Here are some techniques to breathe well

The Chinese call it chiIndians pranaHawaiians man… the vital energy, which is embodied in the breath, both mysterious and elusive.

Breath is one of the building blocks of life. And as a conductor, the lungs and the diaphragm allow us to breathe. Breathing is the only function of the autonomic nervous system that you can control yourself. This breathing regulates many functions such as heart rate and has the power to soothe us, in case of stress or anxiety.

When we want to take care of our health, our physical form, we will look at our food plate, we will think about hydrating more during the day… The human body, on average, can survive nearly three weeks without food, three days without water, but only three minutes at most without breathing.

Why the art of breath is a mirror of what we live deep inside ourselves ? In the show, breathing exercises are offered to fight against unpleasant emotions, develop your breathing capacities or even sleep better…

When you are well, you don’t necessarily think about your breathing. However, certain breathing techniques can bring us well-being.

How to breathe well before (and during) an oral exam, a defense, an interview?

Empty your lungs fully between your sentences, when you feel like you’re a little out of your mind and need to reenergize often. We just catch our breath, but we forget to do an exhalation cycle. So take your breath back, completely empty your lungs and you will leave reinflated!

There are also small exercises to calm down before entering the track. Here is one proposed by Stéphanie Brillant, journalist, author, to practice before the exam or other stressful event: first, you will breathe in, then maintain apnea – that is to say keep the air at inside. Hold as much as you can and then exhale. Take a breath again. This time, completely empty your lungs and stay without air for as long as possible. This will allow to create regulation.

In a stressful situation, it is important to remember to slow down your inhales and lengthen your exhales. Nicole Bordeleau adds a sort of mantra to it. She visualizes that she inspires calm and exhales her tensions, fatigue, stress, anxiety. You also have to pay attention to your posture. Make sure your stomach is relaxed, both feet are flat, and your shoulders are slid back so that your heart area is wide open.

Nicole Bordeleau, yoga master, meditation teacher, also gives us a remedy for anxiety that allows her to fall asleep at night, and to be fully present and more confident. This technique is called “4-7-8”. You have to inhale for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 and exhale for 8… several times.

How to breathe through your stomach?

It’s a fashionable technique. We talk about it a lot, especially in the practice of yoga. But how to achieve it?

Stéphanie Brillant advises us to use our hands and fingers to feel the movement in the body: “You can put your hands around your waist and when you take a breath, well you should feel the widening both in your back, with your fingers on your sides, and your hands moving away. At the level of the abdomen also, you feel that it swells. Practice this. Sometimes it’s very difficult.”

Another technique is to lie on your back. Stéphanie Brillant explains: “raise your legs and your knees and try, by putting your hands under your back, to precisely feel your breathing better – often, lying down, you can feel it better. So when you create space like that, well, you breathe optimally. And precisely, try not to move your shoulders because your shoulders have nothing to do with the breathing process.”

Ali Rebeihi adds a technique taught to him by a singing teacher: it involves emitting a noise similar to that produced by a cow, a kind of bellowing, “Mmmmmh”, to really feel that it resonates throughout the body. when we breathe.

🎧 To learn other breathing techniques, what is heart coherence and all the extraordinary powers of your breath, listen to this show in its entirety…

The guests

Nicole Bordeleau : Yoga master, meditation teacher, author and speaker. For nearly 30 years now, it has been one of the main references in Quebec in terms of well-being. Author of some fifteen books on the art of living in full presence, including many bestsellers, she has been able to transmit to thousands of people avenues for reflection and meditations to move from chaos to calm, from fear of inner freedom. Books: “How to breathe better? », Pocket, March 19, 2020. « Respire », NiL, March 1, 2019.

Marie Wislez : University professor and onco-pneumologist. She has been directing the thoracic oncology unit since September 2018 at Cochin Hospital in Paris. She actively participates in the implementation of care pathways for the rapid and outpatient diagnosis of lung cancer.

Stephanie Brilliant : Journalist, director, producer and lecturer. For the past five years, she has devoted her work to themes related to enlightened education. With its Académie du souffle, it offers programs to improve the ability to regulate stress, soothe chronic pain and channel one’s emotions. Book: “The incredible power of breath”, Actes Sud/Société, January 20, 2021.

The Chronicle So this is it of Baptist Beaulieu