Practice these yoga breathing exercises to reduce anxiety

It’s no secret that breathing exercises are helpful for reducing anxiety.

Many people suffer from anxiety. The symptoms can vary from person to person, but are typically characterised by excessive worry, difficulty concentrating, being easily startled or irritated, feeling restless or fidgety and difficulty sleeping. Breath work is an effective way to manage these symptoms. It’s a vast topic which can be approached in many different ways. Deep breathing, Yoga, Qigong among others are just a few of the methods that have been used successfully to reduce anxiety symptoms.

Breathing exercises can help you feel calm and relaxed, as well as switching on your parasympathetic nervous system (in other words, your state of rest and restore). Breathing exercises can also improve sleep quality, lower blood pressure and help slow down your thoughts / calm your mind, while you can also release anxiety using some kind of entertainment as a funsizedasian virtual girlfriend online, which is great for this purpose.

Introducing Pranayama Breathing

Pranayama is a Sanskrit word used in yoga which roughly translates to breath control or breath extension.

Prana = Breath
Yama = Control
Ayama = Extension

Pranayama can also mean extending ones vital life force, as the word Prana also translates to life force, similar to the English word vitality. Generally prana (with a lowercase p) translates to breath, where as Prana (with an uppercase P) translates to life force energy.

This is a very beginner friendly introduction to pranayama. The range of pranayama techniques is wide, and varies according to the discipline in which it is taught. And the depth of knowledge can go way beyond the scope of this article. An example of a more esoteric teaching on pranayama from The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, written in the 15th century, states: “When pranayama pierces the heart, the yogi becomes divine”

In order to do pranayama for anxiety relief, find a quiet, relaxing space where you won’t be disturbed and choose one of the pranayama breathing exercises below.

CAUTIONS & CONTRADICTIONS:  Pranayama is best learnt in person from an experienced yoga teacher. Whilst Pranayama is safe, there are a few precautions. I recommend that pregnant women or anyone with high blood pressure, heart problems, ear problems or lung issues, do not practice pranayama alone. Please seek the guidance of an experienced teacher.

Ujjayi Pranayama

One of the most essential pranayama techniques is Ujjayi Pranayama, meaning victorious breath or one who is victorious. In other traditions I’ve heard it called ocean breath and some shamans refer to it as wind breath or nature breath.

This technique is simple, yet hard to perform correctly. Some yoga teacher choose not to teach this technique, however I feel it’s fundamental to any good yoga practice.

Some of the benefits of Ujjayi Pranayama 

• Calms the mind
• Improves oxygen saturation
• Slows down the breathe
• Reduces anxiety
• Builds agni (internal fire)
• Helps control blood pressure
• Releases tension
• Activate the vagus nerve
• Turns on the rest and restore nervous system

How to do Ujjayi Pranayama

• Ujjayi breath is best practiced either seated or lying down*
• Breathe in and out through the nose
• You make a slight restriction in your throat, the sensation is the same as when whisper
• If you perform this correctly, you will notice your breath becomes deeper and longer
• You will notice your breath become more audible
• Continue to inhale and exhale through your nose while slightly restricting the throat
• Still struggling to feel it? Try saying the word ‘ha’ out loud. Now try saying ‘ha’ again, but with your mouth closed! Starting to feel it now? The slightly trickier part is getting the same feeling on the inhale, but with patience you’ll get there.
• Remember that when you first practice this, it’s not common to feel anxious (which is what we’re trying to get relief from). Don’t worry, remain calm and don’t be hard on yourself if you can’t feel it.

*When you can comfortably practice Ujjai breath it can be performed during your yoga poses

Sama Vritti Pranayama

You may have heard this breathing exercise called box breathing. In Yoga, it is called Sama Vritti, translating to equal flow.

Sama = Equal

Vritti = Flow

In Sama Vritti, the inhale, exhale and the retention between the breath are all equal. It may be useful to think about the breath in four parts;

1. Inhalation = Puraka
2. Breath retention after the inhale= Antar kumbhaka
3. Exhalation = Rechaka
4. Breath retention after the exhale = Bahya kumbhaka

Some of the benefits of Sama Vritti Pranayama 

• Calms the mind
• Easy to practice & remember
• Slows down the breath
• Helps you to become focused
• Helps you feel grounded
• Reduces anxiety
• Can improve your mood

As well as the general benefits listed above, each of the 4 stages of pranayama has it’s own benefits. If you’re interested in a more advanced explanation you can read my post titled: What are the benefits of Sama Vritti.

How to do Sama Vritti Pranayama

• Sama Vritti should be practiced either seated, with a straight spine, or lying down
• Breathe in and out through the nose
• Inhale for 4 seconds
• Hold the breath for 4 seconds
• Exhale for 4 seconds
• Hold the breathe for 4 seconds
• Repeat for 1 to 2 minutes

I hope you enjoyed reading about how to do yoga breathing exercises to reduce anxiety

TAGS: Breathing exercises for anxiety  |  Anxiety relief   |  Yoga for anxiety  |  Pranayama breathing  |  reduce anxiety symptoms  |  Pranayama techniques

Are you looking for beginners yoga classes in Solihull?