My teacher, Siedeh Foxie, always says that if our body is a house, the breath is the housekeeper. Think of this technique as sweeping all the rooms, polishing all the surfaces, cleansing the spaces within.

Sit (or lie) in a comfortable position. If you like, place your hands on your belly. Take a deep and slow inhale through your nose. Feel your belly rise. Exhale slowly through your mouth, pushing the air out harder, as though you are blowing out birthday candles. When your lungs are empty, begin again with a deep inhale through the nose. Repeat this several times, until the mind feels calmer.

This technique is my favorite, and I do it frequently when I notice I feel overwhelmed by the news, my inbox, the subway, other people, or my own thoughts.

Start by finding a comfortable seat. Begin by exhaling all of the air out of your lungs. Then, gently inhale air through your nose for a count of four. Pause and hold the air for a count of four. Exhale out of the mouth for a count of four. At the bottom of the exhale, pause and hold for four. Repeat four times.

If you do yoga, you might be familiar with this type of pranayama breathing. It’s extremely satisfying, stress-relieving, and anxiety reducing. It’s also silly and fun and useful for shedding my ego and helping me tap into my inner child. I tend to do it after another breathing exercise or if I need to release some big emotions. I like doing it when I’m already feeling active as it can activate my energy upwards, rather than help level it out.

In a comfortable seat, open your mouth wide, stick out your tongue in an exaggerated way—imagine yourself as baby Simba after a nap. Exhale forcefully and play into the natural “haaaaa” sound that already wants to emerge. You should feel it vibrate in your chest and abdomen. Release it. Take a few regular breaths and repeat.

This is an advanced exercise, but still accessible for people at home who feel eager to experiment slightly more complicated breathwork techniques. Monitor yourself carefully and if you start to feel light-headed or dizzy, you may need to stop and resume regular breath. This technique is part of my rising ritual and I usually settle into it after having filtered water with apple cider vinegar. I like to sit in my kitchen, face warmed by sunlight, listening to jazz—I usually do it for the length of an Alice Coltrane or Robert Glasper song.

To begin, as always, find a comfortable seat with a straight spine. Start with a deep inhale and release it. Bring your right hand up to your face and use your right thumb to close your right nostril. The rest of your hand can be splayed open, or you can rest your index and middle finger on your third eye. Exhale fully through the left nostril. With the right nostril covered, inhale slowly through your left nostril. Hold at the crown at the top of the inhale. Release your right nostril and, at the same time, gently put your ring finger on the left nostril to close it. Exhale slowly from the right side. Then, inhale again from the right side. Release the left nostril, and apply pressure to the right side again and exhale through the left nostril. This concludes one sequence. Repeat this process—inhaling through one nostril, exhaling through the other—until you get the hang of it.

Be patient with yourself—this method takes a little practice. The breath should always feel full and luxurious. Enjoy the spaciousness and balance created within.