The Benefits of Box Breath
How Box Breath regulates the nervous system
Box breathing is a simple yet very powerful yogic breath work. Its name derives from the pattern of the breath- you breathe in to a count of four, hold the breath for a count of four, exhale to a count of four, hold to a count of four- so it ends up resembling a box shape.
Like most breath work, all you need is somewhere quiet to sit and a little bit of time.
Deep, slow breathing like this has many benefits;
Lowers stress
Studies have shown that slow, deep diaphragmatic breathing helps to reduce stress hormones in the blood such as cortisol and adrenaline by slowing the heart rate down (Hopper et al, 2019). Holding the breath like we do in this breath work, increases the levels of CO2 in the blood, which increases the cardioinhibitory response, which lowers the heart rate (Devine, M. Machete, A. 2013). If the Navy Seals use Box Breathing to helps their divers manage their stress, it must be good!
Activates the parasympathetic nervous system
There are two main nervous systems- the sympathetic and the parasympathetic. The sympathetic nervous (fight or flight) is switched on when we are in a heightened state, flooding the body with adrenaline and cortisol to get prepared to take on the threat. We were not designed to stay in this state though as it is incredibly depleting for the body, but we do because our threats are ever present (emails, work pressure, social media, to-do lists… etc etc!). When our parasympathetic nervous system is switched on, we are calm, we digest food and we can think rationally- all the things that switch off when we are in fight-or-flight mode. By taking long, slow breaths to a count of four, we put ourselves into rest mode, helping the parasympathetic nervous system to switch on, which lowers the stress hormones in the blood (Ravinder et al, 2006).
Helps to increase focus and attention
Taking a break to take your focus off work and on to your breath, stops decision fatigue and leads to more sustained focus and attention on task afterwards.
A 2017 study that explored the effect of diaphragmatic breathing on cognition, affect, and cortisol responses to stress, found their breathing intervention group had significantly increased sustained attention after training, compared to the baseline (Ma et al, 2017). Breathe better, focus better!
Calms the mind
The counting aspect of this breath work gives a busy mind something else to focus on, other than the thoughts that are bouncing around on repeat! The counting almost acts like a meditation- focusing on the count of the breath helps to anchor the mind, bringing it back into focus and slowing down the fluctuations of the mind (Levison et al, 2014). There is also an option to trace the shape of the box on the hand or the thigh as the breath work progresses- this is a great technique for tactile learners and those needing a stronger point to focus on.
That’s a lot of benefits!
The good news is, that you do not need to do breath work for long to reap the benefits. A 2023 study showed that just five minutes of breath work each day for about a month could reduce anxiety and improve mood (Balkan, 2023). Only 5 minutes a day for all these benefits… pull up ya chair!
Box breath is an exercise in The Emotion Series angry module. A video will guide you through this breath work right from the start to the finish, supported with a classroom handout, group discussion questions and take home suggestions. All you need to do is print off the handout and press play- simple!
Here is an exert of the Box Breath exercise!
So Box Breath regulates your nervous system, lowers stress, helps with focus… not just something your students need help with huh? ! As always, our breath work exercises will help your teachers as much as they will help your students- get amongst it!
We have a FREE month long trial that will give you a little taste tester of The Emotion Series (not box breathing sadly … you will have to become a member to get this bad boy!). Also, head over to our Instagram page as we often post little regualtion exercises on there too.
The Teen Yoga Project- regulation exercises for the classroom, tools for life
Bibliography
Balkan, M., Neri, E., Kogon, M., Zeitzer, J., Siegal, D., Huberman, A. (2023). Brief structured respiration practises enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine 4(1).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100895
Devine, M. Machete, A. (2013). The way of the Seal. Trusted Media Brands, US.
Hopper SI, Murray SL, Ferrara LR, Singleton JK. (2019). Effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing for reducing physiological and psychological stress in adults: a quantitative systematic review. JBI Database System Rev Implement Rep. 2019 Sep;17(9):1855-1876. http://doi:10.11124/JBISRIR-2017-003848.PMID:31436595.
Levison, D., Stoll, E., Kindy, S., Merry, H., Davidson, R. (2014). A mind you can count on: validating breath counting as a behavioural measure of mindfulness. Frontiers in Psychology vol 5. DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01202 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01202/full
Ma, X., Yue, Z-Q., Gong, Z-Q, Zhang, H., Duan, N-Y., Shi, Y-T., Wei, G-X., Li, Y-F. (2017) The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention, Negative Affect and Stress in Healthy Adults. Frontiers in Psychology vol 8. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874
Ravinder, J., Edry, J., Barnes, V., Jerath, V. (2006). Physiology of long pranayamic breathing: Neural respiratory elements may provide a mechanism that explains how slow deep breathing shifts the autonomic nervous system,. Medical Hypotheses, 67 (3), 566-571, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2006.02.042.