Breath is the basis of our life. In the hustle bustle of our lives we hardly get time to relax and take a deep breath. Add to that the pollutants and toxic gases that we breath-in. Together they make a healthy and peaceful life an illusion. Proper breathing can therefore, lead us to a state of inner peace.

Breathing Exercises for Relaxation

Start your day with Morning Breathing which helps relieve muscle stiffness and clears clogged breathing passages. This exercise is done standing.

Bend forward from the waist and bend your knees slightly. Let your arms hang on the side. Then while inhaling roll-up your body slowly, bring your head up the last. Hold your breath for sometime. Revert to the original position slowly, exhaling on your way down.

Complete Breathing calms the mind and the nervous system. Itcombines the abdomen, the middle and the upper parts of the chest in a wave like motion.

First, exhale completely. Now begin inhaling, letting your abdomen come out a little, filling the lower part of your lungs. Then expand your ribs, while drawing in your stomach until the top part of your lungs is filled.

While exhaling draw your abdomen in; then contract your ribs and finally lower your collar bone, to completely empty your lungs.

Rhythmic Breathing is an exercise that can revive the most exhausted body and can calm the most frayed nerves. To perform it sit on the ground cross-legged, hold your chest, neck and head straight. Take a deep breath like in complete breathing while counting to 6, hold the breath and count till 3; and then exhale counting to 6.

Alternate Breathing helps stabilize the mind and cures headaches. Sit cross-legged to perform this exercise and place your right thumb on your right nostril. Inhale from the left nostril count to 4, close the nostril with your middle finger and hold breath to count of 8. Exhale through the right nostril to a count of 8. Keep the fingers in the same position, inhale from right nostril counting to 4, hold the breath to a count of 8 and exhale from left nostril to a count of 8.

Take out just 15 minutes from your busy lives daily to practice these breathing exercises for relaxation and see the results for yourself.