Mind Performance Hacks

Hack #59. Use the Fourfold Breath

The Fourfold Breath is a long-known method of rhythmic breathing that helps you calm your body down so that you can think clearly.

The Fourfold Breath, a kind of pranayama yoga, is an effective brute-force method of calming your body by consciously controlling your rate and pattern of breathing. It's simple to learn, and easy to do and remember.

You can use the Fourfold Breath as an adjunct to deeper work, such as a warm-up (or a cool-down, strictly speaking) before meditation [Hack #60]. It's also useful as a means of gaining clarity and rationality when you're stressed or panicked, a sort of emergency first aid for clear thinking.

In Action

When you learn the Fourfold Breath, wear loose clothes or no clothes and make sure that you can breathe freely. Sit comfortably; you might want to lie down, but not if you're prone to falling asleep easily.

First, learn belly breathing:

1. Empty your lungs fully, until you can't empty them anymore.

2. Inhale slowly and deeply with the lower part of your lungs; it will feel as though you are breathing with your belly, from approximately the area of your navel. Only your belly should rise, not your chest.

3. Repeat. Belly breathing might take you some time to learn. Don't hurry it.

After you're comfortable with belly breathing, learn chest breathing: breathing with the upper part of your lungs only. Since this is the way most people in Western culture breathe anyway, learning chest breathing should not be difficult to do. ...