Am I breathing right?
What if I say that you are breathing incorrectly? If your chest is going up with your shoulders, then you are breathing vertically. That’s not the correct way to breathe. You might be thinking that this is crazy. How come breathing, an activity I have been doing from birth is done wrong.
Once you fix your breathing, there are multiple breathing techniques you can use to be awake, boost your concentration, and relax to go to sleep. First, let’s start with your breath.
The breath
The correct way to breathe is through the diaphragm muscle. Basically — breathe through your stomach. As you see on the below picture — when you are breathing from the stomach — the stomach expands. Your chest doesn’t go up.
You can learn more about
- Why modern people breathe poorly
- Health risks of poor breathe
from the article written on the Art of Manliness — How to Breathe Correctly and Efficiently | Art of Manliness.
Techniques
Now that you have fixed your breath, let’s jump into the techniques to optimize your breathing. Your breath is connected to your energy centers as it’s about how much oxygen you enter your lungs. Modulating your breath in different ways to tune your body to different circumstances.
To wake up
My recommended method wake up in the morning is Wim Hof method. Wim Hof is known as the Iceman.
Instead of writing down the method and breathing — I’ll put down a video here by Wim Hof himself.
To learn more about the whole technique of Wim Hof — compromising of breathing, exercise, and cold showers, check out this informative video.
To Concentrate
Box breathing is a technique used by Navy SEALs to get to their peak concentration. It can be done anywhere. I use this technique throughout the day when I need to get to a level of calm after a meeting or after a heavy discussion.
Mark Divine is a former Navy SEAL commander. He has been using this technique since 1987.
I usually try 4,4,4, inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, and exhale for 4 seconds.
To Relax
4–7–8 is a technique created by Dr. Andrew Weil in regards to providing a meditative state. Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds and exhale (blow the air) for 8 seconds. I usually use this technique before I go to sleep. I play light background music as well to tune out the surrounding.
Below is a video of Dr. Andrew himself talking about the technique -
How do I remember these?
Did I guess what you were thinking? Altogether there are only 4 things you need to remember. The first one is about the breathing in through the belly bit. Then the 3 different types of breath. How you remember these throughout the day is by anchoring it to a trigger.
When you wake up in the morning, make it a habit to do the Wim Hof method of breathing. This would build in a practice of doing it just as you wake up. You will get the added benefit of waking up faster.
I do the box breathing technique right before meetings, and right after meetings. I also use it before starting a deep work session at my desk. Box breathing can be triggered by location as well — a cubicle in your office for example.
I mostly use relaxation to breathe at the end of the day before sleeping. You can use this any time of the day. But I find it ideal before bedtime.
If you are interested to find more about the health benefits and also about the scientific literature regarding this subject — I encourage you to do so. For others — I recommend you try one of these techniques for a week. Try and gauge whether you have any improvement in your life.
