Breathwork is about consciously controlling your breathing to directly affect your body’s internal functions, reducing anxiety and stress, improving peace, and promoting well-being. Breathwork is a holistic mind-body approach to mental wellness and well-being. It is easy to do on your own or can be arranged as part of a structured program.

What Is Breathwork?

Breathwork is a method of breathing that has evolved over thousands of years. Pranayama breath, or breathing control, has been a component of yoga since its beginnings more than two thousand years ago. 

Moreover, it has existed for quite a while, even in the absence of traditional yoga practice. Some still study and practice it today, as formal forms of breathing programs continue to evolve as people try to harness the healing power of breathwork through specific techniques.

The fundamental premise behind breathwork is that consciously altering your breathing can directly impact your autonomic nervous system.

This alteration can deactivate your sympathetic nervous system (SNS), responsible for the fight-or-flight response while activating your parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), responsible for the calm, rest-and-digest response. 

Conscious, deliberate breathing—usually slow and deep—enhances our awareness of our thoughts and feelings, improves the flow of energy, and helps increase both mental and physical well-being.

How Breathing Affects the Brain & Body

The human brain makes up only 2% of our body weight, yet it consumes around 20% oxygen. It requires a steady and abundant oxygen supply to function correctly for our mental and physical health. 

When oxygen levels decrease—often due to shallow, rapid breathing—the brain interprets this as a threat and triggers the sympathetic nervous system (SNS).

Improper breathing, such as breathing too shallowly and rapidly (often called chest breathing), can lead to an imbalance in oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, keeping the sympathetic nervous system activated. 

Controlled, voluntary deep and slow breathing—enhanced by breathwork—can reset the autonomic nervous system, increase oxygen supply to the brain, lower blood carbon dioxide levels, and slow brain wave activity, promoting calm, coordinated functioning throughout different body systems.

What Conditions Can Breathwork Help With?

Continual breathing exercises affect the entire physiology of our body. They not only help us feel calm but also assist in maintaining peace even during challenging moments. Breathwork may help with a myriad of issues, including:

• Stress
• Anxiety
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Depression
• Anger
• Agitation
• Grief
• General mood management
• Performance (such as athletics, public speaking)
• Focus and mental clarity
• Chronic pain

What Are the Benefits of Breathwork?

Breathing exercises can bring physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits, improving overall functioning. 

Because how you breathe influences how your nervous system operates, gaining control over your breathing can enhance your overall health.

Breathwork has numerous advantages: “Some of the most researched and documented benefits include a decrease in stress, improved sleep, better digestion, enhanced endurance, better focus, improved sexual health, and increased heart rate variability. 

Breathwork is linked to almost every aspect of your well-being, so it offers numerous advantages.”

Physical Benefits of Breathwork

Practicing deep, slow breathing can enhance the way your body functions. Breathing exercises can also lead to the relief of persistent pain. 

When we experience discomfort, we tend not to breathe deeply, relying instead on secondary breathing muscles (located in the shoulders, chest, and neck). Using breathing exercises to engage the primary muscles of breathing (the diaphragm and intercostal muscles) can reverse this process and help manage chronic pain.

Here are a few physical benefits of breathing exercises:

• It helps your body utilize oxygen more efficiently
• Increases the health of respiratory and cardiovascular systems
• Enhances neurotransmitter and hormone function
• Facilitates healthy gut function
• Improves motor control

Mental Benefits of Breathwork

Breathwork has been shown to affect mental well-being positively. It can regulate mood, improve focus and attention, and boost neuroplasticity—the capacity of neurons in the brain to change and adapt to experiences.

Studies conducted have shed light on the positive mental health effects of breathwork. One study published in 2017 in Frontiers in Psychology included 40 randomly placed in either a breath training or a control group. 

Over 20 eight-week sessions, participants learned to increase their depth and slow breathing until they reached four breaths per minute. Most participants experienced improved focus and mood; blood tests revealed decreased cortisol levels.

A 2011 article in The Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy cited numerous studies demonstrating the efficacy of breathwork in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety, improving individuals’ capacity to handle stressful situations. In 1996, researchers compared two groups undergoing psychotherapy for anxiety. 

One group engaged only in talk therapy, while the other combined talk therapy with breathwork training. Participants receiving breathwork instruction reported a more significant reduction in anxiety symptoms.

Spiritual Benefits of Breathwork

While breathing is a common practice in many religions, many believe breathwork also offers spiritual benefits. 

Most likely due to the theta waves produced during deep breathing, breathwork is associated with increased creativity, intuition, and a connection to the subconscious. 

Many participants report a feeling of awakening and a more profound sense of connection with their breathing as a life force, part of the larger world around them.

Breathwork Vs. Meditation

Although deep breathing is often part of meditation practices, the main distinction lies in control. Breathwork focuses on executing specific breathing patterns for wellness, while meditation encourages mindful breath observation. 

In meditation, you remain aware of your breath, thoughts, emotions, and surroundings instead of manipulating breathing patterns. You may concentrate on your breath or use a mantra or visualization to guide your practice.

We take short breaths when stressed, reducing oxygen levels and potentially causing headaches or dizziness. Breathwork allows you to deliberately influence the autonomic nervous system by adjusting the balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen in your body.

Breathwork Techniques to Try

Breathwork can be practiced generally or specifically on your own or in a group. Typically, breathwork encompasses any practice that alters or controls breathing, while specific programs involve learning particular exercises for designated goals.

Here are a few popular breathwork exercises:

• Pranayama Breathing

Pranayama is a yogic practice involving intentional breath control. When practicing yoga, if a teacher instructs you to exhale specifically, you engage in pranayama, which helps increase energy flow and release energy blocks. 

You can also practice yoga breathing independently to reap various physical and mental benefits. When stressed or anxious, close your eyes and take several slow, deep breaths.

• Diaphragmatic Breathing

Also known as belly breathing, diaphragmatic breathing involves relaxing your shoulders and inhaling deeply to expand your abdomen outward. You should feel your belly rise with each inhalation and release tension with each exhalation. 

You can count your breaths, inhale, and exhale for the exact count, or exhale for a few counts longer than you inhale. The count can be adjusted based on your comfort and experience level.

• Alternate Nostril Breathing

To practice breathing through your nostrils differently:

1. Place one hand in front of your nose.
2. Keep your thumb hovering over one nostril and your finger resting gently on the other.
3. Close one nostril and slowly inhale through the other.

Once fully inhaled, close that nostril and exhale through the opposite one. Continue alternating nostrils.

•  Pursed Lip Breathing

This method involves exhaling through tightly closed lips and inhaling through the nose while keeping the mouth shut. This technique can slow breathing and benefit those with lung issues, such as asthma or COPD.

Is Breathwork Dangerous?

Deep, slow breathing practiced regularly for mental health reasons is generally regarded as an effective and cost-efficient addition to any health program. However, certain breathwork programs, such as holotropic or rebirthing techniques, may only suit some. 

While professionals Life Coach in Dubai  may be certified in breathing techniques, not all are licensed mental health therapists. Recalling traumatic experiences or addressing emotional issues without the guidance of a therapist could lead to further harm.