How to Control Your Breath

Breathing needs to be diaphramic. Don't let that word scare you! The thing that separates the lungs from the organs in the stomach is a muscle called the diaphragm. You don't need to worry about controlling this muscle. It controls itself. However, when you puff out your belly, your diaphragm gets pulled down. Since your diaphragm is attached to the bottom of your lungs, those get pulled down as well.

As your inhale, let your stomach come out naturally. Try to breath to your stomach before breathing in your chest. When you exhale, let your chest sink first, and then use your stomach muscles to bring your tummy back in.

Ideally, every non-exercising breath should be a six count breath. You should be able to count slowly to six for every inhale and exhale.

For running, jumping jacks, dancing or weight lifting, your body will be going through more strain. Muscles can make energy, but they need lots and lots of oxygen. If they don't get enough, they will start to make lactic acid, which is what makes you feel sore in the morning.

Here is where the Rule of Thumb is most important. Trying to breathe only through the nose will not result in enough oxygen to power your body during heavy exertion. Breathing through the mouth will result in exhaustion.

If you are doing something rhythmic, try to keep your breath slow.
Count as many steps as it takes to breathe in, and match that breathing out.
Trying to breathe in for more counts next inhale.

Have you ever been so out of breath that it feels like you can't take a full breath of air? Your lungs won't let you breathe properly and even when you do breathe in, it doesn't feel like you are getting enough air.

Situations like this call for a clearing breath.

To do a clearing breath, take the deepest breath you can through your nose, and then, in one burst, quickly blow 50% of your air out of your mouth.

Then try to do a regular, slow, six count breath. If this still isn't working, go back and do another clearing breath.

A clearing breath takes the air in your lungs and accelerates it. When you just finish exercising, air gets stale very quickly because you are not breathing as hard anymore, but your heart is still pumping fast and you still need all the oxygen. It becomes like a pond that doesn't move. A clearing breath starts a whirlpool in your lungs, which allows new air to replace the stale air.

For some exercises, like yoga, it isn't always practical to breath 100% of your capacity in and out every breath. For aerobic breathing, you are using so much oxygen, you want to exchange it as quickly and efficiently as possible. In some kinds of exercise, you aren't working quite so hard, but you need to keep your posture in a static position, often standing on only one leg.

This is a place where the percentage principle comes into play.

Lets get a sense of scale.
Breathe in as much as you possibly can, until your lungs almost hurt.
Let's call this 100%

Breathe out, then keep breathing out, then breathe out some more, until you are uncomfortable. Your lungs aren't totally empty, but let's call it 0%.

In balancing, it helps to have your lungs partly inflated to keep your body upright. In yoga poses, like the one on the right, a 60-40 breathing system would be good. This means you want your lungs 60% full for the whole pose. The other 40% goes in and out. This means you should be at almost 100% once you inhale, and only down to 60% when you exhale.

Breath control is also useful in relaxation and stress reduction. Using breath to relax frequently can become a useful tool in stressful situations.

To use breath in a meditational setting, sit or lie somewhere comfortably. Make sure you won't fall asleep or get strained in the position you choose. If sitting upright for a long period of time is difficult, a good strategy is to sit against a wall, letting it support your back.

Make sure there are no major distractions. Avoid putting on music and especially burning incense. This will be distracting and can be worse for your breathing practice.

Breathe in very slowly through your nose: first into your stomach, then in your chest. Make sure your shoulders don't hunch. Drop your jaw and let your chest fall, compressing your lungs slowly. This should take no effort whatsoever. When you feel the need for oxygen, start to breathe in through your nose again. the counting method is useful here. try to count slowly to six in every inhale and exhale. Breathe as slowly as you can without discomfort.

If you have specific stressors, like an upcoming test, an annoying coworker, or a long feared confrontation, visualization breathing techniques can help to prepare you. Get into a relaxed rhythm, concentrating on and counting your breath. Then visualize the stressor or stressful situation. Take some time to visualize exactly what the person looks like, what they will be wearing, what the room looks like, who else will be there, and what is being done and said. Fill in every detail you can. Allow your emotions of stress to begin to affect you. Then, in the visualization, stop and take three very slow, deep, six count breaths. Visualize your stress disappearing. Imagine you have come up with a solution to the conflict, (even if you can't imagine what that could be right now.)

Breathing slowly and deeply will oxygenate your brain and help you to think more clearly in difficult situations, when instinct says to breathe quickly like a prey animal. Visualizing situations and solutions will make you more likely to use your deep breathing and find solutions when you really do run into the stressful situation.