That’s why yoga practice includes several breathing exercises designed to balance and relax the mind and body. Let’s take a closer look at four particularly simple techniques you can start applying straight away:

Four easy everyday breathing exercises

Preparation:

Breathing exercises are best done before meals or three hours after your last one – that way, your diaphragm has enough room for deep breaths. Find a quiet spot and get comfy in a sitting position. If your body feels a bit tense, start by doing a few exercises such as stretches, forward bends, shoulder rolls, neck rolls and torso twists. In yoga, you usually do a few asanas (postures) to prepare your body for sitting for a long time.

Once you’ve found a comfortable position, breathe naturally for five to ten breaths and simply observe. Are your breaths fast or slow? Deep or shallow? Take a moment to take note of how you’re feeling at that exact moment. When you’re ready, start with the first exercise:

1. Deep belly breathing (Adham Pranayama)

Strictly speaking, Kapalbhati isn’t a breathing exercise, but a cleansing technique. Exhaling strongly clears your airways, thereby releasing blocked energy and improving oxygen intake. The technique also stimulates your metabolism and digestion.

• Lightly place your left hand on your left knee and your right hand on your lower abdomen.
• Now exhale strongly and in short bursts through your nose, pulling your belly in as you do so.
• Exhaling should be completely passive and automatic.
• Start with 20 to 30 exhalations, then take a break for five breaths or wait until your breathing has returned to normal.
• Repeat three times.
• Once you’ve got the hang of this exercise, you can start increasing the number of exhalations.

Sometimes it’s hard to think clearly; that’s where Nadi Shodana acts as a reset. Alternate nostril breathing has a calming effect, improves focus and balances the activity in the right and left hemispheres of your brain. After several rounds of alternate nostril breathing, you should feel refreshed and liberated.

• Fold your right index finger and middle finger toward the centre of your hand.
• Take a deep breath in and out through both nostrils, and then close your right nostril with your right thumb.
• Breathe in through your left nostril while counting to five.
• Close your left nostril with your right ring finger. Open your right nostril and exhale for five seconds.
• Inhale through your right nostril for five seconds, close your right nostril with your thumb, release your ring finger, and exhale through your left nostril for five seconds.
• That’s one round. Repeat about ten times.
• With a little practice, you can gradually increase the length of your breaths.

Bhrahmari is the perfect exercise if you have trouble falling asleep, feel tense or stressed. This technique calms your nervous system through soothing vibrations in your head and chest area.

• Close your eyes and place your hands on your face so that your thumbs gently cover your ears. Lightly rest your index and middle fingers on your eyelids, your ring fingers on your upper lip and your little fingers on your chin.
• Now take a deep, calm breath.
• As you exhale, hum softly in the back of your throat.
• Try to exhale for as long as possible with your mouth closed.
• Feel the pleasant vibration in your chest and head.
• Repeat at least ten times.

Start gently and carefully

If you’re new to breathing exercises, watch videos on YouTube, for example, to make sure you’re doing the techniques correctly. The increased oxygen supply may make you feel dizzy. Take a break if that happens. You should feel no pressure or pain. And if your neck feels tense, lean against something, and find a position that feels comfortable.