Breathing exercises are another practice you can adopt to help you become more mindful. Different forms of these exercises are used the world over for many different purposes, from meditation to deep-sea diving preparation.
This article is only going to discuss a couple of exercises you can try to improve your mindfulness practice. There are dozens. If you don’t like these, feel free to look for others.
Mindful Breathing
This is the most basic form of breathing exercise and is often used to train people to be mindful. It’s also the easiest to do. Find a comfortable spot to sit or lay down. It doesn’t need to be any special location; just someplace that’s also quiet.
Breathe. There’s no need to monitor you’re breathing, no need to breathe deeply or shallowly, and no need to count your breaths. Just breathe naturally. Notice your breathing, the physical process of it, how your chest rises and falls, how your stomach feels, etc.
Do this for a minute or two. That’s all there is to it!
Deep Breathing
This breathing exercise is helpful for mindfulness and a host of other issues, from improving focus to releasing stress and anxiety. You can do it anywhere too, and don’t have to sit or lie down to do so.
Take a deep, strong breath. Feel your lungs as full as they can go. Do it slowly and deliberately. Hold your breath for a moment. Now exhale. Repeat several times. Notice how it feels as you breathe. You can do this at scheduled times or whenever you feel the need.
Breath Counting
This is a type of breathing exercise that can be easily coupled with either normal or deep breathing. It adds counting into the mix to help you focus and keep your mind from wandering. It also helps break you out of thought loops and cycles of stress and negative thinking.
To do this exercise, simply add counting into one of the other two routines. You can either count to a certain number of breaths or just count until you feel finished or your timer goes off.
All of these exercises are incredibly easy to do and they will all help you become more mindful. They’ll also relieve stress and anxiety. That’s a great bonus, isn’t it? If you do one or more of these regularly, you’ll find it’s easier to be mindful and that you have less stress overall.
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