Breath Work Tools: Cadence Breathing
One of the most powerful aspects of breath work is its unique ability to quiet the mind and create space in your day to day activities. Conscious, functional breath work is one way to practice mindfulness, and it has been one of our favorite ways to help clients find a state of rest when they are feeling stressed.
This is our second post in our series of breath work tools. Our first post covered the box breathing method. this post covers cadence breathing.
If you’re looking for a brief introduction on breath work and paying attention to your breathing in general, the methods of box breathing and cadence breathing can both be great starting points.
Cadence breathing is a form of rhythmic breathing and is a great way to get introduced to diaphragmatic and nasal breathing.
Some benefits of cadence breathing include:
Calming the mind and body
Improving breath control
Increasing oxygen uptake
Enhancing blood circulation
In order to guide you through cadence breathing, we’ve created this graphic.
cadence breathing how to:
STEP ONE: Move to a comfortable position, either seated or lying down. For an added sense of grounding, firmly plant your feet on the floor. Relax your shoulders and chest.
STEP TWO: We’ll follow a 1:1:2:1 tempo for this exercise, meaning we will double the length of the exhale. Driving the breath with the belly, breathe in deeply through your nose, slowly filling your lungs from the bottom up for a count of 3.
STEP THREE: Hold this air at the top for a full count of 3.
STEP FOUR: Now exhale for a count of 6, relieving your body of the expired air. Elongated exhales calm the mind and kickstart a parasympathetic nervous response to promote calm.
STEP FIVE: Hold at the bottom for a count of 3.
STEP SIX: Repeat 5-10x.
For an added effect, you can visualize inflating and deflating a balloon with each cycle. Feel free to be creative and come up with whatever imagery feels best for you. If you are looking to incorporate meditation, add an affirmation as you practice breathing.