Several breathing exercises are presented, all focusing on breathing patterns and on imagining that healing is occurring with breathing. These can be practiced at any time, with your eyes open or shut, for a short or longer amount of time. You can do just one, or let one flow into the next. By focusing on your breathing, you can help your body relax, which often results in less pain. These exercises can also decrease the anxiety that often accompanies pain. When you’re instructed to breathe deeply, moderately deeply is fine, so you don’t hyperventilate.

Pointers:

Do any of the breathing exercises only as long as you’re comfortable. If you begin to feel lightheaded or tingly, simply return your breathing to normal, and shorten the number of deep breaths you take the next time you do the exercise.

Adding gentle, pleasant, natural smells to your environment while doing these breathing exercises is great. Fresh flowers, citrus, or other enjoyable smells can be used. Using any and all of your senses – sight, taste, hearing, touch and smell – can add to your relaxation experience. There are many avenues to your relaxation destination.

Breathing Exercise 4:

Begin to pay attention to your breathing, and invite your body and mind to begin to relax.

As you take breaths of a normal depth, imagine the air only entering through the left side of your nose, through your left nostril. Imagine letting the air come in only through the left, and then exhaling only though the left. Follow this pattern for 10 breaths.

Then slowly change over to the right side, imagining air coming in only through the right nostril, and then exhaling only through the right. Follow this pattern for 10 breaths.