A Two Minute Breath Check For Better… Everything!

Some people roll their eyes when others talk about the importance of breathing for your digestion, workouts, sleep, etc… but the truth is that the way you breathe matters and impacts almost everything.

How could something so simple and automatic matter so much?

I know that once I started paying attention to how I breathe, it made a huge difference. I think it might for you, too. Here’s why:  

When you breathe through your mouth or breathe shallowly, it puts your body into a low-level state of stress. Most people don’t even realize this is happening, which means it can sneakily drain your energy, affect your posture, slow your recovery, and even impact your sleep and digestion.

Breathing was big when I taught childbirth classes. I didn’t teach any fancy breathing techniques, just good old fashioned “close your eyes and focus on breathing” all the way down into your belly. Stress can slow the birth process down a lot!

The good news is that you can get in sync with your breathing in just two minutes a day, and the payoffs are totally worth it.

Two Ways to Breathe Better

Here are two quick exercises you can use to help retrain your breathing patterns. Choose whichever one feels easiest. While you’re doing these exercises, notice any areas that feel tense, tight, or like they’re “on guard” against the world.

Option 1:  The 4-second nose-breathing break

• Sit or stand comfortably
• Inhale slowly through your nose for 4 seconds
• Exhale slowly through your nose for 4 seconds
• Continue for one to two minutes

This helps calm your nervous system and encourages deeper, more efficient breathing.

Option 2:  The hand-on-belly check-in

• Place one hand on your chest and one on your belly
• Inhale through your nose and see if you can get your belly to rise first
• Exhale slowly and let your shoulders relax
• Continue for one or two minutes

This helps you shift from upper-chest breathing to true diaphragmatic breathing, which helps your body’s calming “rest and digest” nervous system to kick in.

If I wake up at night, I try to do a mini belly-breathing session and it almost always helps me get back to sleep. It also helps me immediately feel the areas of my body where I carry all my stress…and helps me relax them!

Take two minutes today to check in with your breathing. Choose one of the exercises above and repeat it once per day this week. You might be surprised by how quickly your body responds!