How To Breathe With Intention To Reduce Stress
Why focus on intentional breathing? Many people have the wrong conception of what mindfulness practice or meditation is really all about. It’s not about shutting out bodily sensation. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. We stop and sit and feel deeply the sensations of the body, of the senses. To breathe with intention is to rediscover this connection between the mind and body. Deliberate breathing is not only a means of connecting with ourselves, but it also helps our brain and body relax. Let’s explore how to breathe with intention by incorporating ancient (yet simple) mindful breathing techniques but also by looking at what science has to say about it.
What is deliberate breathing?
Deliberate breathing or intentional breathing starts with simple awareness of the breath. In its most basic form, deliberate breathing is noticing that you are breathing and what it feels like. This brings you instantly into the present moment. Then, with practice, we can breathe with intention by leveraging intentional breathing exercises (more on these below) and layering in some science-backed protocols to make the most of each breath.
Our modern culture has weakened our ability to pay attention to our surroundings and the sensations of our mind and body. Too often, we’re focused outward—on the news, our chores, and, more generally, what we should be doing next. The human respiratory system is the product of millions of years of evolution. It’s truly an amazing thing!
Did you know that lung capacity is a stronger prediction of life span than genetics, diet, or exercise?¹
The breath is also the most neutral thing for us to concentrate on. There are no concepts, no set of beliefs to stand in our way. This is why there is absolutely no need to follow any set of precepts; religious or otherwise, to breathe with intention and reap the benefits of doing so. If we can take one mindful breath, one mindful step, then we can take another and another. Start right here, right now.
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The importance of intentional breathing
The most immediate way to breathe with intention is to pay attention to the simple and profound act of breathing. The very notion of spirit arose from the experience of breathing. The testimony of all who have practiced meditation in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Sufi traditions is that the dimension of spirit is as close to us and immediately available as the act of breathing.
Breathing is at once ordinary and revelatory, a natural and supernatural experience. By paying attention to the cadence of breathing, we allow respiration to become automatic, which in turn expands the focal length of the mind.
It sounds funny to talk about ‘discovering breathing’ since we have all done it from the moment of birth. But breathing is like dreaming. It yields its spiritual treasure only when we practice the unnatural discipline of bringing into consciousness what has normally remained unconscious.
The beauty of experimenting with intentional breathing is that it requires no belief, no faith, no dogma, no authority. The discipline of paying attention to the breath probably comes as near as we can get to a genuine technique—a prescribed procedure that yields an assured result.
The science of the breath
In his book, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, James Nestor does an excellent job of distilling decades of research on breathing into an accessible and digestible format. He reveals practices that we can easily and instantly begin to implement, such as the claim that the optimum length for both inhales and exhales is about 5.5 seconds for most people.
He discusses the misconception surrounding a simple gas exchange that leads most people to believe that getting more oxygen is essential for healthy breathing. However, this is not the case. In fact, in aerobic breathing (as opposed to anaerobic breathing), which is arguably the most efficient rate of breathing for exercise, oxygen is burned and carbon dioxide is used.
Nestor explains that to breathe with intention we should focus on quantity. We should aim to breathe, of course, but to breathe less. Breathing slower with fewer breaths is typically better than taking deep breaths to reduce anxiety.
Modern diets and technology have eroded our ability to breathe naturally. The softer foods introduced at the agricultural revolution have weakened and altered the shape of our jaw and facial structure. This makes us more prone to mouth breathing, which is not good.² Nasal breathing is much better for almost everyone. The nose is a highly evolved mechanism designed for breathing. It cools, filters, and conditions the breath for optimal intake by the rest of our respiratory system.
Did you know that there are even unique advantages to breathing through one nostril versus the other?
Breathing through the left nostril cools the body and can have anxiety-reducing effects.³
Breathing through the right nostril puts the body in a more elevated state of alertness.
Intentional breathing exercises
How to breathe with intention:
- Sit quietly and pay attention to your breathing. Nothing else. At first, you will find that your mind wanders, and you will be unable to concentrate on following the flow of the breath. Bring your attention back to your breath. When you are able to hold your attention there for a while, you will become aware that you are exerting a lot of effort. Breathing seems to require a lot of willpower. It is work.
- Find a rhythm. Gradually, you will notice that the rhythm of your breathing lengthens, grows slow, and your body softens and begins to allow the breath to flow. After a long while, you will feel yourself being breathed.
- Start at the belly. Begin your inhale at the very base of your belly. This is the one time you want your belly to stick out! As your belly fully expands, let the breath continue to rise up into your chest. Eventually, this may remind you of gentle, rolling waves on the ocean’s surface.
- Notice how you feel. As you surrender to the movement of the breath, who you are changes. Where you were once acting, now you seem moved by a power beyond yourself. Your breath tells you that you are the same substance as the spirit that moves all of life. I guess this explains why I find it so much easier to focus on my breath when I find a quiet place in nature; in a green field, by a river or brook, on a mountain, or in the woods.
Breathe with intention of compassion
Now that we’ve passed Breathing 101 – ‘How To Breathe With Intention’, we proceed to the more advanced course: ‘Breathing 202 – ‘Inspiration and Compassion’. Add attention with intention and you have the formula for going beyond connection with yourself to a more moral experience—for developing compassion. This is what loving-kindness meditation is all about. It combines the power of attention with intention: the intention to wish that everyone on this planet may be both loved and protected.
In the varieties of Buddhism in which meditation is central, the rhythm of inhale and exhale is used to expand the boundaries of the self and the circle of care. As I inhale, I try to be aware of and thankful for all that is relatively good in my life. As I exhale, I send out my gratitude, my energy, my compassion to anyone out there suffering.
Here’s a simple meditation to try:
- Breathing in, I accept the gift of life.
- Breathing out, I surrender, cease grasping, and give my care back into the world.
- Allowing and surrendering, I experience something deeper than my ego moving me.
How deliberate breathing relieves stress
The exercise of deliberate breathing—of noticing, settling into the breath, and gradually entering into its slow and deep rhythm activates the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The parasympathetic nervous system is also known as the ‘rest and digest’ half of the nervous system. The other half, the sympathetic nervous system, is often dubbed the ‘fight or flight’ side of the nervous system. These labels, though admittedly over simplifications, provide immediate insight into how activating the PNS helps reduce stress.
The amazing part is that the breath is a means to activate the PNS. And, as we know, unlike other core bodily functions, we are in complete control over the breath. This means that deliberate breathing to reduce stress is accessible anywhere, anytime.
To illustrate just how accessible the stress-reducing effects of intentional can be, check out this short video from Dr. Andrew Huberman, neuroscientist and professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he explains the physiological sigh. The physiological sigh is a quick, specific breathing technique that you can deploy in the heat of the moment to reduce anxiety and stress.
Breathe with intention and reap the benefits
Finally, our course Breathing 202 – ‘Inspiration and Compassion’ and the short loving-kindness meditation described above could lead to tangible health benefits.
Researchers have found that a sense of happiness which is built upon a foundation of service to and connection with others has greater physiological health benefits than a sense of happiness founded on the gratification of personal desires:
“[researchers] Coleman and Frederickson found that people who were happy because they lived a life of pleasure (sometimes also known as “hedonic happiness”) had high inflammation levels; on the other hand, people who were happy because they lived a life of purpose or meaning (sometimes also known as “eudaimonic happiness”) had low inflammation levels.”
– Compassionate Mind, Healthy Body – Greater Good Magazine, Berkeley
As we practice deliberate breathing, we’re reminded moment by moment that the essence of existence is the practice of gratitude and compassion. We are alive only in the degree that we’re moved by the tidal rhythm of receiving and giving: receiving the gift of life, and giving back my compassion for anyone who is struggling.
References:
- according to the researchers: W. B. Kannel et al., “Vital Capacity as a Predictor of Cardiovascular Disease: The Framingham Study,” American Heart Journal 105, no. 2 (Feb. 1983): 311–15; William B. Kannel and Helen Hubert, “Vital Capacity as a Biomarker of Aging,” in Biological Markers of Aging, ed. Mitchell E. Reff and Edward L. Schneider, NIH Publication no. 82-2221, Apr. 1982, 145–60.
- changes the physical body: A few of the better studies: Cristina Grippaudo et al., “Association between Oral Habits, Mouth Breathing and Malocclusion,” Acta Otorhinolaryngologica Italica 36, no. 5 (Oct. 2016): 386–94; Yosh Jefferson, “Mouth Breathing: Adverse Effects on Facial Growth, Health, Academics, and Behavior,” General Dentistry 58, no. 1 (Jan.–Feb. 2010): 18–25; Doron Harari et al., “The Effect of Mouth Breathing versus Nasal Breathing on Dentofacial and Craniofacial Development in Orthodontic Patients,” Laryngoscope 120, no. 10 (Oct. 2010): 2089–93; Valdenice Aparecida de Menezes, “Prevalence and Factors Related to Mouth Breathing in School Children at the Santo Amaro Project—Recife, 2005,” Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology 72, no. 3 (May–June 2006): 394–98.
- lowers temperature and blood pressure: P. Raghuraj and Shirley Telles, “Immediate Effect of Specific Nostril Manipulating Yoga Breathing Practices on Autonomic and Respiratory Variables,” Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback 33, no. 2 (June 2008): 65–75. S. Kalaivani, M. J. Kumari, and G. K. Pal, “Effect of Alternate Nostril Breathing Exercise on Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, and Rate Pressure Product among Patients with Hypertension in JIPMER, Puducherry,” Journal of Education and Health Promotion 8, no. 145 (July 2019).
