Breathwork is having a major moment right now but it has actually been around for thousands of years. It is one of the simplest, yet most powerful techniques for stress management and emotional release and it has completely changed my life. Put simply, it’s a variety of intentional patterns of breathing that produce a specific reaction within the body. Breathwork can leave you feeling energized, calm, or clear, depending on how you choose to practice. Advanced forms of breathwork act as an effective component of trauma recovery and can produce altered states of consciousness.

Dedicated yogis know breathwork as pranayama, but it’s now being widely recognized for its ability to promote health and wellness. This post discusses what breathwork is and how it can help you reduce stress to find healing in our fast-paced modern world. Then, discover a few common breathing exercises and what you might expect when you visit a breathwork coach for the first time.

What is breathwork?

Without even trying we are constantly breathing, and the way we breathe affects us more than we realize. Whats really amazing is how making subtle changes, like inhaling through your nose instead of your mouth or extending the exhale, can significantly affect the body, specifically the nervous system.

Breathwork is a group of exercises that encourage you to bring awareness to your breath and manipulate it to derive the benefits of the practice. Many people consider breathwork to be an active meditation and find a formal 20-60-minute breathwork practice to increase mindfulness and greatly reduce stress. Depending on the type of breathwork practiced, participants report heightened clarity, a sense of calm, reduction in anxiety and feelings of emotional purging. The practice is often guided by a trained facilitator although many simpler exercises can be done on one’s own.

Why is breathwork beneficial and how does it work?

Reduce Chronic Stress

Bessel van der Kolk is a prominent trauma-recovery psychiatrist. He does a great job explaining how the nervous system works in his book, The Body Keeps the Score. We have two branches of the nervous system, the sympathetic and parasympathetic.

The sympathetic nervous system activates our natural fight/flight/freeze response when necessary. This response is triggered in traumatic or stressful situations. Unfortunately, people often stay in this mode after the danger has passed. This puts the body under chronic stress, which may be linked to several autoimmune conditions.

Van der Kolk notes that taking a few slow, deep breaths will signal a shift, like a parasympathetic brake, to turn off that fight/flight/freeze response of the nervous system. More than 40 years of experience with trauma work has led him to incorporate breathwork practices into therapy with his patients.

Relieve anxiety

Paying attention to each breath's slow cycle and path through the body helps to ground individuals in the present moment and calm down. It provides a chance for physical self-awareness and allows us to disengage from the mental chaos that so often distracts us, providing anxiety relief.

Promote healing

Deep, intentional breaths that fill the belly, especially while focusing on the exhale, provide a feeling of safety. This is in sharp contrast to the fast and shallow breaths that our bodies will turn to in times of stress as a means of survival.

That shift is caused by the activation of the vagal nerve that allows the body to relax. In this relaxed state, the body is then able to grow, heal, rest, and digest. Deep breaths also direct more blood to the parts of your brain that help you restore and regenerate tissue while stabilizing the immune system response.

Holotropic breathing was developed in the 1970s by psychiatrists Stanislav and Christina Grof. They designed it to promote self-healing as participants attain a state of wholeness by releasing bioenergetic and emotional blocks. Led by certified instructors, this three-hour sequence uses controlled and quickening breath patterns to achieve altered states of consciousness without drugs.

Alkalize and oxygenate the blood

During sustained periods of rapid, rhythmic breathing, the body enters into a state called respiratory alkalosis that changes your blood pH by increasing the blood's alkalinity. Rapid breathing helps the body get rid of lots of acidic CO2 that is naturally expelled with every exhale.

More alkaline blood reduces the calcium ions that essentially run away and latch onto large proteins in the blood and allows us to retain more oxygen in the blood. In response to the absence of calcium, sensory and motor neurons fire faster. This often manifests in the frequent reports of tingling sensations and smooth muscle contractions that many provide after a breathwork session. Because of these smooth muscle contractions, breathwork can also improve muscle tone.

Reduce inflammation

Breathwork can have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body, too. The autonomic nervous system releases adrenaline when rapid breathing takes place. This stimulates the immune system to ramp up its anti-inflammatory activity and reduce proinflammatory activity. A 2014 study conducted at Yale found that individuals who were trained for 10 days in meditation and breathwork were better able to withstand the introduction of IV bacterial toxins. This is also how the legend Wim Hoff does it too.

So How do you practice breathwork?

At its most basic level, taking a few deep, mindful breaths is practicing breathwork. The box breath and 4-7-8 breathing techniques are also easy techniques to practice on your own.

Begin by sitting up straight and tall, like in a chair, or lie down flat on your back so that your breath isn't constricted. Feel free to close your eyes to better focus on the practice. It's often a good idea to place one hand on the belly and one on the chest to reinforce the mind-body connection as you feel each inhale and exhale.

Box Breathing

This simple breathwork technique helps to reduce stress, calm anxiety, and increase attention. It’s great for anyone to use to better prepare and combat stressful situations.

1. Breathe in through your nose to a count of four (or 3 if that is too difficult to start with)

2. Hold that breath inside your lungs for four more counts.

3. Slowly exhale for four more counts.

4. Repeat for about four minutes or until you feel calm. Practice the box breath once to three times per day.

4-7-8 Breathing

The 4-7-8 breathing technique is deeply relaxing and can help you fall asleep. In fact, it may ease symptoms of an anxiety attack if you practice it regularly and can execute it at the first signs of an attack.

Practice the breath for four rounds to begin. Keep your tongue in place behind your teeth for the duration.

1. Exhale completely from your mouth, making a whooshing sound.

2. Close your lips, silently breath in through the nose to a count of four.

3. Hold your breath for seven seconds.

4. Make an exhale like the first, but draw it out to a count of eight.

Guided Group Breathwork Meditations

Some prefer to feed off of the collective energy of a guided group meditation by participating in a guided breathwork meditation. The guide will introduce and instruct the group in breathwork patterns resulting in a dynamic and enjoyable experience. These group sessions can have over arching themes such as inner child healing or be more generalized.

What’s it like to work with a breathwork coach?

Working with a coach is a much more personalized experience that allows for the exploration of deeper traumas and more support in integration post session. Breathwork coaches should be certified, trauma informed and well-versed in the practice. Many are also skilled energy healers or yoga instructors. Ideally a guide will incorporate other elements, like aromatherapy, reiki, sound healing or crystal therapy, to facilitate the process of moving energy through the body, depending on your needs. Different coaches focus on certain specialties and for myself I focus a lot on inner child healing, mother wound and sobriety but can create experiences outside of these focuses.

Ultimately, a breathwork coach is just a guide. The work you do together should be based on what you'd like to explore or work on, and they will lead you through a series of appropriate breathing exercises while allowing you’re experience to be just that. A typical session lasts 45-75 minutes or more. This individualized attention can have potent and lasting effects on a person’s wellbeing, allowing the movement of energy that has been trapped for decades.

Frequently Asked Questions about breathwork

What can I expect during a typical breathwork session?

During your breathwork session, expect to be introduced to how you’ll be breathing with your diaphragm and abdominal muscles. Then, your coach will prescribe exercises/affirmations to address your concerns. Though you’ll easily spend 20-30 minutes breathing, the time feels like it passes quickly. Your coach will guide you through a meditation like experience as you continue to breathe and this will assist you in releasing your emotions. It is quite normal for emotions to come up and it’s a welcome part of the process. I like to incorporate laughter and even screaming into the experience as well as other goodies like crystals, essential oils, reiki and sound healing.

Working with a skilled breathwork coach can yield instant and powerful physical and emotional responses. Based on what you feel and convey to your practitioner, they may be able to tell you about why you may hold tension or heaviness that you experience. Many feel more focused or euphoric after breathwork coaching.

What does it feel like?

The experience varies, but people consistently notice changes in temperature, tightening/muscle contraction, tingling sensations in finger and toes, vibrations, release, and waves of different emotions. People often feel heightened clarity and improved mood after a session.

What should I wear and bring to a session?

It is best to dress in loose, comfortable clothes and to come to the session without a full belly. It is also advised to bring a journal to jot down anything that may have come up during the time together. You might also like to bring something symbolic to you and what you are working on like a picture, a crystal or something with meaning to you.

Who can benefit from a breathwork practice?

Most people can benefit from breathwork if they’re open to the experience. Especially those that have been struggling with healing past wounds without much success in the traditional model of therapy and pharmaceuticals. Pregnant women are advised to practice breathwork with caution because emotional awakenings may disturb the baby.

If you have high blood pressure, cardiovascular issues, or are taking antipsychotic medications, check with your doctor to make sure that it’s safe to perform breathwork. You'll also want to alert your practitioner as some types of breath may not be suitable for you.

Conclusion

Developing a breathing practice, especially with the guidance of a breathwork coach, can deliver instant and profound results. A dedicated breathwork practice can help you cope with many of the stresses of daily life and find peace with your past. The simple manipulation of the breath is an easy way to restore balance and promote healing and wellness in several different ways.

If you are interested in learning more or you feel called to experience the power of your breath I invite you to contact me to schedule a complimentary consult. We can discuss your desires and see if this work would be right for you. I also have upcoming group events posted regularly so be sure to sign up for my monthly newsletter as well.

As always it is an honor to share this work,

Candice