Breathwork: 7 Powerful Breathing Techniques to Calm Your Mind and Elevate Your Mood

Your breath is one of the most powerful tools you have to regulate your nervous system — and it’s available to you at all times.

Each day, we take roughly 20,000 breaths, often without much thought. But how you breathe directly influences how you feel. With intention and practice, breathwork can help calm your mind, reduce stress, and support emotional balance.

What Is Breathwork?

Breathwork refers to techniques that involve conscious control of your breathing to improve physical, mental, and emotional health.

Your breathing patterns send signals to your nervous system:

• Slow, deep breathing with extended exhales activates the parasympathetic nervous system, your “rest and digest” state.
• Shallow, rapid breathing or breath holding activates the sympathetic nervous system, your “fight or flight” response.

By intentionally changing how you breathe, you can shift your nervous system out of stress mode and into a state of calm and regulation.

Benefits of Breathwork

Regular breathwork practice has been shown to:

• Ease stress
• Reduce anxiety and depression
• Improve immune function
• Boost mood
• Sharpen memory and focus
• Promote restful sleep
• Lower blood pressure
• Decrease asthma symptoms
• Improve heart rate variability (HRV)
• Reduce PTSD symptoms

Getting Started With Breathwork

If you’re new to breathwork, start slowly and keep it simple.

Breathwork Tips for Beginners

• Start small. Begin with just a few minutes at a time.
• Stick to beginner techniques before exploring advanced practices.
• Experiment. Try different techniques to find what feels best.
• Practice regularly. Daily practice, even for 5 minutes, helps retrain your nervous system.
• Set a schedule. Morning, after work, or before bed are great times to reset.
• Use reminders or apps like Insight Timer, Headspace, or Calm.

Once you’ve built consistency, you can explore more advanced techniques.

1. Diaphragmatic (Belly) Breathing

How it helps:

Diaphragmatic breathing engages the diaphragm and stimulates the vagus nerve, triggering the body’s relaxation response.

How to practice:

1. Sit or lie down comfortably.
2. Place one hand on your belly and one on your chest.
3. Inhale slowly through your nose, letting your belly expand.
4. Exhale slowly through your mouth, allowing your belly to soften.
5. Continue for 5–10 minutes, up to 3–4 times per day.

Benefits:

Relieves stress and anxiety, lowers heart rate and blood pressure, strengthens lung function.

2. 4-7-8 Breathing

How it helps:

Extending the exhale longer than the inhale activates the parasympathetic nervous system and promotes relaxation.

How to practice:

1. Exhale fully.
2. Inhale through your nose for 4 counts.
3. Hold for 7 counts.
4. Exhale slowly through your mouth for 8 counts.
5. Start with 4 cycles and gradually build to 8.

Benefits:

Calms the mind, improves sleep, reduces anxiety, lowers blood pressure, and may reduce migraines.

3. Box Breathing

How it helps:

Box breathing uses equal-length phases of breathing to calm anxiety and restore focus. It’s commonly used in high-stress professions.

How to practice:

1. Inhale through your nose for 4 counts.
2. Hold for 4 counts.
3. Exhale through your mouth for 4 counts.
4. Hold for 4 counts.
5. Repeat for several minutes.

Benefits:

Reduces panic, eases hyperventilation, improves sleep, and promotes mental clarity.

4. Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadi Shodana)

How it helps:

This yogic breathing technique helps regulate the nervous system and balance the brain’s hemispheres.

How to practice:

1. Sit upright and relax your shoulders.
2. Close your right nostril and inhale through the left.
3. Close the left nostril and exhale through the right.
4. Inhale through the right nostril.
5. Switch and exhale through the left.
6. Continue for 5–10 cycles or up to 5 minutes.

Benefits:

Relieves anxiety, promotes relaxation, lowers blood pressure, and improves oxygen flow.

5. Wim Hof Breathing

How it helps:

This advanced technique combines powerful breathing with breath holds to improve energy, resilience, and immune function.

How to practice:

1. Take 30 deep, rhythmic breaths.
2. After the final exhale, hold your breath until the urge to breathe arises.
3. Inhale deeply and hold for 15 seconds.
4. Repeat up to 4 rounds.

Benefits:

Increases energy, reduces stress, lowers inflammation, and enhances athletic performance.

Note: This is an advanced technique and may not be suitable for everyone.

6. Buteyko Breathing

How it helps:

Developed by Dr. Konstantin Buteyko, this technique emphasizes nasal breathing and breath control. It’s often used for asthma and respiratory issues.

How to practice:

1. Sit upright and breathe normally through your nose.
2. After a gentle exhale, hold your breath and pinch your nose.
3. When you feel the urge to breathe, release and inhale slowly.
4. Breathe normally for 10 seconds and repeat 3–5 times.

Benefits:

Reduces asthma symptoms, relieves anxiety, prevents hyperventilation, and improves sleep.

This is an advanced method and may be best learned with professional guidance.

Final Thoughts

Breathwork is a simple yet powerful way to regulate your nervous system and support emotional well-being.

Whether you’re managing stress, anxiety, sleep issues, or simply looking to feel more grounded, consistent breathwork can create meaningful shifts in how you feel — one breath at a time.