Five Minutes to Breathe: The Wellbeing Tool We Carry Everywhere

Dave Thomas

3 days ago

3 min read

We spend a remarkable amount of money trying to relax.

Apps.

Subscriptions.

Special teas.

Candles that apparently smell like “inner peace”, although I’m never entirely sure what inner peace is supposed to smell like.

Then there’s one rather useful tool we carry around all day, every day, completely free of charge.

Breathing.

Yes, I realise this is another spectacularly obvious piece of wellbeing advice.

But stay with me.

We breathe differently when life gets busy

Most of us don’t think about breathing unless something makes it difficult.

Yet stress changes the body. Our breathing and heart rate can increase, muscles tense and the body prepares itself to deal with whatever it thinks is happening.

Useful if you’re escaping a sabre-toothed tiger.

Slightly less useful when you’re answering emails.

Relaxation techniques work in the opposite direction, encouraging what researchers describe as the body’s relaxation response. Slow, deliberate breathing is one of the simplest ways of doing that. The NHS recommends a straightforward breathing exercise for stress that can be practised almost anywhere and takes only a few minutes. (nhs.uk)

No incense required.

Try five minutes

Sit comfortably, stand somewhere quiet or lie down.

Let your breath move as deeply into your belly as feels comfortable. Don’t force it.

Breathe gently in through your nose.

Then breathe gently out.

If counting helps, the NHS suggests counting steadily from one to five on the way in and again on the way out, continuing for around five minutes. The important thing isn’t achieving some heroic lung capacity. It’s allowing the breathing to become slow and comfortable. (nhs.uk)

That’s it.

Five minutes.

I told you Dave’s School of Wellbeing wasn’t going to require much equipment.

Where naturism fits

There’s something particularly appropriate about doing this unclothed when you’re somewhere private, safe and comfortable.

Not because nudity gives breathing exercises magical powers. It doesn’t.

It’s simply about removing another layer of distraction.

No tight waistband. No collar. No belt. Nothing digging in as your abdomen rises and falls.

In fact, NHS guidance for its breathing exercise specifically suggests making yourself comfortable and loosening clothing that restricts breathing. Naturists have, perhaps accidentally, taken that instruction to its logical conclusion. (nhs.uk)

More importantly, being skyclad can encourage us to notice the body without judging it.

Feel your chest expand.

Notice your stomach move.

Feel the temperature of the room or air against your skin.

Hear what’s happening around you.

For five minutes, your body isn’t something to improve, measure, photograph, compare or criticise.

It’s simply breathing.

That feels very naturist to me.

Don’t turn calm into another target

There’s some research suggesting slow diaphragmatic breathing may help reduce stress, although the evidence isn’t a licence for extravagant health claims. A 2019 review involving 880 participants found preliminary evidence of stress reduction, while broader evidence suggests relaxation techniques can help create a calmer physiological state. (NCCIH)

But I don’t think we need to turn five quiet minutes into another performance.

You don’t need to measure your heart rate.

You don’t need to photograph your meditation corner.

You don’t need to announce that you’ve begun your “breathwork journey”.

Just breathe.

That’s the connection I’m beginning to see across this wellbeing series.

When we looked at walking, we discovered that movement doesn’t require a gym. When we looked at sleep, we found that wellbeing doesn’t need to involve expensive gadgets.

Perhaps the same principle applies here.

Wellbeing doesn’t always come from adding something to our lives.

Sometimes it comes from removing the noise for five minutes and noticing something our bodies have quietly been doing all along.

In.

Out.