“You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day – unless you’re too busy; then you should sit for an hour.” – Zen Proverb
Hi everyone,
I am a pretty structured person. I go to bed at 8 PM and wake up at 4 AM, even on the weekends. And I am consistent with my breathing routine:
Principle 1: 15 minutes right after waking*
Principle 3: ~10 minutes, right after that**
Principle 2: Tape at night
Although I’m pretty crazy about all this breathing stuff, I try to maintain a decent balance of “normal life” as well.
I recently went to a Bachelor Party weekend and stayed in a house with about 10 other people. My sleep routine was out. But getting in some “breathing” wasn’t.
I didn’t have to look weird or do anything special. I taped up once I got into bed so very few would see. When I woke up, I put my headphones in and did 15 minutes of box breathing (in bed) using the iBreathe app. Finally, I laid there and did 5 static breath holds:
Hold 45 sec after exhale —> Rest 1 min
Hold 45 sec after exhale —> Rest 45 sec
Hold 45 sec after exhale —> Rest 30 sec
Hold 45 sec after exhale —> Rest 15 sec
Hold 45 sec after exhale —> End
The point of all of this is to show you that incorporating breathing exercises into your day is fairly easy, regardless of your situation. And the benefits are many.
Just a few minutes of slow breathing can increase heart rate variability, improve autonomic function, and reduce stress and anxiety.
And a few breath holds can improve immune function, improve insulin sensitivity, and increase O2 carrying capacity.
Breathing is not only one of the easiest self-care practices to perform, but it also provides the greatest return on investment.
While on vacation or during a “party weekend,” it might be easy to ignore our normal self-care routines. But, this is precisely when we need them the most.
In good breath,
Nick
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* My current Principle 1 practice is 15 minutes of box breathing. After 2 months, I’m up to a 10-10-10-10 box: 10 sec inhale, 10 sec hold, 10 sec exhale, 10 sec hold. (I started at 5-5-5-5)
** My current Principle 3 practice is 3-5 walking breath holds of at least 45 sec each. Then, I perform 2 minutes of Advanced Simulation of Altitude from the Oxygen Advantage®