How to Do Recovery Breathing

Recovery breathing is a breathing practice done by people to relax and recover from a stressful moment or just any time of the day to renew peace of mind. People who are trained in meditation and yoga find time to do recovery breathing to calm the mind each day. Athletes can do recovery breathing to learn how to breathe during competition and emphasize recovery after difficult training sessions. People with illnesses or conditions such as emphysema can use recovery-breathing techniques to get more oxygen in each breath and visualize the oxygen healing their body.

Things You'll Need

• Pillow

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Instructions

• 1

  Prepare to do a meditative recovery breathing session. Lie on your back on the ground, with a pillow under your head if you need it. Relax the muscles in your jaw by massaging your jawbone with your fingertips. Close your mouth so you will be breathing out of your nose. Relax the jaw and let your tongue drop away from the top of your throat.

• 2

  Take a long slow deep inhale through your nose. Visualize the breath coming into your lungs and then traveling to every cell in your body. Think about how the new oxygen is energizing and cleansing each cell in your body.

• 3

  Feel your lungs expanding and stretching. Breathe into each part of your body. Send your breath to your feet, your knees, your heart, your abdomen and so on. Your entire body is rejuvenated with each breath you take.

• 4

  Exhale equally as slowly after each slow inhale. As you exhale, focus on part of your body and let the muscles go limp. Feel as if you are melting into the floor. Meditate about how completely relaxed and calm your body and mind are.

• 5

  Practice your recovery breathing lying down and going through this same process until you are able to get into the calm relaxed state almost immediately when you lie down. Memorize how your body feels when it is completely relaxed.

• 6

  Use recovery breathing to calm your mind and body in a stressful moment. Now that you know how your body feels when it is completely relaxed, you can do try to do recovery breathing sitting or standing. Wen you find yourself stressed, do your recovery breathing to calm yourself.