count of 4.
• Then hold your breath for a count of 7.
• Exhale for a count of 8.
• Repeat. I find that it usually only takes 5 times or so to be re-centered.

A quick note on counting. Make sure you are counting the same way, with the same timing. I can count to 8 in the same time as 4, but that defeats the purpose of doing these breathing exercises. 8 should be twice as long as 4!

Technique 4:

Square Breathing. I don’t use this one much, but I know people who really like it.

• For this one, the number count doesn’t matter, do what works for you, but the number has to remain the same (i.e. a count of 4 or 5).
• Start by exhaling completely.
• Breathe in through your nose for the count of 4.
• Hold for the count of 4.
• Exhale through your mouth for the count of 4.
• Hold again for the count of 4.
• Repeat.

Technique 5:

Straw Breathing. This is a fantastic one for kids.

• Breathe a full breath in through your nose.
• Puff up your cheeks with air and blow out slowly through your mouth like you had a straw in your mouth.
• Repeat.

For me personally, I can get through my bloods tests and IV’s fine now (and most other things), without freaking out. I’m still very much a work in progress.

I was trying to think of a number 2 for de-stressing besides breathing. Breathing is number one on my list because it’s so effective, it doesn’t cost you anything, and you can do it anytime and anywhere. I would say that exercise would be number 2. But it’s funny though, if you’re exercising, give awareness to your breath, and you’ll notice you breathe very deeply and rhythmically, usually the same count in as out. So in the end, is it breathing again?

Breathing is so amazingly simple and it is so amazingly effective. This should give you a number of tools to help you get through life or de-stress. I hope you find one that you like.

Breathing will help you regain yourself when you lose yourself. But if you want to keep a level head and not lose yourself to begin with, meditate daily, but that’s a whole other topic…