A 5-minute desk belly-breathing routinewellnessroutine

A five-minute wellness routine you can do in daily desk life without leaving your seat. Start by lowering tension with belly breathing.

When you're stressed, your shoulders rise and your breathing becomes shallow. Chest breathing, which involves only heaving the chest, creates tension in the neck and trapezius muscles, and the diaphragm does not function properly. Abdominal breathing, which involves puffing and flattening your stomach, sends a signal to lower your heart rate in just 5 minutes. You can do the same pattern while sitting at a desk, standing, or lying down.

This breathing is not meditation. You can do it without closing the conference room door or even while standing on the subway. You can start by placing just one hand on your stomach. You can do it right from your seat, without making a sound.

Abdominal breathing moves the diaphragm down, allowing air to enter the lower lungs. Unlike shallow chest breathing, oxygen exchange efficiency increases and compensatory tension in the shoulders and neck is reduced. When you feel nervous during a meeting, simply taking short inhales and long exhales can have a calming effect.

Place your hands on your stomach and breathe while counting.

Lean back on the chair and place one hand on your stomach and one hand on your chest. Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds, moving only your stomach hand forward and keeping your chest hand almost still. Exhale through your mouth for 6 seconds and slowly lower your stomach. Exhalations longer than 6 seconds stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system.

Five minutes is about 25 to 30 breaths. If your shoulders rise, sit back in your chair, straighten your spine, and start again. Instead of holding your breath, slightly open your lips while exhaling to help the air escape.

Feeling of an opening next to the ribs

Once you get used to it, try placing your hands on either side of your ribs. If your sides open slightly when you inhale, your diaphragm has lowered sufficiently. I use the same pattern when I'm sleepy after lunch, when I'm nervous before a meeting, and when I'm having trouble falling asleep.

If you feel dizzy, reduce your breathing to 3-5 instead of 4-6. Dizziness may be a sign of hyperventilation. If you stick to five minutes at the same time, once a day, your body will remember that rhythm.

Check shoulder height after breathing

At the end of the five minutes, feel if your shoulders are lower than they were before you started. When your diaphragm goes down, there is no need for your shoulders to go up. Closing your eyes reduces visual stimulation and makes the effect faster. I use the same pattern when I'm sleepy after lunch, when I'm nervous before a meeting, and when I'm having trouble falling asleep. If you do it at the same time every day, your body will remember that rhythm.

Breathing is the only recovery tool that requires no equipment. Whenever you feel tense, check your stomach first, not your chest. Try today to see if your stomach moves instead of your shoulders.

When you feel sleepy after lunch, try taking just 5 minutes before entering the conference room. Just checking with your hand to see if your stomach is moving will deepen your breathing.