Pranayama

Breathe. Just breathe.
No one breath is necessarily better than another.
The breath is just that—breath.

Some breath exercises have a practical place in daily life. Others might serve the ego. Leaning into the former, breathing techniques may offer a desired effect immediately and others may set the tone for longer term effects.

Breathing to down-regulate the nervous system

When thinking about breath training, a calming, full breath taken by the hero before a dramatic event may be the movie scene you pull up in your mind. However, when normal, everyday people practice a down-regulating breathing technique, there's very little drama or attention brought to it. Here's a quick way to tap into the rest-and-digest parasympathetic system with the breath:

Sama Vritti (Balanced Breath)

1. Sit, stand or lay so your abdomen is supporting you and the spine is stably stacked.
2. Take 10 breaths without modifying anything.
3. Take six breaths that are slow and steady of equal parts, counting to four on the inhale and four on the exhale, through the nostrils.
4. For an experiment, elongate the count to six on the next six breaths.
5. Repeat for six more breaths at which ever count does not cause the body to strain.
6. Release the technique and notice your physiological state.

Up-regulate and activate the sympathetic system

Not every moment in life calls for the same breath. Notice, are you nervous, stressed, sleep-deprived? And if so, are you perhaps holding your breath, hunching over or breathing quick, short and shallow? Working with your body's cues and activating the fight-or-flight sympathetic system may increase your alertness and energy and even clear out some brain fog. The following up-regulating breathing exercise is best calibrated to a disco-influenced song like "I Was Made for Lovin' You" by KISS, in Kat's humble opinion.

Kapalabhati (Skull-Shining Breath)

1. Sit or stand so your abdomen is supporting you and the spine is stably stacked.
2. Bring your awareness to your diaphragm and take five breaths through the nostrils but without modifying anything else.
3. On your next exhale, force the breath completely out the nose in one second by pulling your diaphragm and rib cage inward quickly (like a cough through the nose). The body will automatically rebound and expand for an inhale through the nose. Repeat for 10 forced exhales.
4. Assess your physiological state and decide when you're ready to repeat again for 27 forced exhales through the nose.
5. Release the technique and notice your physiological state.

*note: This is not medical advice. Engaging in breath exercises is not a medical prescription, and you do so at your own ability and potential risk should you have health complications. Consult with your medical provider if you have questions.