The simplest guide to mindful breathing: Once you learn it, you will see immediate results

Mindful breathing is a simple, effective stress-reduction technique that can be used anytime, anywhere. Many people think of complicated rituals. In fact, the basic technique is super simple. This article allows you to learn it as soon as you learn it, and it will be effective immediately.

Environment and Posture

No matter what, just have a place where you can sit comfortably for a few minutes without twisting and turning. You can also ride a car. If it’s a sleep aid before bed, lie down.

Absolutely quiet environments are not required. There’s no need for that stereotypical sitting position; I’ve never sat that way in my life.

slow down breathing

Focus on your breath. Just use your nose to inhale and exhale as usual. It is not necessary to exhale through the mouth. Each inhalation and exhalation takes half the time. The point is to slow down. Slower than usual is fine.

If you’re wondering how slow is best, 5.5 beats per minute is an ideal goal. Inhale and exhale for about 5.5 seconds each time.

Close your eyes and count your breath

close your eyes. Imagine that you can see the breath coming in and going out of your body. This visualization technique allows you to focus on each breath in the present moment without your thoughts wandering away.

Count interest. Count silently each time you exhale. This time it’s one, next time it’s two, and after ten it’s back to one. This is also a little trick to help you focus on the present moment.

What should I do if my thoughts wander or I forget to count in the middle of the count? Just go back to one. Counting interest is just an aid. After you are proficient, you will naturally be able to focus, so you don’t need to count. That is, one every time.

duration

If you have enough time, you can do it for ten to fifteen minutes. If you’re not used to it at first or don’t have the time (such as a break in a busy meeting), a few minutes is fine.

In fact, what I do most often, especially when I am away from home, working and moving, is about five minutes. Rapid decompression under high pressure.

mobile phone assistance

If you still feel the need to have voice prompts when to inhale or exhale, there are plenty of apps on your phone. But I’ve never used it.

wearable device

If you already have a Garmin device, the watch itself has a breathing training app that offers three breathing techniques (box, isometric, 4-7-8). The watch will use different vibration methods to remind you to inhale, exhale or hold your breath. Of course, there are pictures, but it is best to close your eyes and feel the vibration feedback.

The benefit of using wearable devices to assist training is physiological monitoring and recording. After training, you can see the changes in heart rate and breathing rate, and importantly, the rise and fall of stress index. After practicing mindful breathing, you will find that it has a good decompression effect.

further reading