Any body got any they would care to share? Quick and easy ones to learn?
Just to relax before training,interclubs....etc.

Thanks,
Phill.

Many different breathing exercises and deep belly breathing in general.

Alternate nostril breathing is a great one for not only relaxing but also balancing out the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

Good Yoga teachers should have a bunch.
"How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy" has a bunch (Paul has a new one coming out that is a little less technical and easier to follow).

Before sporting events, tests, meditation etc alternate nostril breathing is champ.

There are many breathing exercises and QiGong or Tai Chi exercises are champ for this also.

EFT works great for relaxing also.

alternate nostril

deep belly breaths
in one side and out the other
In that same side and out the other

So in left, out right, in right, out left, in left, out right, in right

A pause between inhalation and exhalation is great too.

If you pay close attention to your breathing you will likely notice that you breath more dominantly in one nostril at any given time.
Left nostril dominance indicates you are more in the right brain. (creative, intuitive. 'feminine' energy etc)
Right nostril you are more in left brain...analitical,logical, structural etc

The body, in anything, works best in balance.Being you taking a math test or doing art work or fighting.

This is a big one. IMO&E

Cheers Mark.

Interesting stuff about the nostrils. I had not read/heard about that before.

How do you breathe through only one nostril? Do you scrunch your upper lip to block one of the nostrils? Or block one by closing it with your finger?

Just use one hand and alternate plugging them with your finger.

Deep belly breathing is key to relaxation. I put this one specifically as it is less "boring" as you are doing something that is changing and serves multi purpose.

If you pay close attention to how you feel before starting and after, depending on sensitivity levels, you may feel the difference after.

Breathing is the number one key to life.

Shallow breathing promoted a stress response and leads to death. Stress promotes shallow breathing also. Simply counting your breaths will let you know if you are in a stress response.

Deep belly breathing promotes a rest/recovery response and health promotes deep belly breathing.

I forget the terminology but many believe we are born with x amount of breaths before we would naturally stop breathing and die. Some believe that we should be able to walk around in perfect health up to this point and simply pass peacefully.

Slowing down your breathing makes you live longer according to some in terms of the number of breaths.

Either way it brings in life force energy (Qi, Prana, Ki)... the opposite charges of oxygen and most bodily tissues (and water) literally create energy!

+ and a -...

Belly breathing flushes cerebral spinal fluid, pumps the spine, massages internal organs. brings energy to every cell in the body, promotes a relaxation response in our over stressed bodies... the list goes on and on.

Incorrect breathing (shallow) can adjust your whole spine as the body tries to compensate to get more oxygen in (breathing is the highest on the bodies hierarchy of survival needs).

Breathing is underrated and play huge on the body...

A little belly breathing goes a long way in terms of relaxation.

Breathing is really key in any relaxation techniques.
Nose breathing and belly breathing are tow of the biggest factors.

Two reasons.

There are parasympathetic nerve endings in the nose. Breathing through the nose stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system.

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is made up basically of the parasympathetic and sympathetic branches. The parasympathetic is to do with rest, recovery, relaxation etc... It slows heart rate, facilitates digestion, etc

The sympathetic is related to stress (which is not "bad"). The sympathetic branch would speed up heart rate etc

Breathing through the nose (which should be a natural thing in day to day moments) supports relaxation, growth, repair etc due in part the the parasympathetic nerve endings in the nose.

Also deep in the lungs are parasympathetic nerve endings. So belly breathing (obviously you don't actually breath O2 into the belly - the diaphragm when deeply breathing pushes the internal organs down and thus bulges the belly) gets the O2 to those parasympathetic nerve endings deep in the lungs.

Nose breathing also facilitates a deeper breath where as mouth breathing facilitates a a shallower breath.

Think of how you breath when stressed - shallow breaths in the upper lungs with the chest rising and falling.

Watch a child under 6 that hasn't been traumatized and you'll more than likely see their bellies move in and out. its is a natural way top breath (nutritional health of the child in key developmental periods will also play a factor). Essentially, if not in a stress response, a normal human breath should be through the nose and deep into the belly.

So for relaxation - deep belly breathing through the nose is key.

The mind uses a tremendous amount of energy and O2 and learning to quiet the mind is huge in relaxation too. Simply focusing on your breathing, even if not doing deep breathing, is a good way to relax and quiet the mind.

This is a technique often suggested from different sources for meditation.

So either watch your breath or observe breathing a specific way can be a powerful way to relax also.

Observing breath can take some practice where simply focusing on belly/nose breathing will get an aspect of that plus the huge bonus of correct, relaxing breathing.

In all spiritual teachings there are references the the importance of breath. Many spiritual practices include breathing exercises.

Of course breathing exercises do not need any spiritual connection. My point is that it is referenced or recognized in in old teachings and practices as being important in many ways.

God breathed life into Adam - regardless what you think of the Bible the point is it is saying breath and life are very connected.

Yoga philosophy is largely about breathing also.

It is the most important natural function we do. If we stop breathing we die fast.

Breathing literally brings in Qi, Prana, life force energy into the body. I get it mixed up which way and I'm not going to look it up but O2 has a charge, lets say negative...body tissue and water (which we are around 75%) has a positive charge (or other way round). When you have a + and - charge you have energy potential. This is the life force we bring into the body with breath. Our blood takes the O2 with its charge to every cell in the body and this is a big component of the energy we run off of.

Breathing is very very underrated.

In Vancouver the physiotherapist who gets the best results with clients only does breathing exercises - no matter what they come in for!!

We can do many things through breath or with breath and it is about the biggest key to relaxation I can think of.

If one side is smaller or partly blocked it is worth spending a few minutes a day breathing just the one side. Plug the other and breath deep. Helps balance the imbalance.

One surgery I would consider and I figure over 80% are not necessary.

In Chinese terms you breath in yin through the left nostril related to right brain/right side of the body and yang through the right nostril related to the left brain/left side of the body.

If memory serves the left side is related to the ANS and the right to your blood as well.

Its all about balance.