Welcome to Coherent Breathing

Breathe.....and everything changes

Coherent breathing, known also as universal or resonant breathing, has three initial levers:

1. Breathing through the nose

2. Taking the breath down into the belly

3. Breathing at an even rate and rhythm of 6/6 being 5 rounds of breath a minute

Nose breathing warms and filters the air we breathe. It also turbinates the air in the nasal passageways called nasal conchae. Breathing through the nose increases nitric oxide, helping with vasodilation of your blood vessels.

Taking the breath down into the belly is about moving your diaphragm, the key breathing muscle. Deep breathing helps promote feelings of calm, helps lower blood pressure and heart rate alongside increasing circulatory capacity.

Breathing at an even rate and rhythm of 6 seconds in on the inhale, 6 seconds out on the exhale without any pause, encourages lubrication and movement in the diaphragm, helping reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. The even rate is to enhance balance in the intricate nervous system, activation on the inhale and release on the exhale.

It’s entirely normal to experience challenge initially. It’s likely you’re learning a new way of breathing, different from existing patterns. You can practise this before sleep, before a meeting, sitting on the loo. Lying down or seated. In any context.

Over time, additional levers can be explored or may arise naturally:

4. Breath moving and imagination – for example, imagine the rise of an ocean wave on our inhale and the natural, effortless falling way of the wave on the exhale.

5. Adding in a baby snore sound at the back of the throat, creating a gentle purr.

6. Adding in postural movements to set the pace for your own breathing, for example, raising the arms on an inhale and lowering them on the exhale.

Our breath is what we all have in common. Learning to breathe well can unlock considerable benefit for a myriad of situations, ranging from respiratory ailments, including asthma and allergies, to reducing feelings of stress and anxiety. There are no contra-indications to this form of breathing.

Resources:

Listen to this 20 minutes of guided coherent breathing for your own direct experience of it

Ciara Jean Roberts

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