Breathwork

Pranayama Breathing or Wim Hof Breathwork

The gist is:

Sit or lie down (not in water or while driving)
Breathe (30-40 times): Inhale deeply (belly/chest), exhale naturally, rapidly. Feel light/tingly.
On the last breath, exhale completely, (no air in lungs) hold this for as long as you can comfortably (work up to 2-3min).

When you need to breathe, Inhale as deep as possible, hold 10-15 sec, then exhale.

Repeat: 3-5 rounds

4-7-8 breathing

Breathe in as deep as you can through nose and/or mouth for 4 seconds. Hold your breath in for 7 seconds. blow the breath out through your mouth with "pursed lips" and also rest tip of your tongue on the back of your upper teeth - for 8 seconds. Repeat for at least 4 rounds - if you want to do more add more in 4's so (4 rounds, 8 12, 16 etc).

4 square breathing

Breathe in for 4 seconds. Hold for 4 seconds, breathe out for 4 seconds, hold breath out for 4 seconds - repeat ( works better when breathing in a 4/4 musical rhythm beat) - great for lowering heart rate.

one minute breath

basically 20 sec sloooow inhale 20 sec hold 20 sec exhale

basically a really big square breath

Tummo

This is basically the art of using your breath to push pressure into different bodily areas. - Start similar to pranayama with deep breaths in and out. Keep breathing until a slightly tingling appears ( likely 10-20 breaths) - When tingly take a breath in that is between 75-100% of lung capacity. Lock the breath into the lungs ( sort of close your throat so air doesn't jst slip out and push slight pressure in the chest to keep it contained. Now focus on an area of the body and "bear down" as if having a bowel movement and try to direct that pressure to the area of the body you want to focus on. Typical areas would be into the head, into the chest, upper arms or back, into the belly, or into perineal and down the legs- push pressure for like 10-15 seconds and then relax. Breathe in or out as necessary and when the tingliness starts to wane, take some deep breaths again until it returns to continue the exercise.

Ladder breathing

What most people think of when they think of meditation type breathing. Just follow the breathe in and out (ideally through the nose if you can).

First prime the system by pinching one nostril shut. Take a deep breath in through the open nostril. Feel the air enter the sinuses enter the head and go down into the lungs. Then switch sides and do the same on the opposite side. Do that 2-3 times so you can really feel the air go up and then down into the lungs and then up to the head and back out through the nose. Then breathe in slowly through both nostrils all the way in and all the way out. When you are breathing in, imagine you are going up the ladder and when coming down you are climbing back down. Slowly increase the amount of time it takes to climb up and dow. Start with 5 to 10 second inhale and exhale. Work your way up to between 30 - 60 seconds for each inhale/exhale.

The focus is initially on the breath, but as the breathing becomes almost automatic with counting, just observe the physical sensations in the rest of the body.

Holotropic or sustained Hyperventilation meditation

neither name is entirely accurate but close enough. Start with about 2 -4 round of 4 square breathing to calm dow. Turn on some energizing music you like and then go to town. Simply breathe in as deep as possible and breathe out, fairly quickly ( as long as it feels comfortable), just keep breathing in and out as long as you want - min 5 min - up to 60 min. Average time would be 15-30 min.

This is like wim hof but more intense and for longer - if going more than 45 min it can be normal to start to hear or seethings that are not there.

Yawning 🥱

Open your mouth wide and inhale deeply into your chest. Try to feel the yawn reflex kick in and go with it.