Forest bathing is all about mindfulness, settling into nature’s patterns with a focus on noticing.

It’s an opportunity to break from frenzied daily life and take a breather.

That’s what this post is all about…taking a literal breather.

It only seems natural to incorporate breathing exercises into your forest bathing practice.

So, let’s go over a few breathing exercises to try the next time you go forest bathing and transform your experience.

But first, in case you’re wondering, why even bother?

 

Benefits of Breathing Exercises

Breathing is an involuntary process, so what’s the point of forcing it? Well, your breathing is closely linked to how stressed or calm you feel. You can literally force your body into a more relaxed, present state by taking control of your breath.

Breathing exercises have many other benefits for your body and mental state:

• Clinically proven to reduce stress, swapping the sympathetic (fight-or-flight) for the parasympathetic (chillaxed) nervous system.
• Builds oxygen levels in your blood
• Lowers heart rate and blood pressure
• Expands your lungs and opens them up to more phytoncides
• Helps you get centered and grounded
• Calibrates you to the pulse of the forest

Breathing exercises are the perfect companion to forest bathing because they deepen your sense of relaxation and focus. They help you flip on the “awareness” switch. Cultivating an awareness of your breath anchors you and carries over into your shinrin-yoku practice.

If you feel closely, you can sense your breath and pulse integrate into the rhythms of the forest.

 

Now that we’ve underscored the advantages of breathing exercises, lets learn a few core techniques.

 

4 Forest Bathing Breathing Techniques

1. Belly breathing:
   To begin, close your eyes, place one hand on your belly and one on your chest, and take a deep breath in. Feel your belly fill and push against your hand while the ribs remain unmoving.
   Then, slowly let our your breath, feeling your belly deflate.
   Continue this process for 10 breaths, focusing solely on your breathing. If your mind wanders, gently guide it back to your breathing.
   On your last breath, open your eyes and bring your awareness back to the forest.

   When to use: when you want to relax and gently transition into your forest bathing. It’s also great when you feel like you’ve been subsisting on shallow breaths all day.

2. Alt nostril breathing:
   Place the index and middle finger of one hand on either side of your nose. Block the left nostril and breathe in through your right. Then, block the right nostril and breathe out through the left. Perform this same breath pattern five times.
   Then, perform five breaths blocking the right nostril in the inhale and the left nostril on the exhale then alternate the pattern.

   When to use: when you want to come into a balance of feeling energized yet calm.

3. Loud lion:
   Inhale deeply through your nose, then open your mouth as wide as you can, stick out your tongue, and breathe out with a forceful hhhhhhhh noise.
   Continue this breath pattern for 5 full breaths.
   The forest is a great place to practice this exercise without being seen.

   When to use: you feel tension in your mouth and jaw, especially after talking all day. It’s also great if you need to blow off some steam.

4. 4-7-8 breathing:
   Breath in for a slow count of 4, hold your breath for 7 counts, and breathe out for 8 counts. Continue as long as you need to.

   When to use: this technique is the most relaxing exercise among the others. Use it to calm your nervous system, especially if you’ve had a rather stressful day.

Breathing exercises are a great to to use to help you transition from your harried everyday life into your forest bathing practice. Use them the next time you go out into nature and take a moment to notice how different you feel afterward.

Breathing exercises are also effective anytime you feel overwhelmed or stressed, such as before giving a presentation or when you’re in an argument. I also like to use breathing exercises to help me fall asleep at night. It’s an effective tool to have at your disposal!

{Ready to try forest bathing? Grab our free starter guide with 3 guided forest bathing invitations}

 

I’d love to hear your observations about how these breathing techniques improved your shinrin-yoku practice. Leave a comment below!