How often should I do breathing exercises?

Daily 5-10 minutes of exercise is ideal to positively influence your nervous system and experience long-lasting effects.

Which breathing exercise helps with panic?

Box Breathing or the 4-7-8 breathing technique are particularly effective to calm panic and anxiety and regulate the nervous system.

Can I combine breathwork with yoga or meditation?

Yes, breathing exercises enhance the effects of yoga and meditation and help you relax deeper or focus better.

What is the difference between breathing exercises and breathing techniques?

Breathing exercises are practical applications, while breathing techniques refer to methods such as box breathing or LSD breathing. Both help with relaxation and stress reduction.

5 powerful breathing exercises & techniques against stress

Name: Breathing techniques against stress
Brand: Unfolding
Availability: InStock
Rating: 5.0 (127 reviews)

Breathing exercises to release stress

In a world full of stimuli, conscious breathing is one of the most powerful ways to return to calmness.

By doing targeted breathing exercises, you bring your breathing under control and give your body a chance to release stress.

Take a moment, inhale deeply through the nose, and exhale slowly through pursed lips. Feel your thoughts slow down and your heart rate calm down. This is the calming effect of breathing exercises.

Do you really want to get started with breathwork? Then come along to one of our breathing sessions or view our master classes

The 5 breathing techniques we discuss here

Breath Awareness: awareness of your breathing
Box breathing
4-7-8 breathing
LSD breathing for focus and concentration
Alternated Nostril: Difference between breathing through right nostril and left nostril

Want to dive into the experience yourself?

Why does breathing work against stress?

The link between stress and the autonomic nervous system

Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system, causing your breathing to speed up and become more shallow. You breathe more often through your chest instead of your abdomen, leading to increased heart rate and tension in your lungs.

Fight-or-flight vs. rest-and-digest

It is essential for your nervous system to switch from fight-or-flight mode to rest-and-digest. One way to do this is through targeted breathing exercises.

By breathing slower, calmer and lower, you signal to your body that it is safe. Here, use gentle breathing exercises to activate the diaphragm.

Why breathing works against stress

The role of the parasympathetic nervous system

When your breathing calms down, you stimulate the vagus nerve connected to your parasympathetic nervous system. This helps calm your mind and activates repair processes in your body.

Physiological benefits of conscious breathing

By practising breathing techniques, you improve oxygen uptake in your alveoli, lower your heart rate and stabilise your blood pressure. Breathing directly affects how your body adapts to exercise, emotions and environmental stimuli.

Awareness of your breathing as a first step

How do you observe your breathing?

Sit or lie down, put your hands on your belly and breathe gently. Feel whether your breathing goes through the abdomen or stays mainly in your chest. Let the inhaled air fill you up to the diaphragm, then slowly exhale through the mouth.

Recognising signs of strained breathing

Restless breathing is often accompanied by an open mouth, shallow breathing, increased heart rate and sometimes even tightness. By practising in a calm environment and allowing yourself to be guided by breathing, you will learn to recognise the difference.

When the nervous system is calm and experiences safety and security, the brainstem can perform its functions properly.

If disruption occurs or there is a potential threat or danger, the body is prepared for action (fight or flight). This releases energy available to the brain and muscles for survival. When this threat is over again, our heart rate, blood pressure and breathing drops to regain calm. This is how it is supposed to happen.

Abdominal Breathing (Diaphragmatic Breathing)

Why abdominal breathing is more effective

Abdominal breathing activates your diaphragm and maximises oxygen uptake through your alveoli.

This lowers stress, improves focus and allows for better relaxation.

Step-by-step plan for beginners

Lie down comfortably and put your hands on your stomach
Breathe in slowly through the nose and feel your belly come up
Hold for a moment and slowly exhale through pursed lips. Again feel how your belly goes down.
Repeat this process for 5 to 10 minutes
Practice daily at your own pace, ideally twice a day

Breathwork Masterclass

Discover how to release tension and stress with relaxing breathwork. This master class offers practical techniques to harness breathing for deep relaxation, wherever and whenever you want. Your breath is the path to inner peace.

What does your breathing say about your physical and emotional state?

By consciously paying attention to your breathing, you gain valuable insights into your body and emotions. You can learn to recognise where there is tension or where you experience pain. This awareness is essential for your health and can be re-developed with practice. By practising breathing awareness for 5-10 minutes daily, you can improve your breathing and unconsciously bring more peace to your body.

Breathing exercise 2: Box Breathing

What is box breathing?

This breathing technique was popularised in physiotherapy and by elite athletes, among others.

Box breathing helps to reduce hyperventilation, calm coughing and quiet the mind. It quickly brings you back to a relaxed state by synchronising breathing with counting.

Step by step: Box Breathing

Inhale deeply through your nose for 4 seconds.
Hold your breath for 4 seconds.
Exhale through the nose or mouth for 4 seconds.
Wait 4 seconds before inhaling again.
Repeat this cycle for at least 5 minutes.

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Breathing exercise 3: Developed by Dr Andrew Weil

The 4-7-8 breathing exercise

Dr Andrew Weil, an Austrian doctor, names this exercise as "a natural relaxant for the nervous system".

Step by step: 4-7-8 breathing technique

Sit quietly with a straight back and relaxed shoulders.
Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds.
Hold your breath for 7 seconds.
Exhale through pursed lips for 8 seconds.
Repeat this pattern at least 5 times.

This technique promotes relaxation and helps you fall asleep faster. Make sure to exhale with slightly pursed lips to lengthen breathing.

Ideal for sleep and stress reduction

This technique lowers the stress hormone cortisol and helps with falling asleep. The calming effect is immediate, especially if you integrate it into your daily life.

Breathing exercise 4: the LSD breathing technique

What is LSD breathing?

A powerful combination of three principles: light, slow and deep breathing through the nose. Breathing with lightness prevents over-breathing; slow breathing lengthens your exhalation; deep breathing activates the diaphragm.

Combination of three powerful principles

Practising LSD breathing helps with focus, fatigue and restores your balance. This breathing technique is recommended by coaches and physiotherapists alike.

Light - light nose breathing

Inhale lightly. Put your index finger right under your nose. The idea is to feel NO wind moving against your finger as you breathe out or in.

After 1 minute, more oxygen is already 50% entering your brain. This is calm breathing.

Slow - slow nasal breathing

Breathe in slowly for 5 seconds and out for 5 seconds

Learn to tolerate CO2 in your blood, this feels uncomfortable at first but if you persevere and practise often you will experience all the benefits such as slower breathing, better circulation, better recovery, deeper sleep and peace in your mind. When breathing slows down, we feel more peace in our system.

Deep - deep nasal breathing

Take a deep and low abdominal breath, when inhaling make the belly as thick as possible.

Learn to use your main respiratory muscle, the diaphragm, correctly and thus stimulate your Vagus nerve, increasing your parasympathetic activity. As a result, you experience calmness in your body and head. Breathe deeply with each inhalation.

Combi; now combine the above 3 exercise for best results!

Step by step: LSD breathing

Light: Breathe in lightly through your nose without feeling any airflow.
Slow: Slow down your breathing to 5 seconds in and 5 seconds out.
Deep: Breathe deeply through your abdomen, down to the diaphragm.
Combine these three principles in flowing breathing.
Exercise daily for at least 5 minutes.

Breathing exercise 5: Nostril breathing (Nadi Shodhana)

Right nostril and left nostril

Studies show that breathing through one nostril affects the activity of your nervous system. The right nostril increases your alertness and focus. The left nostril, on the other hand, stimulates relaxation and calmness. Both nasal breathing techniques help you use energy efficiently.

through your right nostril = activation

Breathing through the right nostril increases sympathetic activity. This is associated with increased activity in brain regions related to attention, alertness and cognitive performance.

through your left nostril = relaxation

Breathing through your left nostril enhances parasympathetic activity.

A study published in the journal "Frontiers in Human Neuroscience" showed that breathing through the left nostril was associated with increased activity in brain regions related to positive emotions, relaxation and self-regulation.

Step by step: Nadi Shodhana breathing

Close your right nostril with your thumb and inhale through the left.
Close both nostrils and hold your breath for a moment.
Open your right nostril and exhale.
Inhale through the right, close again, exhale through the left.
Repeat alternately for 5 minutes.

Want to know more about breathing? Read our blogs

Breathwork

Airofit Pro Respirator. Review and discount

Integrating breathing exercises into your Daily Life

Tips for implementation at home, at work or on the road

Use small reminders, such as a timer or post-it, to practice. Schedule 5-minute micro-breaks where you breathe deeply and quietly.

Breathing as a bridge between body and emotions

Through your breathing, you can learn to recognise tensions before they manifest mentally. Your breath can be a direction indicator that makes you clear how you feel.

Conscious breathing during stressful conversations

Before you react: breathe in calmly, then breathe out consciously. This prevents impulsive reactions and increases your self-control.

Pursed lips, breathe calmly and breathe deeply: the key to enlightenment

A powerful way you can improve your breathing is to exhale through pursed lips. This slows the exhalation, prevents airway collapses and increases the exchange of oxygen in the lungs. Then breathe in gently through the nose and let the air fill your lungs. When exhaling with your lips pursed, you reduce the pressure on the airways, which is helpful in case of tightness or coughing. Repeat several times, noting how you feel after each cycle. Breathing exercises like these are often recommended by physiotherapists for people with breathing problems. They can help keep the airways open, relieve coughs and improve overall breathing patterns.

Conclusion: make breathing your daily tool

Breathing is more than a reflex; it is a powerful key to your well-being. Practice daily, breathe consciously, breathe deeply and notice the difference.

Don't forget to keep breathing!

Our participants speak out

Thanks to a first Ecstatic Breathworks session at Unfolding, a new world opened up for me. The effect, both physical and mental, of a breathwork session has to be experienced for yourself to be believed. Definitely highly recommended!

Tom Tytgat
Participant breathwork workshop

I am extremely grateful that I ever came to unfolding. I followed the personal growth programme and was introduced to ecstatic breathwork. I was coming out of a difficult period and the breathwork taught me to be more in my body and less in my head. It really feels like an enrichment to learn to speak and understand the language of my body. I am so incredibly enthusiastic about it that I really do begrudge the experience to everyone! It is useful for everyone! I have already gifted it to some friends and they too are very grateful for the experience!

Isabel Kreijkamp
Participant Personal Growth Pathway & Breathwork Workshop

I had never attended a breathing session before. The Ecstatic Breathwork was very exciting but under Christina's professional guidance, I was able to go into surrender faster than expected. I benefited immensely from it.

Lien Galle
Participant Breathwork Workshop

Breathing techniques are a powerful tool to reduce stress and help you relax. By consciously pausing and focusing on deep breathing, you influence your breathing and activate the parasympathetic nervous system. There are different types of breathing techniques, including traditional breathing exercises, yoga exercises and traditional breathing techniques such as alternating the inhalation between the right and left nostrils. With practical tips and simple breathing techniques, you will learn how to use your breathing to clear your head. For example, visualise your breath flowing all the way to your feet with each exhalation.

Co-founder Unfolding

Thomas Vyncke

With over 15 years of academic studies and practical experience as a physiotherapist, among others, Thomas has developed a unique and integrated approach by bringing together various disciplines. His in-depth knowledge and practical experience give him the ability to fathom complex connections in human functioning. This is how he inspires people to change and stimulates their physical, mental and emotional well-being, with a lasting impact on their lives.

I participated in a morning Ecstatic Breathwork. Integral guidance, supportive. Safe environment and warm people. And a technique that was very interesting and applicable every day. Thank you for this experience and help and support at the right time.

Servaas Le Compte
Participant Breathwork Workshop

breathing range

Breath as a source of power for growth

Power of Breathwork

keynote or workshop (B2B)

During these inspiring sessions, they will deepen teams in breathing as a tool for stress regulation, focus and cooperation. The combination of knowledge, experience and direct application ensures lasting impact on and off the shop floor.

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Self-leadership as a foundation. Breathwork as the entry point. Growth as a result. Develop your awareness and learn to flow with change with gentleness and power in 2.5 months, through teachings, breathwork and a safe space for growth and self-discovery.

experience it in your body

Breathing workshop

In this in-depth session, you will dive into the power of ecstatic breathwork. You will learn to release tension, create peace and return to yourself. Perfect for those who want to feel, deepen and meet themselves in a new way.

Read some testimonials here via Google Reviews➭

The workshops I attend at Unfolding help me manage my stress better. The breathing exercises have allowed me to go through life more calmly. I also learned during the workshops that self-care is very important. You can only make someone else happy if you are happy yourself. As well as the information you receive about food and its effect on your body, this helps me every day! Highly recommended for everyone.

Gisela Schols

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Tagged Breathing techniques, Stress