Breathing exercises are useful for relaxation, to relieve anxiety, to strengthen your lungs, to provide energy and alertness or to help increase your endurance when playing sports or exercising. You can control your breathing and use power breathing exercises to get your desired result. According to the Rutgers College Counseling Center website, deep breathing is one of the easiest ways to manage stress and can change your life for the better.
Relaxation
One way that you can help yourself relax is to practice deep breathing. When you concentrate on your breathing and clear your mind of other thoughts, you can facilitate your whole body relaxing. Yoga utilizes relaxation breathing as part of the exercises. An effective exercise is to lie down on your back and concentrate on relaxing your body. Inhale through your nose, filling first the lower part of your chest and then the rest of your chest and your lungs. Hold for a couple of seconds and then release the air. You do this process slowly, staying relaxed and pausing in between the deep breaths.
Relieve Stress
You can help relieve stress by doing breathing exercises that are easy to do without any equipment needed. Only your time is required, and you can choose your location and your body position. This exercise, when done daily, is designed to benefit your nervous system. Place the tip of your tongue behind your front teeth and let it stay there throughout the breathing exercise. Start by exhaling out of your mouth and then close your mouth and inhale through your nose. Count to seven while holding that breath. Exhale through your mouth while counting to eight to complete one full breath. Do this four times with quiet breaths for the inhale and letting your mouth make a "whoosh" sound while exhaling.
Energy and Endurance
To increase energy almost immediately, you can do a stimulating breathing exercise that also helps you feel more alert. It is a feeling that is similar to the energizing feeling that you get after a good exercise session or playing a sport. In this exercise you inhale and exhale quickly with short even breaths in and out, aiming for three cycles per second. Keep your mouth closed and do the breathing through your nose. In between cycles you should breathe normally and build slowly from 10 seconds to a minute. You are performing this exercise correctly if it is noisy.
