The foundation of all yoga practices is slow breathing through the nose. Especially as we engage in courageous and vulnerable inner work, it is important to stay connected to your breath. This week, we will develop a habit to breathe slowly and deeply through the nose throughout the day. We will start by learning how to establish optimal breathing. This type of breathing activates the body’s relaxation response. It modulates emotional regions of the brain, helping to relieve emotional distress and tension.
Every morning, after you get ready for your day and before you head out to work, take the kids to school, or start on your day’s project, take five minutes to establish optimal breathing.
Five-minute optimal breath practice
Sit comfortably on the floor or on a chair. If seated on the floor, place a pillow or cushion under the back of the hips to support a straight spine. If seated on a chair, keep both feet flat on the floor. Turn off notifications on your phone and set a timer for five minutes.
Relax your shoulders, hips, and the muscles of your face, especially your jaw. Lengthen your spine by rooting your hips down and gently lifting your heart toward the sky. Keep your shoulders relaxed, drawn down and back, and aligned over the hips, ensuring your posture remains balanced without leaning forward or back.
Bring awareness to your breath. Place one hand on your belly and one hand on your upper chest. Inhale slowly through your nose and feel the belly naturally rise. Exhale through the nose and feel the belly naturally move in toward the spine.
Continue to breathe slowly through the nose. Close the mouth and relax the lips. Let the tip of the tongue rest on the top palate behind the front teeth. Try to keep the chest as still as possible, with only the belly moving.
Relax into a comfortable rhythm of breathing. You can try taking an inhalation and exhalation that are approximately 6 seconds each. In his 2020 book Breath, journalist James Nestor reported that contemporary research found a 5.5-second inhalation and 5.5-second exhalation to be optimal. If this feels like a strain or uncomfortable at all, reduce the count as much as you need — to a 2-, 3-, 4-, or 5-second inhale and an equal length of exhale. Relax into a rhythm that feels natural to you. The length of your breath will extend in the coming weeks and months as you practice. Controlling your breath will eventually help you to control your reactions and consciously choose where to place your energy.
All-day yoga: A new and powerful habit
Throughout your day, stay connected to the slow and steady nasal breathing of the five-minute Optimal Breath practice while maintaining the posture you cultivated. I call this ongoing practice All-Day Yoga, or ADY. This one habit will literally change your life, bringing healing and vital energy to your body and focus and ease to your mind. As you move through your day, be aware not to breathe only into your chest. Make sure to drop the breath down to the belly and relax as you breathe deeply and slowly, feeling the belly naturally expand on the inhalations and contract on the exhalations. This will have the immediate effect of relieving the intensity that fear and anxiety often bring. When you are feeling especially anxious or stressed, make the exhales a little longer than your inhalations. You can lengthen the exhalations to be 1.5 times or two times longer than the inhalations. For example, inhaling for four counts and exhaling for six counts can help calm the mind down.
The quality of our breathing determines the amount of vital energy that moves into the body, oxygenates our cells, and helps us create and maintain a grounded and relaxed foundation.
The benefits of slow, deep nasal breathing on mental and physical health are many:
- It modulates the emotional regions of the brain and relieves emotional distress and tension. Fear, stress, and anxiety change breathing patterns, making them more shallow and rapid.
- It activates the body’s relaxation response.
- The nasal passageway warms and humidifies inhaled air, offering protection to the respiratory system.
- It enhances sleep quality, boosts energy levels, and promotes mental clarity.
- It facilitates the release of toxins: Approximately 70 percent of toxins can be expelled through proper breathing techniques.
- It alleviates physical pain.
- It combats allergies.
- It improves digestion.
- It elevates mood.
- It improves oral health by reducing the risk of gingivitis, periodontitis, receding gums, cavities, oral decay, and halitosis (bad breath).
- It regulates and optimizes the body’s oxygen and carbon dioxide levels.
- It offers numerous cardiovascular benefits, including lowering blood pressure, strengthening the immune system, increasing brain function, improving exercise performance, and reducing the risk of erectile dysfunction and other health-related functions associated with blood flow.
Adapted from the book The Yogi’s Way: Transform Your Mind, Health, and Reality Copyright© 2025 by Reema Datta. Reprinted with permission from New World Library. https://www.newworldlibrary.com/
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