Being a medicine student, I am always curious to think of logic and evidence of intervention. When I was advised by my psychologist to start breathing exercises, I avoided it for months. The motivation to do it was not there and the argument I gave myself for avoiding it was that it’s an illogical practice.
When my problems grew, I started practicing it and felt that it was relieving for my mind. The logic for starting it was, better do it if it helps and many interventions that are helpful are used in modern medicine even if their logic is not fully understood. While searching for evidence I listened to the logic by Andrew Huberman here and the HBR article here, quoting below from HBR.
“Research shows that different emotions are associated with different forms of breathing, and so changing how we breathe can change how we feel. For example, when you feel joy, your breathing will be regular, deep and slow. If you feel anxious or angry, your breathing will be irregular, short, fast, and shallow. When you follow breathing patterns associated with different emotions, you’ll actually begin to feel those corresponding emotions.
How does this work? Changing the rhythm of your breath can signal relaxation, slowing your heart rate and stimulating the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain stem to the abdomen, and is part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the body’s “rest and digest” activities (in contrast to the sympathetic nervous system, which regulates many of our “fight or flight” responses). Triggering your parasympathetic nervous system helps you start to calm down. You feel better. And your ability to think rationally returns. “
Also listed below some types of breathing exercises –
- Deep Breathing
- Diaphragmatic Breathing
- Pursed Lips Breathing
- Box Breathing
- Pranayama
- Mindful Breathing
- Cardiac Coherence Breathing
- Active Cycle of Breathing Techniques
Further reading –
Physiopedia – https://www.physio-pedia.com/Breathing_Exercises