Breathing is an underutilized tool when it comes to fitness and wellness. Most of us — thankfully — take breathing for granted, but it can be a powerful way to calm down, speed up, or clear your sinuses.

Alternate nostril breathing is a yogic breathing practice that has been used for centuries. In yoga, it's often used as a balancing breath because it literally forces you to use both sides of your nose. One of the benefits of this style of breathwork is that it can help you clear your sinuses when you're feeling a little congested. This is the perfect pre-walk breathing exercise for this time of year, when it's hard to say whether it will be sunny or snowing and your nose hasn't quite caught up with the barometric pressure. Check out Steph's easy-to-follow instructions on alternate nostril breathing.

If you can't always remember which kind of breathing to do when, don't stress. A general rule to follow is this: Slow down to calm down and speed up to hype up. Don't be scared to experiment with breathing techniques! The next breath is coming even if the last one wasn't exactly what you wanted it to be!