Feeling Stressed? Beat It With Breathwork
94: Basics on stress management.
Welcome reader! So far this year has been stressful for us. We have spent a decent amount of time figuring out how to reduce stress - cope with it, and make things as smooth as possible. The reality? There is no easy fix for this. Stress management comes down to the multiple components that must work together for you to feel any difference. An easy way to start taking control? Breathwork.
Stress Management And Why It Matters?
Stress management: For those not struggling with pressure and stress in general. This post won’t make much sense. The same applies to those who don’t have time to look into topics such as this one or are still operating in survival mode. Breathwork won’t make much sense. This applies to everything. If you don’t label something as "important" it won’t get any time of day. Those operating at 110% effort, running their business or stacking contracts… This one is for you. One could go so far as to say that everyone reading this could benefit from the basic concepts of breathwork. The investment should be max 1 to 2 hours, and the ROI will be hard to beat. Our advice is to give yourself a few days to read and understand the importance of breathing and how it impacts your daily life. Not just how it impacts, but also why you should care in the first place. Another common pattern when discovering what works for you is looking into historical texts. Where does that put breathing? Quite high on that list. Leaving it to you to do some research around it.
Why breathwork: Repeating ourselves again - we are not doctors or specialists on the topic. This is not medical advice in any way. However, when you come to a position of desperation, and there are not many things left to do to help yourself get out of it. All of us are willing to do whatever it takes. No one can deny that it doesn’t take a genius to understand that breathing is a mechanism/system that sends your body and mind about how different components should behave. Not just behave, but work together as a whole. To keep it simple: stress reduction, heart rate, oxygen delivery, and keeping your emotions in check. On top of that, it helps with cognitive focus and mental clarity. It doesn’t take much to realize the necessity of proper breathing and what kind of output one could get with minimal input and effort. Similar to our other principles in the FAQ. Feeling lost? Overwhelmed? Struggling with the present moment? Stress management is a real thing, and there is a good reason why top executives and business owners are paying attention - that same reason is why you should want to understand the concepts around it. The goal here is not to sell you on our idea. But to summarize why someone would want to engage in breathwork:
Reduces stress
Speeds up recovery
Makes you sleep better
Puts you in the present moment
Provides clarity
Calming effect
Open your mind: Before you label this post as complete nonsense and start thinking we went crazy. Don’t. It took us years to process breathing exercises and finally try them when times got tough. Breathwork is easy to start. Plus it is even easier to notice the difference. If you think we went crazy, remember this: Rick Rubin, Tony Robbins, LeBron James, David Lynch… They all used breathing exercises and have been public about it. To repeat ourselves one more time. Don’t knock it until you try it.
How To Get The Most Out Of Breathing Exercises
Become aware of your breathing and breathing patterns (shallow breathing, posture, belly breathing etc..)
Box breathing, 4-7-8, and diaphragmatic breathing are the best picks for someone just starting and looking to learn more about breathwork
Make sure to follow someone doing it before trying it yourself. Guided sessions are necessary when starting. Good place to start? Box breathing with Mark Divine.
Create a routine… A routine makes things easier and helps you get into the groove.
Start practicing self-awareness and noticing how you feel.
If you struggle with sitting and staying in one spot (holding concentration). Most of the exercises can be done while walking.
Stop if you feel anxious or lightheaded. Once we started practicing, we thought it was good to do it while driving. Far from it - this gets better over time, and you won’t feel the same.
Breathing Exercises And Breathwork 101
Fundamentals: 3/3 required
Deep breaths: It sounds ridiculous until you start looking into studies and realizing that only around 30% of the population is doing deep breaths. Everyone else operates from the wrong place and focuses on the shallow part. One of the main reasons it gets to that point is because over time your body gets used to having fewer inputs but using it more efficiently. Which leads to you developing a poor pattern that is hard to get rid of in the end. The simple test to see if you have fallen into this pattern is to do a few deep breaths in a row. If you feel that you have to put effort into it or that something is different than usual. It means you have a poor breathing pattern, which you should start paying attention to.
Breathing through the nose: Another ridiculous point, but one worth mentioning. Most people around you breathe through their nose. But certain geographic locations do not. If you have an extra 10 minutes to do some basic research on it, we recommend you do. This should not be mentioned, but it serves as a good opportunity for everyone to remind themselves to breathe through their noses consistently. This is natural and should happen without much effort and thinking. If you feel like you have to force breathing through the noise, it doesn’t come naturally. There is a good chance you might be experiencing health problems that are worth checking. Don’t take this for granted, as you might be able to detect something you never paid attention to before. Have troubles sleeping or waking up tired? We are talking about clear signs in that case. Visit your doctor asap.
Belly breathing (diaphragmatic): This is how babies breathe, and it is something that most people lose over their lifetime. Understanding and being able to perform the basic action of breathing through your diaphragm is mandatory. For those unable to perform it - reading the rest of this article is unnecessary.
Breathwork basics: find out what works for you
We advise anyone who has not tried breathwork before or has not paid attention to start with one from the basics list. In practice, box breathing (basic example) will already be a huge improvement and will keep you energized throughout the day (or relaxed before sleep). The aim here is not to describe each method in detail but to provide a general outline and a few things you can experiment with.
Box breathing (square breathing): Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Hold. There is a good reason why we are starting the list with a basic one such as this. It is by far the easiest one to get you back into focus and calm you down. This is a great introduction to breathwork and an opportunity to realize that whatever you are, you have never breathed properly (full capacity).
How to:
Breathe in for 4 seconds.
Hold for 4 seconds.
Breathe out for 4 seconds.
Hold for 4 seconds.
Repeat.
4-7-8 breathing: We didn’t experiment much with it. But we heard others prefer it over box breathing to relax and take things slower. It is often recommended to practice this type of breathwork before going to sleep.
How to:
Breathe in for 4 seconds.
Hold for 7 seconds.
Breathe out for 8 seconds.
Repeat.
Alternate nostril breathwork: If you choose to try one of the breathing applications, you will sooner or later be presented with it. There are multiple variations to this, but the most common one is to alternate nostrils for inhaling and exhaling. Those who have practiced yoga at some point have likely heard of this before.
How to:
Start with a long breath to settle yourself.
Close the right nostril and inhale slowly through your left nostril.
Switch sides.
Close your left nostril with your ring finger and release your thumb to open the right nostril.
Repeat.
Our comment: There is nothing special here. Yet if you have never done any of those, prepare to be amazed at how easy it is to progress and feel more energetic overall. Our favorite from the above? Box breathing. It is a powerful method for getting you in the right place and time.
The Real Stuff: Wim Hof, Buteyko and HRV breathing
Wim Hof: Some people claim this is the best way to approach breathwork, while others say it is far from optimal. Wim Hof, when compared to Buteyko, is much more intensive. Wim Hof focuses on hyperventilation, while Buteyko is around breathing less and slower. Both have their strong points. Both do make sense. What’s great about this method is that it puts you in motion, and you can expect to feel activated once you finish the session. No lies there… Want to wake up early and feel energized throughout the day? This is something you should look into. We are personally not the biggest fans of it.
Buteyko breathing: To not go in-depth about the story of Buteyko breathing and its origins in the USSR in the 50s. You can read more about it from the great creator Hyde, whom we were introduced to a few months ago on Twitter. After talking with a few people who have spent more time than we have doing exercises like this one and trying to grasp the basics of carbon dioxide levels in the blood... We were told this is the best way to approach breathwork and the benefits you can get out of it. No lies there. After playing with it for a few months, the results are noticeable and managing stressful situations has become easier. Worth mentioning that with Buteyko, you should start slowly and focus on building up your capacity over time. There is no point in us giving you an overview on how to do it, as you can find the basic introduction above and it is highly recommended that you do. There are multiple ways to practice it, and it’s worth looking further into the method.
HRV breathing (coherent breathing): Our favorite. Why? It feels natural. Something that comes without much thought. Or at least that is how we feel when we compare it with Buteyko or Wim Hof. There is not much preparation. You sit down and start doing it. Breath in for 5 seconds. Breath out for 5 seconds. This makes it our favorite from the list. Try everything and see what works best for you. It doesn’t mean that coherent breathing will be the best for you if it’s for us. The results are quite similar and doing any of the methods listed won’t be a wrong decision. Your goal should be to optimize for the most efficient way and one that will ensure you do it as often as possible.
Final word: This is not our usual content and what we cover… However, it has helped us stay sane and sharper this year. It fits in the lifestyle category. It is fairly simple to cover and put out the main idea behind. So why not? We are sure certain percentage of the readers who read this and pick it up will benefit heavily. If you are skeptical and unsure whether breathwork is real or not. This is one reason you should try any of the methods presented in this week's post. Not this week… Today. The time investment is around 10 - 15 minutes per session, and dedicating an hour over the week is something everyone can do. The benefits? Huge. The effort required? Minimal. Impact on the stress? Huge. What is there left to do? Pick a method and give it a try.
Additional Resources Worth Checking Out
How to Improve Your HRV with Breathing Exercises & Breathwork
Heart Breath Mind: Train Your Heart to Conquer Stress and Achieve Success
Disclaimer: None of this is to be legal or financial advice of any kind.
Interesting read, I think we should all be more conscious about the unconscious things that we do everyday.
Don't know how to 'breathe'- fix with conscious effort.
Poor sleep - fix with conscious effort.
Poor posture - fix with conscious effort.
Like you said - "The benefits? Huge. The effort required? Minimal. Impact on the stress? Huge."
This also applies to tonality when talking, not feeling present during conversation, how to run properly and so many other different aspects of our lives.
Be conscious about the things you that you usually do without thinking but don't overthink it. Balance is definitely important.
Best stress management is to feel genuine human connection, support and love from other person. Nothing will ever come close