Imagine yourself sitting in an auditorium, surrounded by over 500 people. At the podium, someone is giving a speech. Pretty soon, you’ll be up there, too. Even though you’ve rehearsed your speech a million times, you feel your arms and legs tremble. You have mere seconds to calm your nerves and get up in front of the crowd.

I don’t have to imagine this situation—I lived through it three months ago at my high school graduation. Normally, I don’t get nervous speaking in front of crowds, but that night felt different; bright, blinding lights flooded the podium, illuminating the gravity of the task that stood in front of me. I frantically tried to think of ways to slow my runaway heart, recalling a breathing technique I learned in my mindfulness class—breathe in, hold, breathe out. Until my turn to speak came, I dedicated my attention to this task. And, miraculously, I calmed my nerves enough to deliver my speech confidently.

I’ll admit—I was somewhat skeptical of breathing techniques before that moment. Sometimes, it’s hard to see the benefits of mindfulness practices until you truly need to utilize them. Incorporating mindful breathing into your everyday life, however—even when you don’t need to—can have many benefits.

According to a 2016 study performed on undergraduate students (hey—that’s us!), mindful breathing helped to reduce anxiety and increase positive automatic thoughts. And older studies—think thousands of years old—produced the same results; the ancient Indian practice of pranayama (“breath control”) traces back 5,000 years. Additionally, the practice of sekhem (“energy”) is a breathing technique from ancient Egyptian times.

Let’s start off simple with “box” or “square” breathing, given its name for its uniform, repetitive nature. It goes as follows:

1. 

   Breathe in for four seconds.

2. Hold your breath for four seconds.
3. Exhale for four seconds.
4. Hold your breath for four seconds.

Repeat these steps as many times as you’d like.

Another patten-based breathing exercise is called the 4-7-8 technique. For this method, you’ll want to keep your tongue resting against the roof of your mouth, nestled up against your front teeth.

1. With your mouth closed, breathe in for four seconds.
2. Hold your breath for seven seconds.
3. Exhale through your mouth, making a whooshing sound, for eight seconds.

Now, we’ll delve into some more abstract techniques. The next one I’ll introduce you to is called “lion’s breath,” and, I assure you, it is as silly as it sounds (you might want to practice this one when no one else is around).

1. Inhale deeply through your nose.
2. Exhale forcefully through your mouth, making a loud “haa” sound.
3. Move your gaze upward and repeat.

The next (and last) technique I’ll share with you all is called alternate nostril breathing. I’ll admit that I’d never heard of it prior to jumping headfirst into the breathing exercise rabbit hole, but I found it quite effective—unless, of course, you suffer from a stuffy nose.

1. Rest the pointer and middle fingers of your right hand on your forehead.
2. Take one deep breath.
3. Close your right nostril with your right thumb, inhaling through the left nostril.
4. Close your left nostril with your right ring finger, holding your breath.
5. Release your thumb from your right nostril and exhale.
6. Inhale through your right nostril.
7. Close your right nostril with your thumb, holding your breath.
8. Release your ring finger from your left nostril and exhale.

Of course, performing any of these exercises just once may not produce any great effect. As they say: “Practice makes perfect.” Repeat your favorite exercises a few times a day, and within no time, you’ll create a powerful arsenal of breathing techniques to use when you need them most. Good luck, and happy breathing!