Respectful Vigilance HC

This is a quick tutorial into a breathing technique that I have created.

To give a little bit of credit, it is a modified version of the breathing technique taught by Wim Hof. The original technique instructs for deep breaths of about 30-40 repetitions followed by a long breath hold at the end. You can then repeat this cycle a few times. This technique is pretty powerful and can have some really neat benefits. A few drawbacks that I have noticed are that it can take a little bit of time, and it can alter your state of consciousness enough that it may be difficult to get back to work or whatever you may be doing afterwards for a while.

In the last few weeks, I have been experimenting with a short version of this technique, which I have named “10-10-3” Breathing. This is a simple exercise any one can do pretty much whenever they have 5 minutes of down time. The instructions are as follows.

1. Breathe in fully and deeply through your nose and then exhale deeply through your mouth. Repeat this for 10 breaths.

2. When you are finished with the 10 breaths, take a deep inhale and hold your breath for 10 seconds. Breathe out the air slowly.

3. Take 3 more slow breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. Then return to normal breathing.

This cycle is easy, takes less, than 5 minutes, and can be done practically anywhere. This short technique is enough to shift stress levels, engage the relaxation response a bit, and bring a bit more peace into the day. Try it out!

-Joe