Regulating our breath shows that we are in control. We can regulate our breath by taking slow, intentional breaths in order to feel calm or simply to help shift our emotions. This happens when the nerves connecting our lungs to our brain get the signal to slow down, calm down, increase awareness, etc. This lowers heart rate and blood pressure and relieves stress. By modifying the breath, we gain control our bodies and brain, which leads to the control of our thoughts, and then we can control our emotions and state of being.

To help you gain more control over your body, thoughts, and emotions, try learning some new breath techniques. Here, I share a new breath for 30 days. Build a habit of taking control of something we all have to do anyway. Make it meaningful and start your journey of healing.

Day 1: Deep Belly Breaths

• Sit comfortably, place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly. Inhale deeply through your nose, letting your belly expand. Exhale slowly through your nose. Notice how easy or hard it is to breathe deep into our bodies. When we are stressed, we tend to breathe high in our chest. This simple breath helps guide your body to learn how to breathe properly and release tension in your shoulders.

Day 2: 4-7-8 Breathing

• Inhale for a count of 4, hold your breath for 7 counts, and exhale for 8 counts. Repeat for several cycles. This is my very favorite breath for relieving anxiety. Anytime you need to feel more calm, make your exhale longer than your inhale. Breath retention assists but can be difficult at first. Give yourself grace when practicing this breath and start with shorter counts. It usually takes me a few rounds to get there.

Day 3: Box Breathing

• Inhale, hold, exhale, and pause, each for a count of 4. Visualize each side of a box with your breath. This breath is excellent for improving focus and attention. Try it before taking a test or listening to a lecture. This is probably my most frequently practiced breath. I love it for it’s simplicity and balance. For kids, imagine a Minecraft block or Alphablock.

Day 4: Alternate Nostril Breathing

• Close one nostril with your thumb, inhale through the other. Close the other nostril, exhale through the first. Repeat for a few cycles. Kids call this “Nimble Nostrils” and my yoga teacher called it a breath that can change the world. I practice this breath most often following my yoga practice or with a meditation. It balances the brain hemispheres and creates a sense of peace.

Day 5: Dive Breath

• Inhale, hold, and lower your head below your heart. Exhale and come back up when you need to. This breath drastically lowers your heart rate to calm you down when you are in a heighted emotional state or out of control. Enhance the effect by placing your face in very cold water. I used this breath when my child was very sick and far away; I felt frustrated and helpless. The cold water was shocking at first, so my first breath hold was short. I tried again and held my breath for about 20 seconds and felt so much calmer – it was shocking.

Day 6: Lion’s Breath

• Sit comfortably, inhale deeply through your nose, then exhale forcefully through an open mouth while sticking out your tongue or making a roaring sound. This is an effective breath for moving negative emotion. When I see child very upset and is trying to hold it together, this is the breath I recommend.

Day 7: Diaphragmatic Breathing

• Lie down, place a book or other object on your belly, and breathe, focusing on making the object rise and fall with each breath. For kids, I use a small stuffed animal or toy like a rubber duck. This breath helps our bodies relearn the proper way to breathe – with our bellies moving, not just our chest.

Day 8: Breath Counting

• Inhale deeply, counting each breath. Start with 10 breaths and gradually increase the count as you progress. If you lose count, start back at one. This breath increases awareness and focus. It leads to better mood and thought control. Over time, you will feel less distracted because you will have more control over your mind wandering.

Day 9: Ocean Breathing

• Inhale deeply through your nose, then exhale making a “ha” sound. Imagine the ebb and flow of ocean waves getting smaller and gentler as you practice. The ocean becomes more peaceful with each breath, just like your thoughts and emotions. I will sometimes play audio of waves crashing to accompany this breath practice; it helps the imagery.

Day 10: Infinity Breath

• Inhale and exhale through your nose continuously with equal lengths, following an infinity shape. Kids call this one “Lazy Eights” and draw a number eight sideways or laying down. When tracing the infinity symbol, you are integrating the hemispheres of your brain, connecting more neurons and enhancing brain balance.

Day 11: Mountain Breath

• Using your hand, trace up your thumb as you inhale, pausing at the top of your finger “mountain” and exhale as your trace down. Continue with each finger. Since it takes 5 – 10 breaths to reset our bodies and brains, which equals the number of fingers we have, this breath works well for building the practice of continuing for enough rounds to change our thought pattern and body chemistry.

Day 12: Equal Parts Breath

• Inhale and exhale for an equal count (e.g., 4 counts in, 4 counts out). Maintain a steady rhythm. You can increase the count as you go. This breath is great for when you are upset and are able to gain control of your breath. You may be breathing quickly so your count will be short in the beginning. Slowly increase the count as you gain more breath control. The counting of the inhale and exhale may be a welcome distraction from distressing thoughts.

Day 13: Energizing Breath

• Inhale sharply through your nose, then exhale quickly through your nose. Focus on the energizing sensation. This breath is great for waking the body when one is feeling tired or needs to focus. The forceful inhale is sending more oxygen to your brain. For this breath, the inhale is the focus. Try for several rounds.

Day 14: 3-Part Breath

• Inhale deeply into your belly, then expand your ribcage, and finally fill your chest. Exhale in reverse order. You can intensify this breath by adding pauses and releasing your exhale for a count of nine. This powerful breath not only promotes healthy lung function, but it also activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which reduces anxiety and stress hormones through the deep, rhythmic breath process.

Day 15: Resonant Breathing

• Hum softly as you exhale. Feel the vibration in your chest and head. Focus on the soothing sound. This breath is beneficial when you need a distraction from distressing thoughts. Focus on controlling the volume of your hum.

Day 16: Progressive Relaxation Breath

• Inhale, tense your toes, exhale, release the tension. Move progressively through each muscle group. This is a breath that we practice while using the coping skill that involves progressive muscle relaxation. It brings awareness to where we feel stress in our bodies. Try it before bed to enhance relaxation and prepare for better sleep.

Day 17: Guided Visualization Breath

• Inhale, envision positive energy entering your body. Exhale, visualize stress leaving your body. Picture positive energy as a golden white light or your favorite color. Picture stress as cloudy grey that gradually clears during the breath repetition.

Day 18: Balloon Breath

• Inhale deeply, imagining your belly as a balloon expanding. Exhale slowly, deflating the balloon. This is a fun one to try with young children and an actual balloon. It makes deep belly breathing more tangible. Afterwards, play keep up with the balloon.

Day 19: Triangle Breathing

• Inhale for a count of four, exhale for four, pause before inhaling again. Adjust the counts as needed, focusing on a triangular breath pattern. This practice takes breath retention to a deeper level. Holding the breath following an exhale is a new experience for most people. Try not to judge it. Enhancing this ability teaches your body how to handle stress and fear, and your brain may even begin releasing serotonin.

Day 20: 3-2-4 Breathing

• Inhale for 3 counts, hold for 2, and exhale for 4. Adjust the counts to a pace that feels comfortable. The breath hold and the longer exhale creates a sense of calm and lowers stress by slowing the heart rate and settling the mind. I highly recommend this simple breath for individuals who often experience anxiety and are new to breath control. This practice is a great starting point.

Day 21: Grounding Breath

• Inhale deeply, envision roots extending from your body into the earth. Exhale, releasing any tension. Practicing this breath outside with your body touching the ground is very healing. There is an immediate exchange of electrons with the earth, which can create a calming effect of electrical signals in the brain. Grounding can lower inflammation and cortisol as well as lessen symptoms of ADHD. I often recommend this practice for individuals on the Autism spectrum.

Day 22: Morning Sun Breath

• Inhale, envision the warmth of the morning sun entering your body. Exhale, releasing any darkness. This is my go-to breath for individuals suffering with depression. Willingness to simply picture a soothing light, like the sun, opens the door to improvement.

Day 23: Bee’s Breath

• Inhale deeply, exhale while making a humming sound like a bee. Feel the vibrations in your head. Try it with your eyes or ears closed to focus even more on the humming sound and the sensation it creates. This breath is supposedly beneficial for insomnia or when one struggles to fall asleep at night.

Day 24: Star Breathing

• Inhale, reaching your arms overhead, expanding your body like a star. Exhale, bringing your arms back down. Movement breaths like this are wonderful for enhancing mood or moving negative energy out of the body.

Day 25: Loving-Kindness Breath

• Inhale, envision love and kindness entering your body. Exhale, sending love and kindness outward to others. Self-love is essential for healing, so this can be a powerful practice and create positive shifts in one’s life. Sending love to others, especially to someone you are having a difficult time with, can be hard. Negative feelings or thoughts about another person only affects you, so be open to positive changes. Begin this practice by sending love to someone you love, then someone you feel neutral about, then someone you may dislike. This practice can alter difficult relationships for the better while making you a happier person.

Day 26: Wise Mind Breath

• Inhale and think/whisper/say “wise”. Exhale “mind”. Wise Mind is the effective state of being that we strive for in Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Wise Mind is the balance between strong emotions and over thinking. Turning your attention to this concept increases focus and encourages positivity.

Day 27: Rainbow Breath

• Inhale and raise your arms overhead, imagining a spectrum of colors surrounding your body like a rainbow. Exhale, lower your arms, releasing any negativity. This breath elevates mood, and I recommend it for individuals who are feeling unhappy, encouraging personalizing the rainbow colors.

Day 28: Heart-Opening Breath

• Inhale, envisioning your heart expanding with love and compassion with your hand over your heart. Exhale, releasing any emotional weight. Add an encouraging affirmation with each inhale.

Day 29: Candle Breath

• Inhale deeply and imagine blowing out a candle with a long, slow exhale. This breath calms the body as you control and lengthen your exhale.

Day 30: Gratitude Breath

• Inhale, focusing on something you’re grateful for. Exhale, expressing gratitude for the present moment, your life, or anything good you get to experience. With each breath, try to identify something else to be grateful for. This practice is powerful for creating positive change.

Keep Going

There are many tools to assist you in improving your mental health. Breathing is free, and we have to do it, so begin easy. And you must begin.

For more resources to encourage your healing journey, shop tools or reach out for personalized support: dr.ashleydeluccia@gmail.com. Happy healing!