Breathing as a Resilience Tool
Managing your breathing is one of the most powerful and fastest ways to influence your internal emotional and psychological state.
When you feel emotionally challenged, either through a generalised state of stress, or an in-the-moment trigger that generates a negative emotion, your reactions can be detrimental to your goals, unless you can gain some inner control first. Your breathing is your most immediate tool to help you create space and manage your feelings so your behaviour is more aligned with the outcomes you really want.
There are many different breathing techniques to help with this inner control. They come from a range of different sources and some will be more effective for you than others, so experiment and play with the different approaches to find the best fit for you. Here are some of the most popular and effective techniques.
OBDB – One Big Deep Breath
This is a great way to give yourself time to compose yourself before reacting to something that has triggered some negative emotion in you. Simply pause and take one long, deep, conscious breath to feel calmer and more stable. This also creates the time to ask yourself to find the wisest response.
Brown Paper Bag Breathing
This is a very popular technique for people who feel overwhelmed or who may be experiencing a panic attack. If you have a paper bag simply use it to breathe into for a few moments. The act of blowing into the bag helps to shift your attention to the out-breath rather than the in-breath. Most people in panic mode, focus on breathing in to get more oxygen and then pausing, but this makes the feeling of anxiety worse. Try it, when you are not feeling panic stricken and you will feel how it constricts the lungs and causes more tension. The out-breath however, is much more useful to focus on and it can be lengthened to increase the calm effect. You can also pause at the end of an out-breath and simply allow the in-breath to happen naturally. This is a lovely way to relax, with or without the bag.
Straw Breathing
This is a great alternative to the Brown Paper Bag technique as it is more subtle but can be just as effective. Breathe in through your nose and out slowly through pursed lips, as though blowing through a straw. Do at least three of these to trigger inner calm. This can be done subtly in public to help you respond to others resourcefully as well as to help you feel calm and centred generally.
Alternate Nostril Breathing
This is a yoga technique that is best done privately but can be very powerful for shifting your internal emotional state to one of calm alertness. Use your left thumb to block your left nostril and breathe in through your right nostril. Then release your thumb and use your finger to close your right nostril as you breathe out through your left nostril. Repeat 10 times then swap over and breathe in through your left nostril and out through your right. Do 10 on that side too. Check how you feel and you might need to do 3 rounds to get a fully grounded but focused state. I find this particularly useful to do before making important decisions. I recommend blowing your nose before you start this one as it is very good for clearing blocked sinuses too!
Satanama Breathing
Basically, this is a breathing technique used by many people with phobias to distract them from a habitual emotional response. You need to use both hands and press your thumb into the pads of your fingers as you breathe and make the sounds as follows:
SA – press thumb to forefinger
TA – press thumb to index finger
NA – press thumb to ring finger
MA – press thumb to pinky
Make the sounds internally if you are in public and use medium pressure on the pads. Do one whole round as you breathe in, and one whole round as you breathe out. Keep going for a few minutes and pace yourself to gradually slow down.
The Sedona Technique
This is a powerful way to disempower strong negative feelings like sadness, despair, panic and anger. So use this when you want to recover from emotional overwhelm.
First be aware of the feeling(s) you are experiencing and label it (them) if you can. Check if the feeling has a location in your body, a shape, texture, colour, etc., so you can begin to identify it more thoroughly.
Next, take your time with this, and it usually helps to close your eyes: as you breathe out, imagine the feeling(s) you have just identified leaving your body with your out-breath. So as you exhale you imagine the emotions flowing out of you as you breathe out. Do this as many times as it takes to get to a more neutral, calm or manageable place.
Keep alert for the feeling(s) arising again, and consciously breathe the feelings out on every out breath. Continue to be vigilant for a few hours and you will discover that you have managed your emotional state and are able to function again. You may, of course, still want to explore the driving issues behind such powerful emotions, but at least you will be doing it from a calmer, more resourceful state.