Feeling Anxious? Our Guide to Deep Breathing
by Dakota Green
The power of breath and connecting with your life force
Our breath is our life force. It connects our body to our mind and is often something we do without thought. Our subconscious brain is continuously operating our body to keep it alive and keep us going. But what happens when we slow down and give it the attention it deserves?
At Midtown Yoga, we believe this yoga practice isn’t just for your mat—it’s a practice you cultivate for your day-to-day life. This is why we begin each class with a breathing exercise. Focusing on the breath gives the knowledge that our inhale and exhale is what supports our life and allows us to move our body with more awareness.
Ujjayi Pranayama Yoga Breath
Ujjayi Pranayama (ooh-JAH-yee prah-nah-YAH-mah) is one technique that helps calm the mind and warm the body from the inside out. This breathing technique is traditionally used in Ashtanga and Vinyasa yoga, but it can be practiced anytime and anywhere when you need a mind and body reset. This breath is great for anyone who suffers from anxiety, it can help you fall asleep, and can also be used to build internal heat in the body. Building this internal fire is important when you want to sweat a little more in class or manage breath through a yoga pose. It can also be used to calm your body and mind. At Midtown Yoga, we use a count of six for our inhale and exhale. You can shorten or extend this count depending on your lung capacity, and also play with variations once you become more experienced in your pranayama breathing practice.
How to: Ujjayi Pranayama Breath
How does the Ujjayi Breath work? Although the breath count can vary, the full range of breath is as follows: inhale through your nose slightly constricting your throat for a count of six, completely filling your lungs. Then, open your mouth to exhale for a count of six. The exhale should be audible—you want to be able to hear it. Don’t be shy about it. Exhale as if you are trying to fog an imaginary mirror in front of you. Next time you’re in a yoga class, notice how the breath sounds like the ocean!
Breath for anxiety
We live in a fast-paced, chaotic world, with a myriad of conflicting choices. We are spiritual beings, living in a practical world, with a limited physical reality, but with a limitless imagination. You can see how the body and mind could become anxious, which is why your breath is so powerful and can have a big impact in managing anxiety. Most people have heard of “fight or flight” in connection to our sympathetic nervous system, and we can activate our SNS during a vigorous yoga class. Activating your parasympathetic nervous system helps you find the ultimate relaxation within your yoga practice—and also your daily life. When you are able to tap into the PNS, you can start to slow your heart rate down, pull back all the energy you give throughout your day, relax your muscles, and find that state of rest in the body and mind. You can access your PNS with breathing exercises like Ujjayi, and with restorative yoga poses such as supported child’s pose, waterfall pose, supported bridge pose, and reclined butterfly. While these poses are beneficial, breath is even more powerful. Below are some additional breathing exercises that can help with everyday life or those particularly rough days.
Breathing Exercises
Want to learn some other breathing techniques to promote relaxation or reduce anxiety? Try these!
Each of these techniques takes practice and patience when first learning. Take it slow and be patient with yourself when learning new breathing exercises.