Breathing Techniques For Anxiety

Feeling anxious? You’re not alone. Rates of anxiety and depression have soared in recent times, leaving mental health care clogged and struggling to keep up. Fortunately for us, there are simple and powerful ways outside of the mental health system to reduce stress. The popularity of breathing techniques for anxiety is surging for good reason. From sports stars, to podcasters, to school classrooms, there’s never been such a focus on conscious connected breath to transform anxiety and anchor in the present moment. But how does the magic of controlled breathing create changes in our physical body, and alter our state of mind? How can something so simple help to reduce anxiety?

Let’s start at the beginning, with the role the autonomic nervous system has in our daily life. Make no mistake, your breath serves as a powerful ally. Understanding how it influences the nervous system will help to understand why breathing techniques can work for anxiety.

Regulation Of The Autonomic Nervous System

The autonomic nervous system has two main branches: the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.

The sympathetic nervous system is often referred to as our "fight or flight" system. It’s the one that responds to moments of stress, bringing with it increased heart rate, rapid breathing, heightened alertness, and all the other things that help deal with imminent danger.

The parasympathetic nervous system is our "rest and digest" system. The one that calms the body, reduces the heart rate and promotes relaxation. It prepares for the things we don’t directly control, like digestion and hormone regulation.

Put as simply as possible, the acute sympathetic response is there for times of extreme danger, which in the modern world is more and more often moments of perceived danger. Most of the time we’re not actually running or fighting for our lives. But neither are we sleeping and digesting all day and night. In reality, the two systems operate together in contrast, moving back and forth to maintain homeostasis throughout bodily function.

How does thought, in particular anxious thought, affect this balance and influence the mind and body?

How Thought And Action Impacts Your Nervous System

Imagine for a minute that you’re asleep in your bed, when all of a sudden a loud beep wakes you up. A smell of smoke fills the room; a warm light glows under your bedroom door. The house is on fire and you better get out! Your heart is racing, blood rushes into your muscles as the blood vessels constrict, your pupils dilate and your breath becomes fast and shallow. Your body is preparing for fight or flight.

Now imagine giving a speech to hundreds of people. You’ve planned and practiced in front of the mirror for hours on end; you know exactly what to say. But now you're standing there, alongside the stage, ready to go on, looking out into a crowd of faces. There’s a tightness in your chest, your mouth is dry and your heart beats faster. You’re nervous.

Now think about watching a scary movie. You're in the comfort of your own home, tucked up on the couch with popcorn. As the lead character hides behind a door waiting for the killer to find them, your jaw starts to tighten. Your palms get sticky. You start sweating, even though it’s not hot. Your breath is shallow. You feel anxious.

All three of these scenarios have totally different levels of danger. The first is a very real and dangerous threat! The second is a perceived threat, an idea of the mind. And the last is a totally made up story. But they all share the same physical response, thanks to activation of your sympathetic nervous system. Our mind is terrible at telling the difference between an actual danger and a perceived danger. If it feels any threat, the body reacts by stimulating the fight or flight response.

This is important to remember, as in our busy society the majority of people live in a constant state of fear, stress and anxiety. Whether it’s perceived or actual, the reality is chronic stimulation of the sympathetic response leads to major health problems, and contributes heavily to ongoing anxiety. So how can conscious connected breath shift our response from fight or flight, to rest and digest, and help reduce anxiety?

The Small But Big Difference Between Stress And Anxiety

Stress is caused by external factors, and it comes in many forms. The mortgage, the bills, your nasty colleague, an appointment with the dentist, your presentation to the board, the confrontation you had with a loved one, even getting on a plane to go on holiday. During these moments, the sympathetic nervous system triggers a fight or flight response. Your clammy hands, the shallow breath, your beating heart; they’re all responses to an actual, or perceived, threat. But generally, as the acute situation changes or goes away, so too do the feelings that accompany it.

Anxiety is a little different, it comes from within. And although it’s often a result of these same stressors, it can also come from past trauma, genetics, altered brain chemistry, or chronic response to stress. When the external stress-causing factors dissipate, the internal affliction can remain, as anxious thought continues to stimulate the same response any physical danger would.

Think of it as a feedback loop. It starts with a trigger, an anxious thought that activates the sympathetic response. The response activates symptoms like rapid heartbeat, sweating, jaw tension, shallow breath. These physical symptoms increase your awareness of the anxiety, leading straight into more anxious thoughts. More anxiety continues to fuel the sympathetic response and the cycle keeps running. Quite literally, anxious thoughts create the environment for more anxiety to thrive.

Controlled Breathing To Reduce Anxiety

Lucky for us, there is a way to break the cycle. Controlling your breath, in particular with deep and slow breaths, stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and directly counters the sympathetic response to stress and anxiety. When you take conscious connected breaths, it sends signals to your brain that you are in a safe environment, which activates parasympathetic response and promotes a state of calm. Focusing on the breath also serves to anchor a racing mind, drawing its attention away from anxious thought. This shift in focus can break the cycle of rumination and draw you back to the present moment with clarity and equanimity. Controlled breathing is the water hose that douses your fire of anxiety.

Breathing Techniques That Relieve Anxiety

With all that in mind, let’s explore breathing techniques that have the potential to alleviate your anxiety. Three very simple, very accessible techniques come to mind: Conscious Connected Breath, Box Breathing and Alternate Nostril Breathing.

Conscious Connected Breath

Conscious connected breath is a form of breathwork where each inhalation and exhalation is connected without pause or break. The continuous cycle, done in a relaxed manner, helps to increase oxygenation and energy circulation in the body. There’s an emphasis on taking full, deep breaths, followed by relaxed, natural exhalations. Fill the lungs completely and then let go of the breath without force. By focusing on the breath and its rhythm, you can become more attuned to internal dialogues and emotions.

How To Practice Conscious Connected Breath

Get comfortable in a seated or lying position. Place your right hand on your abdomen and your left the other on your chest. There is no pause between the inhale and the exhale in this practice. Start to inhale through your nose, drawing a full breath into your lungs. Your right hand should rise first as the abdomen expands, followed by your left hand in a relaxed expansion of the chest. At the top of the breath, without pause, start exhaling passively, feeling your left hand lower first as your chest empties, followed by your right hand. At the bottom of the exhale right away start inhaling without pause or break. Continue this in a rhythmic pattern for several minutes, or as long as you're comfortable. It’s helpful to imagine any tension or anxiety dissolving and releasing with each exhalation; the body returning to a state of inner calm and balance.

Box Breathing

Box breathing, also known as square breathing, is a popular and simple breathing technique used to calm the mind, reduce anxiety, and improve focus. It involves breathing in a controlled and rhythmic pattern through four phases: inhale, hold, exhale, hold. You visualise breathing in the shape of a square, using a count to determine the length of each phase. Focusing on the movement of your breath around the square anchors the mind in the present, allowing it to retreat from anxious thoughts of future or past. Start with a count of 4 for each phase and adjust it according to comfort.

How To Practice Box Breathing

Again find a comfortable seated position or lying down. Visualise a square shape in your mind that has four equal sides. Starting with a count of four, inhale through your nose, filling your lungs with air as you imagine going up one side of the square. Hold your breath at the top of the inhalation and imagine moving across the top of the square for another count of four. Exhale slowly and completely to the count of four, descending the other side of the square. Hold your breath at the bottom for a final count of four, moving across the bottom and completing the square. Repeat this pattern for several rounds, synchronising your breath with the visualisation of the square. Often when we’re new to this practice, the retention at the top and bottom can be uncomfortable. If that’s the case, simply reduce the length of retention to a count that suits your practice. Start by reducing the retention at the bottom of your breath to make it a count of 4, 4, 4, 2.
There’s a lot of room to progress in this breathing practice. As you progress you can play around with the length of each phase, remembering to always keep a level of comfort. A commonly used and very powerful count is 4-7-8, where we inhale for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8, adding a short retention before going again. Whenever the exhalation is double the inhalation it has a very strong effect on the parasympathetic nervous system.

Alternate Nostril Breathing

Alternate Nostril Breathing, or Nadi Shodhana pranayama, is a cleansing yogic breath practice that balances the subtle energetic currents of the mind and body. Shodhana in Sanskrit means “purification” and nadi refers to the energy (prana) channels of the body. The practice involves breathing through alternate nostrils to circulate prana and release energetic stagnation and subtle imbalances in the body. Alternating intention between the left nadi (ida) and the right nadi (pingala) can help balance the hemispheres of the brain, allowing us to experience a more accurate perception of what’s really going on.

How To Practice Alternate Nostril Breathe

There is an incredible depth to Nadi Shodhana pranayama that includes the breath, our intention, Mudras (powerful hand gestures) and visualisation. We can use all four components in various ways to find balance in the mind and body by creating an intention and using visualisation and specific Mudras, along with the breath. However, in this case, let’s go with the most common method of practice.

Find a comfortable cross-legged seat. It’s often more comfortable to have the sit bones above the knees, so feel free to sit on a pillow or bolster. With your left hand make jnana

mudra, the mudra of knowledge and wisdom. Do this by joining the tip of your index finger and thumb, like an upside down ‘OK’ sign. The top of your left hand will rest on your left knee. With your right hand make vishnu mudra, the mudra of universal balance. Do so by folding the index and middle finger against the palm and extending the other three fingers. Start Nadi Shodhana by using your vishnu mudra to close off your right nostril with your right thumb. Inhale through your left nostril first. At the top of the breath, close off the left nostril with your ring finger, open the right and exhale through the right side. Begin the next round by breathing in through the right side, closing off the right at the top, opening the left and breathing out. Continue in the cycle for 5 - 10 minutes or longer if you want.

When you first start to practice Alternate Nostril Breathing, holding the mudra can be challenging. It’s ok to place the index and middle fingers on your forehead for support. Remember, everything we do is trying to take towards a parasympathetic response, so the less stress the better!

And A Bonus Technique: Cyclic Sighing

One last one because it’s so fast and effective! Cyclic sighing gained popularity after Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist and professor at Stanford University, discussed its benefits for reducing stress and promoting relaxation. According to Dr. Huberman, this powerful breathing technique can quickly and effectively activate the parasympathetic nervous system to calm the body and mind. It involves taking a double inhalation followed by a prolonged exhalation. The technique was found to be the most effective for reducing stress, improving sleep, and enhancing mood when practiced daily for about five minutes. Cyclic sighing can be an immediate and practical tool for managing acute stress and anxiety. Use it in moments of high stress or before activities that require calm and focus, like public speaking, important meetings, or before going to sleep. Listen to the Huberman Lab podcast episode, “How to Breathe Correctly for Optimal Health, Mood, Learning & Performance” to learn more about the practice.

How To Practice Cyclic Sighing

You can do this anywhere, anytime. Standing, laying, walking, even sitting in the surf, it doesn’t matter. Take a deep breath through your nose filling your lungs. At the top of your breath, just before you exhale, take a quick second inhalation to fully inflate your lungs. Then exhale slowly and completely through your mouth. The exhalation should be slow and controlled, lasting longer than both inhalation phases combined. As few as 2-3 rounds can have profound results, just imagine what 5 minutes will do!

When Breathing Techniques Will Help Anxiety

By far the biggest challenge in using these techniques is not the techniques themselves. It’s catching yourself before an anxiety spiral takes hold. That’s a whole other topic for another day! But if you are able to identify when you’re slipping into anxiety, stopping what you’re doing immediately and taking a moment for conscious connected breath can be life-changing. But remember to approach these practices with a patient, compassionate curiosity. Exploring the transformative potential of your breath is a journey into the inner workings of the body and mind. As a daily practice, you’ll quickly find confidence in setting

an intention and clearing the mind’s chatter. Doing so first thing in the morning is the perfect time, as those first moments of the day before our barriers go up are the most vulnerable for lingering thoughts. You get to take control and set the daily agenda yourself.

The main point here is that breathing is far more than just something we do all day, every day. It serves as a powerful tool for anxiety and a portal to embrace a state of inner peace and harmony. As you embark on this next path of self-discovery and self-care, please find comfort in the power of conscious connected breath, allowing it to pour light into the darker spaces of anxious thought.