How to Breathe

Breathe through your nose at all times. 

• At rest, sleep and during most, if not all, of your exercise.
• Lips closed, jaw relaxed and tongue resting along the roof of your mouth. 

Breathe slow, into the lower lobes of your lungs, and quietly. 

• As you breathe in, feel the lower rib cage expanding laterally. 
• As you breathe out, feel the lower rib cage move back in.
• As you breathe in, feel your diaphragm moving down.
• As you breathe out, feel your diaphragm moving back up.

Breathe only what your body needs, careful not to over breathe. 

• Breathing deep doesn't mean breathing big breaths. 
• Breathing deep means breathing into the lower lobes of your lungs.
• Breathe to match your metabolic requirements.

When you want to calm yourself down, lengthen your exhale to 1.5 or 2 times as long as your inhale. 

When you want to energize, move your body in synchronization with your breathing. 

At rest, maintain a natural pause at the end of each exhale before your next inhale.

To shift your physiological state into the Ventral Vagal Complex of your Parasympathetic Nervous System, breathe 4.5 to 6 breaths per minute. Choose one of the following:

• 5 second in, 5 seconds out
• 6 second in, 6 seconds out
• 4 second in, 6 seconds out
• 4 second in, 5 seconds out, 1-second pause