4 Yoga Breathing Techniques to Combat Work Stress

Work stress is a common norm in today’s competitive world filled with the hustle-bustle of daily life in the 21st Century. There is no denying the negative impact of stress on our physical, physiological, mental and emotional health. But, have you noticed how your breath changes when you might feel stressed and anxious about work?

One key effect of stress is on our breath. The moment we are stressed, our breath becomes shorter, sharper and shallow or even faster, thus making our breath a barometer to check our stress levels. Funnily enough, our breath is also a tool to control our stress levels and allow ourselves to release that stress. 

Essentially, there are four yogic breathing (pranayama) techniques to help release stress from work and our daily lives. These can be practiced at any time of the day while practicing yoga or as a stand-alone practice, though some of these breathing techniques do have the most effective results when practicing at certain times of the day. 

But First, What Is Pranayama?

Pranayama is one of the key limbs of yoga. Essentially, it refers to the practice of becoming more aware of the breath, manipulating the breath and reigning control over it. The word “Pranayama” can be broken down as – “prana” meaning life force and “yama” meaning control. Yogis thus equate breath as the very lifeforce of our being, after all, there is no being in the world that can exist without the breath. The moment we get control of the breath, we can get control of our entire being – that is the underlying philosophy of pranayama.

A regular and the right pranayama practice has manifold benefits including physical, physiological, mental, emotional and spiritual. Pranayama is said to bring a more meditative and spiritually aware state of being. Scientifically, many researchers have found pranayama to help with control of blood pressure, anxiety, withdrawal syndrome, pain management, emotional release, insomnia; to name a few.

In fact, yoga practice without pranayama is seen to lack that key magical ingredient for availing a holistic yoga practice. Yogis view pranayama as an essential limb of yoga to reach closer to turning inward in concentration (dharna) and meditation (dhyana) to reach the end goal of reaching the state of pure bliss (samadhi).

4 Stress Reducing Yoga Breathing Techniques

Cleansing Breath

One of the easiest breathing tools at hand is the cleansing breath, a beautiful way to release our body and mind from toxins including stressful thoughts. This technique can be practiced at any time of the day, especially in situations when you might need to find some calm. The cleansing breath is great to begin and close your yoga practice. It also helps in improving the quality of sleep, releasing endorphins and curbing bad breath.

Instructions:

• Get seated in a comfortable position, with an elongated yet relaxed spine. Unclench the jaw and relax the body.

• Take a deep inhale through the nose.

• Pause for a moment and exhale out through the mouth making a long “ha” sound.

• You can repeat this for 3 to as many rounds as you like (one inhalation and exhalation counts as one round).

• Gradually, you can try to make the inhales and exhales longer, and then try to make the exhales longer than the inhales when you feel more comfortable with the breath.

Alternate Nostril Breathing (Anulom Vilom)

The Alternate Nostril Breathing is a balancing breath. It is a technique for inducing balance between the left and right gateways (nostrils) of our breath or lifeforce (“prana”) and in turn, our left and right sides of our body and mind. This technique can be practiced at the beginning and end of a yoga asana practice. Practicing it at the beginning of the day is a wonderful way to inculcate inner balance, be it physical, mental or emotional, for the entire day.

Instructions: 

• Get seated in a comfortable position, with an elongated yet relaxed spine. Unclench the jaw and relax the body.

• Take the right hand to the nose, placing the thumb next to the right nostril and the ring finger next to the left nostril.

• Closing the left nostril with the ring finger, take a deep inhale through the right.

• Close the right nostril with the thumb, release the left nostril and exhale through the left nostril.

• Inhale with the left nostril, close it with the ring finger and release the right nostril and exhale out.

• Repeat the same for 7 to as many rounds as you like. (1 inhalation and 1 exhalation counts as 1 round)

• Gradually, you can try to make the inhales and exhales longer, and then try to make the exhales longer than the inhales when you feel more comfortable with the breath.

• Contra-indications – Avoid this breath during times of very stuffy nose during colds/ flu.

Humming Bee Breath (Bhramari Breathing)

As the name suggests, this breath involves making a humming sound. This technique awakens introspection and inner awareness through sound vibrations and stimulates the five senses if done with the hand gestures. The humming sound creates a soothing effect on the mind and the nervous system which is why this breath helps to alleviate stress, anxiety, and insomnia.

This technique also strengthens voice and vocal cords which makes it great for musicians! It is also a meditative breath as it enables harmonising the mind and our awareness of our inner self. The best time to practice this technique is at night or early morning, or at a time when there are fewer noises or distractions for you to be able to delve in inner perception. 

Instructions:

• Get seated in a comfortable position, with an elongated yet relaxed spine. Unclench the jaw and relax the body.

• Hand gesture: Raise your arms sideways and bend the elbows to take both the hands towards the sides of your face. Gently place the index fingers next to the eyes, middle fingers next to the nostrils, ring fingers next to the lips, little fingers next on either sides of the chin and the thumbs on the flaps of the ears. This hand gesture is useful for a more mindful practice to stimulate the 5 senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing respectively). Though, this is optional.

• Take a deep inhale through the nose, pause just for 1-2 seconds and exhale while maintaining a soft humming sound (This is one round).

• The humming sound is soft and smooth – a kind of hum just for you.

• Repeat this breath for 5 to as many rounds as you like.

• Contra-indications: Avoid this breath if you are suffering from an ear infection. Do not practice this breath lying down as the humming may result in choking and straining the throat.

Victorious Breath/ Ocean Breath (Ujjayi Breathing)

This is a bit of a tricky breathing technique to get used to and it does take some time to master – after all, victory takes time, effort and hard work. However, this is one of the strongest tools yogis use for building holistic strength and stamina while being able to stay calm in the most strenuous asanas (physical postures) on the mat or the most difficult situations off the mat.

This breath is classified as a tranquilising pranayama which has a soothing effect on the mind and the nervous system. This technique is helpful in slowing the heart rate and is useful during heated situations that raise blood pressure. This breath may be practiced at any time of the day and you can practice it before and/or after a physical yoga practice. This technique may also be practiced while lying down and practicing this technique before bedtime is great for inducing better quality and sound sleep. 

Instructions:

• Get seated in a comfortable position, with an elongated yet relaxed spine, or lie down on your back. Unclench the jaw and relax the body.

• Slowly take your awareness to your natural breathing and allow the breath to become calm and rhythmic.

• When ready, take your awareness to the throat. Think of the throat like a straw and imagine that you’re breathing in and out through the hole of the straw – sucking the air in as you inhale and out as you exhale.

• As the breath becomes deeper, try to gently contract the glottis (the slit-like opening near the mouth and nasal cavity that controls airflow while breathing). The gentle contraction will make a very soft snoring sound as you inhale and exhale.

• Both inhalation and exhalation should be long, deep and controlled while you concentrate on that soft snoring sound. The soft sound is audible just to the practitioner – you.

• If you feel comfortable you can incorporate yogic sectional breathing here. You can allow the inhalation to fill your abdomen first, then the chest and the throat (clavicular region) to fill up with air like a balloon. As you exhale, release the air from the throat, chest and then the abdomen.

• You can repeat this breath for 10 rounds and up to about 5 mins of pranayama practice.

• Contraindications – People with very low blood pressure should not practice this breathing technique. Ensure that you contract the glottis gently, there is no stress or tension in the throat or neck region.

Guided Pranayama Videos We Use:

This 30 minute guided pranayama video focuses primarily on the breath, and is a perfect practice for the morning or to prepare for your yoga practice. Many prefer to start their day with pranayama, as it boosts energy by flooding the body with oxygen. But the practice can be done any time of the day, and may help aid you into a restful sleep.

This 60 minute video is one of the most comprehensive and well instructed pranayama videos we have found on YouTube, and we use it regularly. This video incorporates both yoga and pranayama techniques, and has 12 basic asanas that are perfect for beginners and seasoned yogis alike.

The Wrap Up

Yogis use breath control and techniques for manifold benefits and a pivotal one is to reduce or release stress from work or the hectic everyday schedule. Doctors, scientists and yoga experts have prescribed “deep breaths” to help regain control of ourselves when in extremely stressed, anxious or hyperactive states. Pranayama takes this a step further and brings us a few techniques that can really help to reduce our stress levels. 

The four above-mentioned techniques can be our own personal tools for stress management and to find our cool in the most uncool situations. While yoga and pranayama techniques can be great complementary tools for stress and lifestyle management while incorporating holistic wellbeing into our daily lives, it is important to speak to your health care practitioner if you have any major concerns regarding your health due to stress to ensure the best solution for you.