Lower Blood Pressure With 7 Breathing Exercises (2025)

Breathing exercises to lower blood pressure can help people living with hypertension (high blood pressure). High blood pressure is a common serious condition that increases the risk of stroke, kidney failure, and heart disease. Managing high blood pressure is key to living a healthy life.

Techniques like 4-7-8 breathing to lower blood pressure are safe, inexpensive, and easy to learn. Though breath work works quickly to lower blood pressure, regular practice of deep, slow breathing can also lower blood pressure long-term.

Types of Breathing Exercises for High Blood Pressure

1. 4-7-8 Breathing

This type of breath focuses on a long exhale to slow down the breath and reduce blood pressure. To practice 4-7-8 breathing:

1. Start with empty lungs by opening your mouth and exhaling completely.
2. Close your mouth and inhale slowly through your nose for a count of four.
3. Hold your breath for a count of seven.
4. Exhale out your mouth slowly for a count of eight.
5. Take six breaths in this manner, then breathe normally for one minute. Repeat the full cycle twice more.

2. Alternate Nostril

Alternate nostril breathing is a yoga breathing technique meant to induce a sense of calm that may also lower blood pressure. To practice alternate nostril breathing:

1. Sit up tall in a comfortable seat.
2. Press your left thumb on your left nostril.
3. Inhale through your right nostril.
4. Press your left pointer finger on your right nostril as you exhale fully through your left nostril.
5. Inhale slowly through your left nostril.
6. Press the left thumb on your left nostril.
7. Exhale fully through your right nostril.
8. Repeat this pattern for 10 minutes.

3. Box Breathing

Box breathing focuses on slowing down the breath in an even pattern. To practice box breathing:

1. Inhale through your nose for a count of four as your belly and ribs expand.
2. Hold your breath for a count of four without inhaling or exhaling.
3. Exhale through your mouth for a count of four, allowing your belly and ribs to return to the normal position.
4. Hold with empty lungs for a count of four.
5. Repeat as necessary.

4. Diaphragmatic Breathing

Diaphragmatic breathing focuses on using the muscle at the bottom of your ribs, the diaphragm, and the abdominal muscles to achieve deep, full breaths. To practice diaphragmatic breathing:

1. Inhale slowly as your belly relaxes and expands. Allow your ribs to expand, too,
2. Exhale slowly, drawing your abdominal muscles (muscles over the belly) in. The diaphragm will draw up as the ribs close.
3. Repeat this pattern for five minutes or more.

5. Pursed Lip Breathing

Pursed lip breathing emphasizes long exhales. To practice pursed lip breathing:

1. Inhale slowly through your nose, allowing your belly and ribs to expand.
2. Purse your lips and exhale slowly as if blowing out a candle.
3. Repeat this pattern.

6. Lion’s Breath

Lion’s breath can help release stress.To practice lion’sbreath:

1. Inhale slowly through your nose.
2. As you exhale through your mouth, stick out your tongue and make a "haa" sound as you empty your lungs.
3. Repeat for five to 10 breaths.

7. Ujjayi Pranayama

Ujjayi pranayama is also known as yogic breathing. This breath is typically used when practicing yoga poses. To practice ujjayi:

1. Inhale slowly through your nose. Create a slight constriction in the back of your throat so that your breath becomes slightly audible.
2. Exhale slowly through your nose. Continue with a slight constriction at the back of the throat as if you’re fogging up a mirror so that it almost sounds like a gentle ocean wave.
3. Continue breathing in this pattern until you feel a sense of calm.

To Lower Blood Pressure During a Spike

If you notice that your blood pressure is elevated, find a comfortable place to sit and begin breathing slowly and deliberately. You can use any of the breathing techniques listed here.

Some people also find that closing their eyes and drawing their attention to their breath helps them shut out the stresses of the world around them and makes relaxation easier. This allows them to concentrate fully on the breathing exercise.

Everyday Breathing

Using one or more of the breathing techniques discussed here to breathe mindfully for at least 15 minutes daily has immediate and longer-term effects on blood pressure. Though these breathing techniques can all lower blood pressure during a spike, practicing them regularly can help maintain a lower blood pressure.

Most people take 12 to 20 breaths per minute. Slowbreathing techniques lowerthe rateto four to 10 breaths a minute.

Taking time each day to breathe in a slow, deliberate manner can have positive effects on the cardiovascular system.

Added Benefits With Comorbidities

Breath work can improve symptoms of a variety of other conditions. People with comorbidities (other conditions alongside high blood pressure) may experience additional benefits when practicing breath work, including:

• It can reduce anxiety and decrease stress.
• It can help with migraines.
• It can improve the quality of life in people with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and cancer.
• In people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), exercise capacity and respiratory function increase.
• In people with heart failure, breath work can improve cardiorespiratory fitness.

How Not to Breathe

After beginning a breath work practice, you might notice how your normal breathing changes. With breath work, you work to slow down the breath and fully engage the respiration muscles, such as the diaphragm.

Before practicing breath work, it is common to breathe in a manner where the diaphragm and other muscles of respiration are not fully engaged. The breath is often shallow, barely causing an expansion in the ribs.

Mouth breathing is another common way people breathe that is not as efficient or beneficial to the body and overall health. Breath work helps to correct these habits.

Breathing through the nose and practicing deep diaphragmatic breaths that cause the belly and ribs to expand help to produce the benefits of breath work. Shifting to this type of breathing on a regular basis can improve overall health.

Summary

Many different breathing exercises can help lower blood pressure. These include the 4-7-8 breathing technique, box breathing, and lion’s breath. Practicing one or more of these breath work techniques can help lower a sudden blood pressure spike and may also have a long-term effect on lowering blood pressure.

People with other conditions who practice breathing techniques may experience added benefits. This includes a reduction in anxiety, a higher quality of life for people with cancer, and increased cardiorespiratory fitness for people with heart failure.

Paying attention to the breath can also help shift habits from shallow breathing and mouth breathing to deep diaphragmatic breathing. This type of breathing, in which the lungs and muscles of respiration are used at their full capacity, can help overall health.