Breathing Exercises for Menopause and Hot Flushes
Paced breathing for hot flushes, night waking and a shorter fuse.
Before you start
Paced breathing works best as a daily habit rather than a rescue - most of the evidence involves practising twice a day for several weeks.
Techniques that are unsafe for this stage are filtered out of this page entirely, rather than listed with a warning. This is general information, not medical advice.
Daily practice
- 4-7-8 Relaxing — Deep relaxation. Inhale 4, hold 7, exhale 8.
- Resonance Breathing — 5.5 breaths per minute for heart-brain coherence.
- Bhramari (Humming Bee) — Hum on a long exhale. The vibration quiets a racing mind.
- Wind-Down Ladder — Long exhales with a soft pause - a gentle descent into sleep.
- Paced Cooling Breath — Six breaths a minute - the paced breathing studied for hot flushes.
- Chandra Bhedana (Left-Nostril Breath) — In through the left nostril, out through the right. Cooling and quieting.
Before and between
- Physiological Sigh — Double inhale + long exhale. Fastest way to calm down.
Afterwards
- Calming Breath — Extended exhale activates the parasympathetic nervous system.
- Sitali (Cooling Breath) — Inhale through a curled tongue to cool body and temper.
Other stages
Breathing Exercises for Pregnancy · Postpartum Breathing Exercises · Breathing Exercises for PCOS · Breathing Exercises for Period Pain