Ocean Breath Technique For Anxiety Relief And Focus

This technique is simple and effective. Create a slight 'white noise' or ocean wave sound by restricting the back of the throat slightly, making the sound even as possible on both in breath and out breath. It slows the breath slightly and brings a focus point for the mind, calming the body via the vagus nerve.

Transcript

This is an energizing and balancing breath. And depending on how you actually practice it, If you want to do a more subtle variation or a stronger, More rapid variation, It can be more balancing or more energizing, But you always get a bit of both. This is called Ushahi breath or sometimes called ocean breath. You're going to create some friction at the back of your throat on your in and out breath by closing the back of the throat just gently. There's no gripping. There's no clenching. It should not feel uncomfortable. You're just creating some resistance so that you hear some noise internally. If you're doing it a little louder, More forcefully, You may hear it externally as well. You should be able to hear it on my mic when I give you the example. Now, It's really important that your in and out breaths are equal, Equal length, And you're also trying to make the volume of that noise from the back of the throat quite equal as much as you can. You're going to sit up really tall and straight. Bring your shoulders back. Allow your chest and your ribs to lift so that there's space for your lungs to fill and open to the side and the back and there's space for your diaphragm to drop down. And I want you to really press your whole abdomen back, Your navel back towards your spine at the end of your exhale. As if you were pressing every last drop of air out before you breathe in again. So your eyes will be closed so you can focus on that sound internally and I want you to, As you're breathing like this and getting used to finding your own rhythm, Experiment with how loud the sound is for you. Experiment with how long your breath is or how rapid the breath is until you find what feels right for you. Now, This should not make you dizzy or lightheaded. If it does, Take in less air, Slow down a little bit, Or open your eyes as well. But you should find a comfortable pace where you feel like you're charging and energizing yourself. Close your eyes. First, Just get in tune with your breath. And we are breathing in and out through the nose only. No mouth breathing in this exercise. When you're ready, Breathe in, Creating friction on the back of the throat. Breathe out. Breathe in. And out. Continue just like that. Keep going on your own. Adjusting until you find a pace that feels comfortable and a volume that feels comfortable. Focusing all of your attention inward on that sound, On that breath. Not allowing any tension to creep up in the shoulders or the jaw. Staying upright. Staying open. Imagine this breath charging your being. The next time you complete a full exhale, Pressing all the air out, Allow your breath to come back to natural. You can gently open your eyes, Reorient into your space. And as you're exploring this exercise on your own, I want you to play with making the sound very subtle and the breath very light and slow as if you're just sipping air in. And then making it louder and faster and a little more vigorous, Really filling up with air and pressing it all out. And you can. Kind of explore everything along that spectrum from very, Very quiet, Slow and calm to more invigorated and aggressive and see what feels right to you. This is going to balance your system and energize you so that you have clarity and energy to move forward with whatever you're working on.