How to learn to breathe well to relax?

Breathing is a physiological need and we all do it without paying attention to it. However, when stress, anxiety, or fear invade us, breathing well is very effective in regaining a feeling of serenity and calm. It is even the key to regaining psychological well-being. So how do you learn to breathe well? What are the benefits of deep breathing and how to benefit from it?

What does "breathe well" mean?

Learning to breathe well means knowing how to inhale and exhale deeply and in the best way to enjoy its benefits. Indeed, daily, we do not think about our breathing! As a result, we are not specifically looking to improve it.

Almost all of us breathe with the chest. When we inhale, the rib cage swells, the shoulders go up, then we evacuate the air from our lungs and everything goes down. This way of breathing is the most natural but not the most beneficial because it does not allow the tissues to be well oxygenated. To remedy this, learn to breathe with your belly instead! We give you just 3 methods to breathe well!

How to breathe properly through your stomach?

It is very simple! Just concentrate and inflate your belly with air. Thus, it is not your bust that moves when you inhale, but the abdominal area. It may not be natural at first, but it can become so if you pay attention to it regularly and adjust your breathing throughout the day.

breathe well

What are the benefits of learning to breathe well?

Breathing well means acting on our stress and reducing it before it turns into an anxiety or panic attack, for example. But it is also simply knowing how to better manage your emotions daily and live more serenely.

Learning to breathe well also allows you to:

Promote sleep;

Improve posture;

Stimulate the immune system;

Improve digestion;

Strengthen concentration;

Oxygenate the tissues more.

How to learn to breathe well?

Here are 3 methods that allow you to breathe differently and free yourself from stress!

This method of cardiac coherence is practical because it can be done discreetly everywhere. At the office, in transport, or at home, as soon as you feel stress, anger, or anxiety taking hold of you, regain control with this method of controlled breathing.

Standing or lying on your back, place one hand on your stomach.

Start by taking 2 deep abdominal breaths.

Next, inhale for 3 seconds and then block and hold the air for 3 seconds as well.

Exhale through the mouth for 6 seconds, the time for the belly to completely evacuate the air and hollow.

Repeat as many times as needed.

breathe well

This is a very effective method of yogic breathing to calm anxiety. Ultra easy to make, you will be surprised at its effectiveness! You are relaxed in just a few minutes!

Sit comfortably, preferably in a quiet place.

Place your left ring finger on your left nostril and your thumb on your right nostril.

While gently pressing on it, close your right nostril and inhale deeply with the left nostril.

Now change nostrils to exhale.

Start again, this time inhaling through the right nostril and exhaling through the left nostril.

You can continue as many times as necessary to relax.

Here is the straw breathing technique, commonly used before a stressful event such as a job interview, an oral presentation, a professional meeting...

Sitting or standing, start by inhaling through your nose, and expanding your stomach.

Blow now as you would into a straw, that is to say gently but for a long time.

Repeat the cycle a dozen times to take advantage of its effectiveness: free yourself from stress and regain control of your emotions.

breathe well

To conclude, breathing well is not about having your nose clear, but about learning to breathe through your stomach using different methods. Abdominal breathing allows better tissue oxygenation and this has many benefits for the body, such as improving the quality of sleep, digestion, and concentration. Cardiac coherence and the straw technique are very effective breathing exercises to quickly regain calm and prepare for a stressful event such as a job interview or an oral presentation.