5 Simple Breathing Exercises for Better Sleep

Using your breath to prepare the body for sleep is one of the best tools you can learn.

Your breath is always with you, and so these techniques are always available for you to calm down, release stress and quiet the mind.

Calming down

Exercises #1 and #2 are good if you feel restless, have a busy mind, a lot of stress or feeling upset.

They help to clear out the old energy and bring in fresh, quiet energy.

1.    Filling up and letting go

1. Lying on your back, take a big stretch and then relax.
2. Now breathe in through your nose, filling up your belly then chest, taking in as much air as you can – now a little sip more!
3. Pause for a few seconds
4. Now gently sigh out, letting go of tension
   (out through mouth or nose, whichever feels best)

Repeat several times.

Optional visualisation:

1. Visualise pure white light entering through your nose and filling your body with clean energy as you breathe in.
2. As you breathe out, visualise tension as grey smoke leaving your body and dissolving outside

2.    Deer-seal

1. Sit with straight back (either in a chair, cross-legged or in lotus)
2. Make right hand into a fist, then uncurl 4^th & 5^th fingers
3. Gently close right nostril with tip of 4^th finger
4. Breathe in through left nostril
5. Now swap – gently close left nostril with tip of right thumb (ie, using the same hand)
6. Breathe out through right nostril
7. Breathe in through right nostril
8. Now swap back – gently close right nostril with 4^th finger
9. Breathe out through left nostril

Repeat (ie, after step 9, go back to step 4)

Cycle like this for several minutes. Keep the breath slow and easy. It is a powerful way to clarify your mind and let go of agitation, overthinking and exhaustion.

You may need to follow with one of the next exercises to settle and calm in order to sleep.

If left-handed, you can use the left hand if that’s more comfortable, starting with the left nostril.

(Click here for a picture of this practice)

Sinking deeper

The next three exercises use less movement and more stillness.

If you normally can’t sit still for any kind of meditation, just do exercise #1 above for several weeks.

If you’re normally OK to sit still but feel restless or agitated one day, you can use #1 or #2 above to calm down, then do one of these quieter ones to really settle deeply.

Why not go ahead and try all of them – then use the ones that work best for you.

3.    Silk Meditation

1. Lying down, take a big stretch & then relax. Take a few deep breaths & then let go.
2. Place your hands on your lower belly.
3. Close your eyes & gently allow the breath to move in your belly, rising on the in-breath & falling on the out-breath.
4. Let your hands rise and fall with the breath.
5. Nothing is forced. Imagine a big piece of silk, billowing in the breeze.
6. Invite this feeling into your breath, into the belly – just gentle rising, gentle falling.

4.    Nose breathing

1. Lying comfortably, eyes closed.
2. Start to notice the feeling in your nostrils as the breath moves past, in and out.
3. Notice the change in sensations, the temperature, changes in pressure.
4. Now bring your attention to the very beginning of the nostril, right at the point where the air enters.
5. Focus here as the breath enters and exists, just noticing.

5.    Sitting in the pause

1. Lying comfortably, eyes closed.
2. Place hands on lower belly.
3. Feel energy gently pouring from your palms into your belly, into the energy centre called “Dantian” below the navel.
4. Working with the breath now, breathe in gently.
5. Breathe out, then pause at the end of the out-breath.
6. Just wait here in this pause, enjoying the feeling, just for a second or two.
7. Repeat steps 4 through 7, never allowing the pause to be uncomfortably long. The aim is to sit in the pause, enjoying the stillness.

(This exercise is taken from Hunyuan Xinfa meditation, see full practice here, starts at 21:30 – https://www.youtube.com/embed/UXzlrXF3Xg8)

Getting help

Sleep problems? Chinese medicine has many solutions for difficult sleep. We differentiate our treatment according to the type of sleep issue, and each type has its own remedy. For example:

• Difficulty falling asleep
• Waking at 1-3am, thinking a lot
• Many dreams that can disturb sleep
• Sleeping solidly but waking up tired
• Night sweats

If you have these, or any other sleep issues, please get in touch to find out how we can help.