I Tried 5 Breathing Techniques In A Quest To Find The Best One
Here is What I Found
We all breathe, often without a thought, and for thousands of years, people have been using breathing practices to heal body and mind. From the yogic practices of India to the various Shamanic communities throughout the globe, breathwork has always found a place.
In the past few decades, using our breath to affect our body and mind has become mainstream enough that most of us are familiar with at least a few of the dozens of breathing techniques.
The question is, which one is the right one? Or better yet, is there a 'best 'technique'?
The Journey I Embarked On
To determine which breathing technique was the best, I made a list of five popular methods and tried them. While there are certainly more techniques than the ones I'm learning, these are the ones that I found popping up in my research the most often
The methods I decided to try are:
Wim Hoff Breathing
Box (Combat) Breathing
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Ujjayi Breathing
4–7–8 Breathing
To get a good feel for how these affect me, I integrated each into my daily practice, using them in situations where these practices are purported to be the most effective.
Wim Hoff Breathing
Wim Hoff is a crazy Dutchman known as the 'Iceman.' He is an extreme athlete who has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in shorts, swam underneath sea ice, and ran a half marathon above the Arctic Circle in shorts, to name a few of his feats.
He developed the Wim Hoff Method, which involves breathing exercises, ice baths, and meditation.
Wim Hoff breathing is done as follows:
Sit or lie down in a comfortable position
Inhale filling your lungs completely
Without pausing, exhale by letting your breath go. It is not a forceful exhale.
Again, without pausing, inhale deeply again
Repeat this cycle 30–40 times
After the final exhale, hold your breath. Keep holding it until you absolutely can not hold it anymore
Take a deep breath in and hold for fifteen seconds. This is the recovery breath
Repeat the sequence 3–4 times
Wim Hoff claims that his method does the following:
Improved immune function
Increased energy levels
Reduced stress and anxiety
Enhanced mental clarity and focus
Better sleep
Increased brown adipose tissue (BAT)
Enhanced physical performance
I've been using Wim Hoff breathing on and off for nearly a year, and I'm not sure what to make of it.
It does not make going into a cold plunge any less unpleasant. As for the other benefits, I can say that I have more energy, but I don’t see any improvement in my physical performance. However, like with most of the breathing techniques on this list, I did note reduced stress and anxiety.
Whether or not it increases my brown adipose tissue, I have no idea and obviously have no way of testing that. The other seemingly outlandish claim is that it improves immune function. I can’t say that it does or doesn’t; what I can say is that I haven’t had even so much as a sniffle since I started cold plunging, and I’ve been doing Wim Hoff breathing on and off during the same time.
One thing I have noticed is that my ability to hold my breath has improved. I can hold it for nearly two minutes, which is a significant improvement over the thirty seconds I usually would.
Verdict—There is nothing wrong with experimenting with this technique, and it may work wonders for you. Aside from reducing stress, having more energy, and being able to hold my breath for longer, I didn't notice any significant changes in myself. I don’t do this practice daily, but I occasionally return to it for bouts of three or four weeks. When I do it, I feel good, and that’s evidence enough to keep doing it.
Box (Combat) Breathing
Box breathing is a technique used by many groups, including police, Navy Seals, and other first responders. It is designed to reduce stress and enhance focus. These groups use box breathing because they are often placed in stressful situations where they need to regain focus and composure quickly and effectively.
Box breathing is done as follows:
Inhale slowly and completely through the nose for four seconds
Hold your breath for four seconds
Exhale completely over four seconds through the mouth
Hold your breath for four seconds
Repeat the process
This process is repeated for five to fifteen minutes, depending on how experienced you are in the practice.
The claimed benefits are:
Reduced stress and anxiety
Better focus and concentration
Lowering of heart rate
Better sleep quality
Improved emotional wellbeing
Regulation and calming of the nervous system
Box breathing takes a bit of getting used to because holding your breath with empty lungs can send alarm signals through the body. However, once you get used to it, this technique is fantastic to employ in your daily life.
I use box breathing all the time. Anytime I feel anxious, I do rounds of box breathing until I feel calmer. I also use it in situations where I want to drop my heart rate or regulate my body’s fight-or-flight responses, such as between rounds of sparring.
I often use box breathing in the sauna and cold plunge, which helps me to push through the discomfort. I also experiment with using it during meditation to help me focus and keep my mind from wandering too far.
Verdict—This really works, and you should absolutely try box breathing in your life. In my experience, it reduces stress and anxiety, lowers my heart rate, and helps me stay calm when my mind and body want to panic.
Diaphragmatic (Belly) Breathing
Belly breathing, also known as diaphragmatic breathing, focuses on engaging the diaphragm fully to achieve deep, full breaths. It is often used in yoga, meditation, and athletic training for relaxation, improved lung function, and increased oxygen intake.
Belly breathing is fairly straightforward and easy enough for us to incorporate into our daily lives.
Find a Comfortable Position.
Put one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen.
Take a slow, deep breath through your nose. Let your abdomen expand as your diaphragm moves downward. Your chest should remain relatively still.
Exhale through your mouth, allowing your abdomen to fall as your diaphragm moves upward. Again, your chest should remain relatively still.
Repeat this pattern for several minutes, focusing on the rise and fall of your abdomen with each breath.
The claimed benefits of belly breathing are:
Reduced stress
Improved lung function
Enhanced mental focus
Lowering of blood pressure
Aids in digestion
I first heard about belly breathing when I practiced hot yoga. Further research into the practice demonstrated that it is a valuable tool for physical and mental health.
I use this technique daily, especially when I realize my breathing has become shallow. It definitely helps to reduce stress and allows me to take full breaths. Belly breathing is also an integral component of any of the breathing techniques that I am describing here.
Verdict—Belly breathing delivers as advertised and is critical to any breathing practice. At a minimum, practicing belly breathing will give you better insight into the quality of your breath as you go about your day. Once you practice this technique for a while, you’ll notice all the times that your breath is shallow, and you’ll feel immediately better when you switch to belly breathing.
Ujjayi Breathing
Ujjayi breathing is sometimes called “victorious breath” or “ocean breath.” It’s often used in yoga and involves breathing in a way that makes a soft, whispering sound. It sounds like ocean waves or soft snoring but should only be loud enough to be heard by the person practicing the breathing technique.
How to Ujjayi Breathing:
Inhale with a slow, deep breath through your nose, filling your lungs completely.
Constrict the back of your throat slightly. The constriction is similar to when you whisper or fog up a mirror with your breath.
Breathe out slowly through your nose while maintaining the constriction in your throat. Your breath should make a gentle ocean sound, like waves on the shore.
Continue to inhale and exhale with even and slow breaths. Each breath should be the same duration for inhalation and exhalation.
The claimed benefits of Ujjayi breathing are:
Enhanced concentration
Regulation of your breath
Increased oxygenation
Reduced stress
Balanced energy
I use this breathing technique during meditation, which helps focus and concentration. I have attempted it during yoga but found it too difficult to focus on the breath while I struggled to maintain balance during the movements.
I sometimes use this in the sauna and find that it helps me focus and endure the discomfort of 200 degrees Fahrenheit. It also helps with cold plunging, but I like box breathing better for my time in the cold.
Verdict—Ujjayi breathing is great for many situations but excels most in meditation and yoga. Like many breathing techniques on this list, I’ve found that it has its place and is probably best suited as part of our overall breathwork regime rather than an exclusive technique.
4–7–8 Breathing
4–7–8 breathing is also known as the “relaxing breath” and is a breathing technique developed by Dr. Andrew Weil. It involves breathing in a specific pattern that helps calm the nervous system.
How to do 4–7–8 Breathing:
Sit or lie down in a comfortable position with your back straight
Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth. Keep it there throughout the entire exercise.
Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whooshing sound
Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose. Do this over a count of four seconds
Hold your breath, counting to seven
Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whooshing sound to a count of eight.
Repeat the cycle for four breaths. As you become more comfortable, you can increase the number of breaths.
The claimed benefits of 4–7–8 breathing are:
Reduced stress and anxiety
Improved sleep
Lowering of blood pressure
Enhanced focus
I gave this technique a fair shake, and it is as effective in most claims as any other technique on this list. However, using it to fall asleep faster did not work for me.
Verdict—In my experience, this technique was no more or less effective than box or Ujjayi breathing. It reduced stress and anxiety and enhanced focus, but it did nothing to help me sleep. That being said, this technique is worth trying.
Final Thoughts and TLDR
Breathwork is an essential practice for everyone to include in our daily routines, but finding the right one can be challenging. From what I’ve found, there is no one best technique.
Instead of picking one, it’s a better idea to use some or all of these techniques in the areas of our lives where they deliver the best results.
For myself, I like to use these techniques like this:
Ujjayi Breathing during mediation and the sauna
Box breathing in the cold plunge and between rounds of sparring
Belly breathing throughout the day
Wim Hoff first thing in the morning
4–7–8 breathing occasionally in the place of box breathing
Regardless of how you decide to use breathwork in your daily life, you should absolutely pay close attention to your breathing and work towards improving the quality of your breath.
Remember that our brains need oxygen, and optimizing the oxygen we get to our most important organ is beneficial for your health.