Looking for Breathing Exercises for Anxiety?

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I am going to tell you about a few amazing and effective breathing exercises that will help you with anxiety and sleep problems. So let us start.

 

Pranayama is an ancient Sanskrit word which means “controlled breathing”. Prana means energy while Yama signifies the control. Pranayama means being consciously aware of one’s breath.

Prana or breath is the life force that gives energy to the body and the mind. It is one of the fundamental parts of yoga which helps in performing the yoga asanas as well as in preparing the mind for meditation and ultimately reach enlightenment. The various breathing techniques involved in pranayama through inhalation and exhalation helps in spreading energy to the mind, body, and soul. (1)

 

Here is an informative video from Ventuno Yoga

 

Pranayama is the fourth “limb” or facet mentioned in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. The limbs are:

1. Yama or Ethical Living
2. Niyama or Healthy Living
3. Asana or the Physical or Meditative Yoga Poses
4. Pranayama or Conscious and Controlled Breathing
5. Pratyahara or Withdrawal of the Mind from the Senses
6. Dharana or Deep Concentration
7. Dhyana or Deep Meditation
8. Samadhi or Enlightenment

Pranayama involves conscious and deep breathing which takes place in four steps:

1. Puraka or Inhalation
2. Abhyantara Kumbhaka or Pause after Inhalation
3. Rechaka or Exhalation
4. Bahya Kumbhaka or Pause after Exhalation

Top 11 Breathing Exercises

1. Anulom Vilom Pranayama (Alternate Nostril Breathing)

In this pranayama technique, breathing is done through alternate nostrils, one at a time. While breathing from one nostril, the other nostril is closed with the help of your fingers.

To start with, use the thumb of your right hand to close the right nostril. Inhale through the left nostril and hold on to the breath for a couple of seconds. Now release the breath through the right nostril and feel the relaxation.

Using the ring finger close the left nostril and breath in through the right nostril. Again hold on to the breath for a couple of seconds before breathing out from the left nostril. (2)

This pranayama helps to clear all the nadis or energy passages while leaving it cleansed, stimulated and balanced. Initially, the duration of the inhalation and exhalation can be short but with time it can be increased to 20 seconds or more, depending on your comfort level.

This is one of the best breathing exercises for anxiety.

How to Do Anulom Vilom Pranayama

1. Sit in padmasana, Vajrasana or Sukhasana pose while keeping your back straight and your chin should be slightly tucked in towards the chest. Close your eyes and rest both your hands on your knees.
2. Take your right hand and use your right thumb to close your right nostril. Inhale deeply through your left nostril and fill up your lungs. Ensure that you concentrate and focus on your breathing.
3. Remove the right thumb from the right nostril and exhale.
4. As you exhale, close the left nostril with the middle finger.
5. Inhale through your right nostril and repeat the process for 5 minutes.

Benefits of Anulom Vilom Pranayama

1. Helps to clear the energy passages in the body and allows oxygen to flow freely.
2. Improves lung functioning.
3. Helps to combat tension, anxiety, stress, and depression.
4. Improves the metabolism level in the body and controls diabetes.
5. Aids in reducing the chances of sinusitis and arthritis.

Also Read: 25 Highly Effective Yoga Asanas For Weight Loss

2. Sama Vritti Pranayama or Equal Breathing

In this pranayama, the length of the inhalation and the exhalation are the same. There is evenness while breathing in and out. Sama Vrittiis a way to calm and sooth the fleeting and fluctuating thoughts in the mind while meditating.

It is can be done before going to sleep at night as it can help you to enjoy a relaxed and calm sleep. You can increase the length of time for each breath after some practice. This is one of the best breathing exercises for sleep.

How to do Sama Vritti Pranayama

1. Sit in a comfortable position on your mat preferably where there is circulation of air.
2. Allow your body to relax by taking in soft breaths.
3. Close your eyes and position your hands in the Gyan Mudra and place them on your thighs.
4. Breathe in, to the count of 5.
5. Breath out to the count of 5.

Benefits of Sama Vritti Pranayama

1. Helps to calm the nervous system and thereby reduces the stress hormones in the body.
2. Improves the functioning of the endocrine glands which regulates the immune system and digestion.
3. Helps to relax and calm emotions and control moods.
4. Helps to reduce anxiety and stress.

3. Ujjayi Pranayama or Victorious Breaths

Ujjayi pranayama is a technique in which you need to breathe in through the nostrils along with a half-closed glottis. While breathing in, the sound which comes out from the glottis resembles the sound of the ocean or a hissing sound. This pranayama helps to strengthen the diaphragm and calm the mind. It should be done initially for 5 minutes and can be stretched to 15 minutes once you are comfortable doing it.

How to do Ujjayi Pranayama

1. Sit in padmasana pose, keeping your back straight and eyes closed.
2. Place your hands on your thighs in the Gyan Mudra.
3. Inhale deeply through your nose so that it reaches the throat. You would hear hissing sound while doing this step.
4. Exhale normally through the nostrils.
5. Repeat the same process for at least 5 minutes.

Benefits of Ujjayi Pranayama

1. Allows the mind to focus and concentrate.
2. Helps the body to generate body heat.
3. Improves the metabolism level and increases blood circulation in the body.
4. Helps to release stress and tension and calms the mind.
5. Helps to clear blocked arteries.

4. Bhastrika Pranayama or Bellows Breath

This pranayama helps to clear the nadis or energy passages in the body. It involves the sinuses and nostrils through deep breathing. Bhastrika means below in Sanskrit and there are deep inhalation and exhalation in this pranayama. It can instantaneously energize you when you feel tired and restless by infusing oxygen into the body.

How to do Bhastrika Pranayama

1. Sit in padmasana pose, keep your back straight and close your eyes.
2. Start by inhalation and exhalation normally.
3. Take a deep breath and exhale with as much force as possible while your belly must move with every inhalation and exhalation.
4. Do it 20 times and then breathe normally.
5. Follow it up with three more rounds of the same breathing technique.

Benefits of Bhastrika Pranayama

1. Helps to strengthen the lungs and also cure asthma and bronchitis.
2. Improves memory power and blood circulation.
3. Rejuvenates the body and mind instantly.
4. Improves the metabolism level and regulates the digestive system.
5. Relaxes and calms the mind.

5. Kapal Bhati Pranayama or Skull Shining Breath

In this pranayama, the breathing technique helps you to achieve a shining head and makes you more intelligent. It literally means “Shining Head” as it combines two words, Kapal and Bhati. It has the ability to flush out toxic air from the body and brings perfect balance into it through detoxification. This is a part of Baba Ramdev Yoga Asanas.

This is one of the best breathing exercises for Asthma.

How to do Kapal Bhati Pranayama

1. Sit in padmasana and keep your back straight.
2. Place one hand on your knee and your other hand on your navel.
3. Take a deep inhalation and as you exhale, pull back your navel and stomach as much as possible.
4. Repeat the same for 20 times at a stretch and feel the air fill up your lungs during inhalation.
5. Close your eyes and breathe normally and repeat again.

Benefits of Kapal Bhati Pranayama

1. Rejuvenates the body immediately.
2. Calms and relaxes the mind.
3. Improves concentration and memory power.
4. Improves digestion and eliminates gas and acidity in the stomach.
5. Helps to burn belly fat.

6. Normal Deep Breathing or Abdominal Breathing

This breathing technique helps to increase the flow of oxygen into the entire body. You will start noticing the benefits in a month’s time if you do it every day in the morning for at least 10 minutes. It can also be done at any time of the day when you feel tired or have an anxiety attack.

How to do Normal Deep Breathing

1. Sit in padmasana pose, keep your back straight and eyes closed.
2. Place one hand on your chest and the other hand on your abdomen.
3. Inhale from your nose and exhale from your mouth and notice how your hand on the abdomen moves as you inhale and exhale.
4. Take a deep inhalation and feel the air move into your body and count as you exhale.

Benefits of Normal Deep Breathing

1. Helps to relax the body and muscles.
2. Rejuvenates and refreshes you with the fresh supply of oxygen into the body.
3. Helps to lower blood pressure in the body.
4. Cleanses and detoxifies the body.
5. Releases endorphins through deep breathing and calms the body and the mind.

7. Bahya Pranayama or External Breathing

This pranayama involves taking a deep breath and exhaling it and holding your breath. Bahya literally means outside and in this breathing technique, the breath is kept outside. This three-step breathing technique comes with a host of benefits.

How to do Bahya Pranayama

1. Sit in padmasana pose, keep your back straight and eyes closed.
2. Inhale deeply.
3. Exhale completely.
4. Hold your breath after exhaling and pull your stomach upwards while ending your neck and touching your chest with your chin.
5. Repeat the same process for at least 5 minutes.

Benefits of Bahya Pranayama

1. Helps to cure acidity and hernia.
2. Helps to cure reproductive and urinary problems.
3. Increases concentration power.
4. Helps to prevent gastric and constipation problems.
5. Beneficial for diabetes patients.

8. Bhramari Pranayama or Bee Breath

This pranayama requires you to make the sound of a humming bee while exhaling. Bhramari means Bee in Sanskrit. This simple breathing technique is a great help to distress instantly.

This is one of the best Shilpa Shetty Yoga Asanas.

How to do Bhramari Pranayama

1. Sit in padmasana pose, keep your back straight and eyes closed.
2. Place your index fingers on both the cartilage between your ears and cheeks.
3. Inhale deeply.
4. As you exhale, press the cartilages on both sides with your index fingers and make a humming sound which resembles a bee.
5. Repeat the same process 7 to 10 times.

Benefits of Bhramari Pranayama

1. Helps to reduce stress, anxiety, and anger.
2. It helps to treat hypertension.
3. Bhramari Pranayama helps to reduce blood pressure and keep it normal.
4. Helps to strengthen the voice and throat.
5. Stimulates the nervous system and relaxes the muscles in the body.

9. Udgeeth Pranayama or Chanted Breathing

This pranayama includes inhaling and then chanting Om as you exhale. It is a very simple and easy breathing technique to do through conscious breathing. The reverberations made by the chanting helps to energize the body and the mind.

How to do Udgeeth Pranayama

1. Sit in padmasana pose, keep your back straight and eyes closed.
2. Place both your hands on your knees in the Gyan Mudra pose.
3. Inhale deeply.
4. Exhale and chant Om until you run out of breath. Ensure to put emphasis on the O of the Om and keep the M of the Om short.
5. Repeat the same process for at least 5 minutes.

Benefits of Udgeeth Pranayama

1. Helps to calm and relax the mind.
2. Helps to cure hypertension.
3. Improves memory power and concentration.
4. Helps to control high blood pressure.
5. Improves the digestive system.

10. Pranav Pranayama

This is a simple pranayama which helps to rejuvenate you mentally and spiritually as you concentrate on Om in your mind while inhaling and exhaling. It should be done on an empty stomach and bowels early in the morning.

How to do Pranav Pranayama

1. Sit in padmasana pose; keep your back straight and eyes closed.
2. Place both your hands on your knees in the Gyan Mudra pose.
3. As you inhale and exhale, focus on Om in your mind.
4. Continue to do this process for at least 3 minutes.
5. Rubs your hands together and place the palms of your hands on your eyes.
6. Open your eyes slowly.

Benefits of Pranav Pranayama

1. Helps to release stress, tension, anger, and anxiety.
2. Helps to cure depression.
3. Improves concentration power.
4. Helps to lower high blood pressure and heart problems.
5. Helps to cure migraines.

11. Mul Bandh Pranayama or Root Lock

This pranayama focuses on one of the lowest energy centers near the spine and the torso area. It also means to lock the energy level into the body and energizes the lower torso of the body. It is both a breathing as well as meditation pose.

How to do Mul Bandh Pranayama

1. Sit in padmasana pose, keep your back straight and look straight ahead.
2. Place your both hands on your knees in the Gyan Mudra pose.
3. Inhale deeply and hold your breath as you raise your shoulders and tilt your upper body slightly forward.
4. Contract your anal muscles firmly as you hold your breath.
5. Exhale and repeat the same process again for at least 10 times.

Benefits of Mul Bandh Pranayama

1. Helps to strengthen the pelvic muscles and prostate gland.
2. Helps to prevent piles.
3. It helps to prevent the prolapsed of the rectum.
4. Mulbandhasana helps to calm and relax the body and mind.
5.  Helps to activate and purify the Muladhara Chakra.