4 Powerful Breathing Exercises for Anxiety, Stress, and Depression

Powerful breathing exercises for anxiety, stress, and depression, which take just minutes, can be tried to ease symptoms and cope with anxiety and depression.

These breathing exercises can do anywhere; keep in mind that you do them regularly as part of your routine; only then will you benefit.

Let’s look at how different breathing techniques and conscious changes to your breathing style can help control stress and anxiety.

Deep Breathing Exercises for Anxiety, Stress, and Depression

Although we do not say that trying these breathing techniques will eliminate your anxiety or stress, you can reduce anxiety with breathing techniques like pranayama and meditation. Breathing exercises help calm your anxiety, restore your peace of mind, improve concentration, and increase your productivity. If you find that you are feeling anxious enough, you should try these breathing exercises.

Sama Vritti or "Equal Breathing"

Equal Breathing is a yoga breathing exercise known as Sama Vritti or box breathing.

How to do Sama Vritti:-

To perform this asana, sit upright on the ground in the posture of Padmasana or Sukasana. Close your eyes and count to 4 and breathe. Hold the breath while counting 4, then release the breath while counting to 4. Repeat this process 1 to 5 times.

Sama Vritti, however, is a straightforward practice that anyone can learn. It focuses on the idea of "equal" breaths, meaning that the inhale lasts for the same amount of time as the exhale.

Studies show that yoga practices involving Sama Vritti breath can calm your autonomic nervous system, which naturally lowers stress hormones in the body. It also helps to focus your mind and can be used in meditation practice.

Anulom Vilom Pranayama (Alternate Nostril Breathing)

The best practice of breathing technique is Nadi Shodhana Pranayama (Nadi Shodhana Pranayama) which is known as Anulom Vilom Pranayama (Alternate Nostril Breathing).

Nadi - Subtle Energy Channel;

Shodhana - Cleaning, Purification;

Pranayama - Breathing Technique.

Nadias are subtle energy channels in the human body that conduct energy in the form of breath and blood through various parts of the respiratory system to all parts of the body.

How To Do:

First of all, sit comfortably straight in Sukhasana or Padmasana posture.

Place your left hand on the left knee and palms facing the sky, and hold the meditation or knowledge posture.

While applying Vayu Mudra with the index finger and thumb of the right hand, we will close the right nostril with the right thumb.

And now, take a long, deep, and calm breathing through the left nostril. And keeping the body still, the lungs (prana) and chest will expand.

Now touch the tip of the middle finger between the eyebrows. And close the left nostril with the ring finger and little finger.

Open the right nostril with the thumb of the right hand and slowly exhale through the right nostril. After exhaling, take a long deep breath in again.

Close the right nostril again with the right thumb. And slowly exhale a long deep breath from the left nostril. After exhaling, take a long deep breath in again.

Kapalbhati Pranayama (Skull Shining Breathing)

Kapal means brain, and Bhati means shining, illuminating, cleanliness. That is, ‘Kapal Bhati’ is that pranayama by which the brain is clean, and in this condition, the functioning of the brain operates smoothly.

How To Do:

To do this pranayama, sit in Siddhasana, Padmasana or Vajrasana. During this, keep your palms on your knees.

Now hold the knees with the help of your palms and keep the body straight.

After this, expand your chest by taking deep breaths according to your capacity.

Now exhaling with a jerk, draw the stomach inwards.

After this, you release your abdominal muscles so that the breath reaches the lungs.

While doing pranayama, keep in mind that the air you take comes out in one stroke.

Do this pranayama daily for 30 minutes. While doing Kapalbhati, think that negative elements are going out from the body.

Meditative Breathing or 4-7-8 Exercise

According to studies, deep Breathing is the best way to reduce anxiety and stress because when you take a deep breath, it sends a message to your mind to be calm and relaxed. Deep Breathing keeps you calm and comfortable.

According to the 4 -7-8 breathing technique, you have to count to eight, and when you count to four, you have to hold your breath. Now you have to hold your breath till you count to seven. After this, you have to exhale your breath for the count of eight. That is a very easy process. Not only this, the most important thing about this breathing exercise is that you can do it anywhere, anytime, without the help of any other person.

Conclusion

Breathing exercises for anxiety, stress, and depression keep the mind calm, energy circulates in the body, improve mood, and increase the ability to concentrate. For accurate practice and get the benefits of pranayama, download the well-known "Morning yoga wali app" from the app store or play store.

Consider consulting a mental health professional for treatment if you still feel severe stress, anxiety, or panic attacks after practicing breathing exercises.