You can ease anxiety by controlling your breathing. Tap into this mind-body connection using one of these three easy breathing techniques.

While staying at a nearby resort this week, Andrew and participated in a 20-minute guided meditation. Before getting started, the meditation instructor discussed the important ways in which our breath is tied to our nervous system. She encouraged us to learn to control our breath in order to control physical and psychological responses in our bodies. I’ve heard this before and was motivated to gain a better understanding of the mind-breath connection. Here’s a brief summary of what I learned, and three techniques for quickly tapping the mind-breath connection to create calm.

The mind-breath connection

With the caveat my background is in the liberal sciences, here’s how I understand the interplay between our nervous system and breath. Our breathing is tied to the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is part of the peripheral nervous system that supplies smooth muscles and glands. It regulates a variety of bodily processes that take place without conscious effort. In other words, it’s automatic.

The ANS can be divided into two systems. One, the sympathetic nervous system, is responsible for “fight or flight” responses in our bodies. This corresponds with arousal and energy while shutting down digestion. On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for “rest and digest” responses in our bodies. It works to calm our bodies down, return us to regular functioning, and promote digestion.

The relevance of the ANS to anxiety may seem obvious. Having anxiety is like walking around with an active fight or flight response. The sympathetic nervous system is working overtime. To calm the anxiety, the parasympathetic nervous system needs to be activated.

One way to activate the parasympathetic nervous system is to stimulate the vagus nerve, which controls and measures activity of internal organs. When the vagus nerve is stimulated, the body becomes calm, heart rate slows, blood pressure decreases, and muscles relax. When the vagus nerve communicates these changes to the brain, we experience a sense of peace.[1]

It’s taken me three paragraphs of biology terms, but I’m ready to end this necessary scientific detour. I’m finally at the point I want to make: We can stimulate the vagus nerve and thereby calm anxiety by practicing slow, deep breathing. In other words, we can control our breath to calm our anxiety. This is what the meditation instructor was referring to, with much prettier, simpler language.

Three breathing techniques for calm

The good news is, there are simple tools we can use to quickly calm our breathing. I’ve tried all of these with success. I encourage you to try them all multiple times to see what works best for you.

2-to-1 breathing

Two-to-one breathing involves exhaling for twice as long as you inhale. It should be done at a comfortable pace. You’re not trying to force an extended exhale, just comfortably lengthen your exhale. I’ve found a two-to-four count most comfortable for calming my anxiety.

Practice 2-to-1 breathing:

  • Inhale through your nose normally, counting as you inhale.
  • Exhale slowly through your nose, exhaling for twice as long as your inhale.
  • Repeat for five minutes or until calm.

Straw breathing

I first heard of straw breathing on the Ten Percent Happier podcast. I love listening to Dan Harris host these podcasts dedicated to meditation, happiness, and mindfulness. Exhaling through a straw forces a diaphragmatic breath. However, it creates the same effect as the “smell the cookies, blow out the candles” prompt we use with our kids. Harris uses straw breathing as a calming and cleansing technique at the beginning of a meditation session. Since hearing his brief description, I’ve used it many times. I don’t use an actual straw and still find it effective.

Practice straw breathing:

  • Inhale normally through your nose.
  • Exhale slowly and completely (but not forcefully) through a drinking straw. If you don’t have a straw, use pursed lips.
  • Repeat for five minutes or until calm.

Five finger breathing

Last week, I caught a Today Show segment with Dr. Jud Brewer. The author of Unwinding Anxiety advocates using the five finger method of breathing to calm anxiety. It focuses your attention on both breathing and the sensation of touch. It’s even simple enough to teach to children!

Practice five finger breathing:

  • Place the index finger of your right hand on the outside of your left pinky finger.
  • As you inhale, trace up to the tip of your pinky.
  • As you exhale, trace down the inside of your pinky.
  • With your next inhale, trace up your left ring finger.
  • As you exhale, trace down the inside of your ring finger.
  • Continue for all five fingers.
  • Repeat on your right hand using your left index finger.

There are many more breathing techniques for controlling your breath. These are just three favorites I’ve discovered on my journey thus far. Try them out and see if they work for you too. Tell me about your experience.

Please join the Working On Calm community and leave me a comment!

Want more? Consider signing up for Take Five, a weekly newsletter containing five things to reflect on and inspire your own journey to a calmer state of mind.

For real time updates, follow me on facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest!

[1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/proper-breathing-brings-better-health/