Breathing: Regulating Your Day with Simplicity
Future Competences for Leaders and Changemakers
Future Competencies for Leaders and Changemakers is a series designed to help you develop the critical skills needed to address today’s most pressing challenges, navigate complexity, inspire action, and drive meaningful change. It highlights essential skills and practical exercises to strengthen them—including those that are often overlooked or not yet fully recognised for their value.
Skill #1: Futures Literacy: The Art of Making Use of Tomorrow
Skill #2: Being: The Most Underrated Future Skill
Skill #3: Inner Development: The Bridge Between Business and Personal Growth
Skill #4: Deep Listening: The Future Demands an Ancient Skill
👉 Skill #5: Breathing: Regulating Your Day with Simplicity
Skill #6: Creativity: Real-World Problem Solving
Skill #7: Meaning: The Competitive Advantage of Creating Purpose
Our relationship with breath is peculiar. It's the most fundamental act of living—one we perform roughly 20,000 times daily—yet most of us never give it a second thought. In a world of increasingly complex wellness practices, could something as simple as conscious breathing be the key to better mental and physical health?
I share today's article with you, still one foot and a whole heart in a breathwork teacher training – an experience that truly changed my relationship with myself and the world. I've been immersed in a community of beautiful souls who understand that breath work exists on a spectrum. It's neither just an automatic bodily function nor exclusively the domain of extreme cold plunge enthusiasts or gurus. Breathing is a widely underestimated superpower – a true gem accessible to all of us.
The Paradox of Modern Breathing
Perhaps the most counterintuitive discovery for most newcomers to breathwork is that many of us are actually overbreathing. While we may feel oxygen-deprived during exercise or stressful moments, the issue isn’t a lack of oxygen. To efficiently deliver oxygen to our cells, we actually need sufficient CO₂, which we can maintain by breathing more slowly, more softly, or even by pausing our breath for a few seconds.
This delicate biochemical balance is essential. When we breathe too quickly and shallowly—as many of us do under stress—we disrupt this process by expelling too much CO₂, making it harder for our bodies to utilise the oxygen in our blood.
So, next time you feel anxious or short of breath, resist the urge to gasp for air. Instead, slow down, breathe gently, even hold your breath for a moment, and release. Then, take a second and sense the difference.
Breathing as a State-Shifting Tool
The beauty of breath awareness lies in its simplicity and versatility. When stress mounts and your sympathetic nervous system is firing on all cylinders, intentional breathing with extended exhales can activate your parasympathetic response—your body's built-in relaxation system.
Conversely, when afternoon fatigue hits during that crucial presentation, or you struggle to maintain focus during your third Zoom meeting of the day, specific energising breathwork techniques can revitalise your system within seconds.
Simple Practices for Daily Life
The Foundation: Nasal Breathing
Before exploring specific techniques, the most fundamental shift many can make is simply breathing through our nose rather than our mouth. Nasal breathing filters, humidifies, and warms (or cools) the air before it reaches the lungs, improves oxygen absorption, reduces stress, supports cognitive function, enhances athletic performance, and helps prevent snoring and sleep apnea.
Even during exercise—despite what many of us instinctively do—nasal breathing delivers oxygen more efficiently than mouth breathing. It also helps optimise performance and recovery by maintaining proper CO2 levels, and reducing stress on the respiratory system.
When feeling stressed or overwhelmed:
Try this mini-breath hold technique:
Breathe normally through your nose for about 10 seconds
Exhale completely through your nose
Hold your breath (with empty lungs) for 5-6 seconds
Resume normal breathing
Repeat as needed
Or even simpler: breathe lightly, more slowly, and deeply. And explore what's happening in your body.
These practices help rebuild CO2 tolerance and activate your parasympathetic nervous system, creating a natural calming effect.
When energy is low and focus waning:
Inhale slowly through your nose for 6 seconds
Exhale quickly through your nose for just 2 seconds
Maintain this 6:2 ratio steadily for 1-2 minutes
This rhythm shifts your physiological state toward alertness while remaining controlled.
The Profound in the Simple
What's most remarkable about breath awareness is that it isn't a complex technique. Rather, it's how something so simple—just bringing attention to your breath—can immediately centre your awareness in the present moment. A technique immediately accessible to everyone.
In a world constantly pulling our attention in countless directions, this return to breath awareness might be the most accessible and transformative practice available—no special equipment, subscriptions, or extreme exposure is required.
The next time you feel stressed, fatigued, or simply disconnected, remember that a subtle shift in your breathing might be all you need to transform your experience of the moment.
Take a slow and soft inhale through your nose. And now, an even slower and softer exhale through your nose. Try to make the next round even slower and even smoother. Repeat this for three more rounds. How does this make you feel?
If you're interested in breathwork sessions—either in Zürich or online—visit my website to stay updated on upcoming breathwork events. And if you know someone who could use a breath of fresh air, feel free to share this article with them.
With my deepest gratitude to Manuela Schöpfer, Matthias Hunkeler, Sebastian Dietsche, Dylan Werner, Alessia, Corinna, Dominika, Hitsch, Jasmin, Mel, Melanie, Nina, Patricia, Petra, Sanna, Thom, Valentina, and Yves. 💜
Very much enjoyed this easy step-by-step guide to developing breathing as a skill. Let's bring it to more people!