Step Out Of The Stress Cycle Using Three-Part Breath

Step Out Of The Stress Cycle Using Three-Part Breath 

In this November issue of the AWARE Ink, our health and wellness article will teach everyone about the three-part breath.  

The three-part breath is something we can use throughout our day to help our body and mind feel calm and relaxed. We can all use the three-part breath to step out of the stress cycle. The technique brings us into a resting state that  

• slows our breathing, heart rate, blood pressure;  

• releases muscle tension; and  

• regulates our emotional response.  

It’s a magical state! We know that we’ve achieved it when we find ourselves sighing, yawning, stretching and relaxing. 

How do we practice the three-part breath technique?  

First, it’s always good to recognize when our body and mind are in the stress cycle. 

• Perhaps we’re experiencing uncomfortable sensations or emotions (crying, aching, pain, burning, tension) in our body?  

• Perhaps our mind is going non-stop? 

• Perhaps we’re feeling anger, sadness, frustration or something else? 

Whatever we’re experiencing, we first need to take a moment to find where we’re at in the emotions, thoughts and feelings stress cycle, allow for them to be here, kindly and non-judgmentally. We’re being mindful of the present moment!    

Figure 1 - Our emotions, thoughts, and feelings can keep us in the stress mode building upon each other. Our emotions, thoughts and feelings will continue feeding our body and mind, until we’re able to recognize our experience. Once we notice, we can use our breath to help us move out of this stress cycle and find a more calm state in just a couple minutes. 

Next we find our breath.  

The three-part breath is a fundamental yoga breath practice or pranayama practice. Today, we’ll relax our body by practicing.  

Here’s how we perform this breath work: 

1. Choose a position that is comfortable, sitting, lying or standing.  

2. Inhale through the nose first, breathing into and expanding the space at bottom of the lungs, belly and then chest.  

3. Exhale through the nose emptying air from the chest and then the belly.  

4. Repeat inhaling and exhaling for 3 to 5 rounds. 

Yep! It’s that simple.  

Tip! We can place our hands just below the ribs to feel the inhale and exhale of our breath.  

Tip! We inhale and exhale through the nose because it filters allergens, dust and other particles in the air; it warms and moistens the air we breathe; it increases blood flow; and it activates the nervous system to help us feel more calm.  

Tip! We can extend the exhale to bring deeper relaxation to the body. One way to do this is count the beats of our breath, inhaling for 4 counts and exhaling for 8 counts.  

For more health and wellness articles, sign up for the AWARE Ink Newsletter at www.Aware-inc.org/news.