the magic of coherent breathing

Breathing is so essential to our survival, it’s surprising that we don’t think about it more often. Even if you practice mindfulness, the vast majority of the 20,000 or so breaths you take in a day pass by unnoticed—especially as a busy caregiver. So it’s important to make the most of the ones you are aware of. It’s one of the most accessible forms of self care!

There are lots of different ways to breathe—here’s one of my favorites—but you don’t need to do anything fancy to impact how you feel. MDs Richard P. Brown and Patricia L. Gerbarg use a technique called coherent breathing to increase the depth and bring a pattern to the rhythm of breath for the patients they work with. Together these changes have a positive effect on your mood and mental state. You can do coherent breathing wherever you are (and along with whatever else you might be doing) so it’s perfect for people who don’t always have time for a focused sit-down practice.

Everyone has an ideal breath rate for them (beteween 3.5 and 6 breaths per minute), and coherent breathing aims to get each of us to a resonant rate of about 5 breaths per minute. But you don’t need to worry about counting or math for this. My favorite way to practice is by listening to coherent breath music or simple alternating gong tones (one for the inhale and one for the exhale).

The originator of the coherent breathing method, Stephen Elliot, hosts a fact-filled YouTube channel on this topic. And while you may find some audio-only tracks for your practice, he also has a cool video practice with a taijitu (yin/yang symbol) that allows you to see how your breath is moving as well. I can feel the tension draining away from me just watching this (and breathing along, of course … you can’t help but sync up with it).

If slowing your breath to this degree is challenging for you, you can work up to it. There are audios and videos with different pacing online—practice at a pace that feels comfortable for you before trying one that’s a little longer.

And if you’re digging this type of solo practice, mindful breathing is even better when you try it with someone else. Donna Farhi shares some sweet ideas in The Breathing Book, like breathing with a partner during a long embrace, or back-to-back buddy breathing. These practices allow you to see how your breath responds to that of another being. So you can find connections beyond the exhales and exhales within your own self.

Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash