THE BEST BREATHWORK EXERCISES FOR…

First thing in the morning

TECHNIQUE: YANG BREATHING

By Dr Buathon Thienarrom, a holistic practitioner

• Inhale through the nose for four counts and hold.

• Imagine circulating the air down the front of your chest to your belly and your pelvis.

• Then, imagine it flowing up along your back, around your head and back to your chest.

• Exhale through the mouth for four counts.

• Repeat this loop 10 times.

Last thing at night

TECHNIQUE: YIN BREATHING

By Dr Buathon Thienarrom

• Inhale through the nose for four counts and hold.

• Imagine circulating the air up to the crown of your head, down the back of your head and through the back of your body to your bottom.

• Then, imagine it flowing up from your pelvis, through your belly and your chest, and up to the crown again.

• Exhale through the mouth for four counts.

• Repeat this loop 10 times.

Combating stress

TECHNIQUE: CONSCIOUS CONNECTED BREATHING

By Alan Dolan, a breathing coach and the founder of Breathguru

• Lie down in a comfortable, warm space in a slightly elevated position, so that your upper chest is higher than your abdomen.

• Place your hands over your navel.

• Imagine a balloon is in your abdomen. Open your mouth fairly wide and inflate the balloon with your inhale.

• Deflate the balloon by exhaling through the mouth with a short, soft sigh (like fogging a mirror).

• Repeat this for five minutes, making sure you are breathing in a relaxed manner and that the inhale is longer than the exhale.

• Then, simply relax for five minutes, allowing the breath to go back to the nose and letting it take care of itself.

Calming anxiety

TECHNIQUE: THE TENSION RELAX

By Dominique Antiglio

• Breathe in and out a few times to establish your rhythm.

• Then, take a long and slow inhale through the nose.

• While holding your breath for four to five seconds, tense up all the muscles in your body.

• Exhale through the mouth vigorously, simultaneously releasing the muscles on this breath.

• Repeat three times.

Boosting energy

TECHNIQUE: THE PUMP

By Dominique Antiglio

• Standing up, inhale through the nose to a count of four.

• Hold your breath and ‘pump’ your shoulders vigorously five times to get the blood circulating.

• Relax the shoulders and breathe out through the mouth for eight counts.

• Repeat three times.

Getting to sleep

TECHNIQUE: THE SLEEP GATEKEEPER

By Dominique Antiglio

• Close your eyes and bring focus to the breath.

• Take a steady, deep breath in through the nose, mouth closed, to the count of three to four. Feel the chest expanding and diaphragm contracting.

• Exhale to double the length of time, opening the mouth slightly. Feel the chest contracting and diaphragm expanding.

• When it starts to feel rhythmic, so you almost no longer need to count, every time you breathe in, think of a positive word such as ‘recuperation’, ‘relaxation’, or ‘calm’.

• Focus on the sensations these words trigger throughout the body, and let them go on the exhale.

• Repeat until you naturally fall asleep.