Breathing is an important part of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). As something we do on average twenty thousand times per day, it has the potential to affect your system in a positive or negative way. Your ANS regulates your body temperature, aids in detoxification, and supports the pumping actions throughout the body.

•  Deep Breathing

Try to maintain good posture. If you are lying down, rest your hands at your sides in a relaxed attitude or place them on your abdomen to help feel the movement of the air. Begin with a 1: 1 ratio. That is, inhale for the same number of seconds as you exhale. I like to have a clock nearby that has a second “tick” to it so that I can keep a rhythm. Try a four-second inhale followed by a four-second exhale. Start with five minutes and work your way up to ten. Once you’ve practiced for ten minutes daily for a week or so, increase your ratio to 1: 2, a four-second inhale to eight-second exhale.

• Alternate Nostril Breathing

Start with some deep breathing practice in a sitting position. You should be seated, cross-legged, and your spine should be erect but body relaxed. After a short period of deep breathing, take your right or left hand, depending on “handedness,” and close the right nostril while inhaling through the left. Then use the ring finger of that hand to close the left nostril while inhaling through the right. Start with a four-second inhale and six second exhale and try to keep breathing this way for five minutes. Eventually, work up to a 4: 8 ratio or beyond, as your skill increases.

• Cooling Breath

Sit comfortably, with spine tall and shoulders relaxed. Lower your chin slightly, stick out your tongue and roll it lengthwise into a “straw”. Inhale gently through the “straw” of your tongue as you lift your chin skyward. At the end of the inhale, withdraw your tongue, close your mouth and exhale as you lower your chin to a neutral position. Do this eight to ten times.

• Long Exhale

Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor, about hip-width apart. Place one of your palms on your abdomen and focus on the expansion and contraction that accompanies each breath. Gradually bring your inhale to the same length as your exhale. I find a clock with a ticking sound, or a Pranayama app to be a good way to keep track of this. After you’ve equalized both parts of your breath, start increasing the exhalation by a few seconds every few breaths until it is roughly twice the length of your inhale. Do not strain to accomplish this— take your time. It may take several sessions for some beginners to build up to this point. Once you reach your goal, breathe for eight to ten breaths at the 1: 2 pattern, then finish with a few natural breaths.

• Bee Breathing

 Sit straight with your eyes closed. Make sure your position is comfortable. Gently smile. Put your index fingers on the cartilage between the cheek and ear (the piece of flesh you would press to “plug” your ears) and breathe in slowly. As you breathe out, press the cartilage in gently as you make a high-pitched humming sound like a bee. You can tap the cartilage open and shut while you hum, or just keep it closed. Do this for six to eight breaths.

Please refer to the book for more details on this activity.