General guidelines:
- Relax your body.
- Breathe through your nose with your mouth closed.
- Breathe in and out of your belly (low), not your lungs (high).
- Repeat your technique of choice for a minimum of 3 minutes.
1. Bellows breath
- Exhale by contracting the abdominal (lower belly) muscles quickly and forcefully.
- Follow it with letting all your muscles relax again completely, which is equivalent to a diaphragmatic inhalation (a natural, unforced breath in).
2. Breath of fire
- Breathe in and out rapidly, rhythmically, and continuously (2-3 cycles per second).
- Keep an equal length of inhale and exhale.
- Your breathing “focus” should be somewhere between your belly and your lungs.
- Don’t pause between inhale and exhale.
3. 4-7-8 method
- Breathe in for 4 seconds.
- Hold for 7 seconds.
- Breathe out for 8 seconds.
4. box breathing
- Chose a length/amount of time (X).
- Breathe in for X counts.
- Hold for X counts.
- Breathe out for x counts.
- Hold for X counts.
- Do this X times. Graphic here.
5. the double
- Breathe out for twice as long as you breathe in.
- Your breath in should be at least 3 seconds long.
For more in-depth, scientific knowledge on counted breathing watch this amazing TED talk by Dr. Alan Watkins.