Breathing Meditation: 3 Simple Breathing Exercises

Breathing meditation helps us to find our inner balance and reduce stress. We explain three exercises and how the method works.

What is breathing meditation?

Breathing meditation uses simple breathing techniques to improve mental and physical health. It is often combined with other relaxation techniques, such as yoga. Most breathing exercises can be done at any time and from anywhere. However, there are also some breathing meditation techniques that should only be done under the guidance of an expert.

Advantages of breathing meditation

Breathing meditation has many health benefits – and is a completely free method for more mindfulness in life. Proper breathing has the following benefits:

• Stress levels are lowered
• Thoughts and feelings are calmed
• Pulse and heartbeat are calmed
• Concentration is strengthened
• Feelings of anxiety and nervousness subside
• Lung capacity is improved
• Immune system is strengthened
• Chronic pain subsides
• Anger subsides
• Grief is easier to process

Instructions for breathing meditation

You can theoretically do the breathing meditation whenever and wherever you want – on the road, in the office or at home. However, most people can best concentrate on their breathing when they are in a quiet environment where they can be completely with themselves. The best way to do this is to go into a quiet room and sit down comfortably or lie down on the floor behind you. Start the exercise for meditation as follows:

1. Close your eyes and feel into your body, directing your attention entirely to yourself.
2. Perceive your body in its current state.
3. Concentrate on your breathing and feel how it flows – but do not try to influence it. Just perceive it.
4. If the thoughts stray, slowly and calmly bring them back to the breath.
5. Feel as you inhale deeply how the abdomen and then the chest fills with air and expands and as you exhale slowly sinks again and becomes flat.
6. If you want, you can mentally count while breathing.

Whoever performs this simple breathing exercise for ten to 15 minutes a day has already done a lot for himself through meditation.

Breathing meditation: 3 further breathing exercises

Those who find the above mentioned variant too boring in the long run can also test one of the next breathing exercises for meditation. Here are three more possible techniques:

Boxing Breathing

Boxing breathing helps to calm the body in a very short time and to strengthen concentration. It can be performed anywhere. This is how boxing breathing works:

1. Breathe out deeply until all the air has left your body, especially your lungs.
2. Now breathe in calmly and concentrated for four seconds through your nose and feel your lungs filling with air.
3. Hold this air in your lungs for four more seconds.
4. Breathe out slowly again for four seconds.
5. Hold your breath again for four seconds.
6. Start the exercise again: inhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds.

Already after five minutes of this mindfulness meditation you will feel much calmer and more relaxed than before!

The rapid shock breathing

During rapid shock breathing we not only calm our body and mind, but can also train our arm muscles a little bit in parallel to breathing. That’s how it works:

1. Breathe in slowly, extending your arms completely upwards, hands open.
2. Keep the position and the air in the body short.
3. Exhale while clenching your hands to your fist and lower it to shoulder level.

Repeat the exercise 20 to 30 times at a faster pace.

Breathing therapy: Calming breathing

In cases of stress and restlessness, calming breathing is the best way to get down quickly. This is how it works:

1. Slowly exhale all the air from your body and lungs.
2. Inhale slowly through the nose for four seconds until the lungs are completely filled.
3. Hold your breath for seven seconds.
4. Slowly exhale all air through your mouth. You can use the lip-brake to do this: Press your lips together and leave a small gap open for the air to escape.
5. Hold your breath for eight seconds with empty lungs.
6. Start again from the beginning, so breathe in slowly for four seconds.

This technique of breathing meditation relaxes instantly, because it slows down our breathing.