What Is Breathwork?
There are different types of breathwork practices designed to reduce stress, energize your mind, calm your nervous system, and bring clarity and focus to your system. Lately, Breathwork is growing in popularity, and with it, its definitions and practices become blurry. So, I wanted to clear up for you, and for myself, what Breathwork is, how it differs from yogic breathing practices, and what the benefits are.
So, What is Breathwork?
The most basic definition of Breathwork is the practice of awareness and change to the depth and length of your breath. Some people are using the term Breathwork to mean ANY recognition of or change of the breath. This includes breathing practices from the yogic tradition dating back over 2,500 years ago called Pranayama. Others are saying that Breathwork is an entirely new practice separate from Pranayama exercises. Breathwork techniques can range from basic try at home, to others requiring a practitioner to teach and guide you through the practice. Techniques can vary in their results ranging from adding activation and excitement to the practitioner, to calming the brain and body, to releasing trauma and trapped stress in the body.
If the definition we are going with is, “to use the breath to intentionally become aware of your patterns and changing them to benefit physical, mental, and emotional health,” then yes, it would include Pranayama techniques. If, however, we are speaking about Breathwork as a way to reach an alternate trance like state or withstand extreme physical conditions, then maybe we are not. Let’s talk about both.
Some Pranayama techniques that you may have heard of include:
- Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing)
- Sama Vritti (box breathing)
- Bhramari (bee breath)
- Kapalabhati (fire breathing).
Some schools of thought include these techniques in Breathwork practices, while others, use a basis of Connected Breathwork where the inhales and exhales are connected with no pause. These sessions can last for 45 minutes to 1 hour and are usually focused on releasing trauma, stress, and stuck memories from the mind and body.
Getting into these states takes about 10-22 minutes of the Breathwork practice because it is working on slowing down the default mode network (DMN) of the brain. The DMN is responsible for our habitual thinking patterns. When we work on the DMN we are able to intersect our typical thought patterns and release rigidity within them.
Some of these recent popular styles include:
Holotropic Breathwork by Stan Grof
Rebirthing Breathwork by Leonard Orr
Transformational Breath by Judith Kravitz
Wim Hof Breathwork by Wim Hoff
Shamanic Breathwork
Clarity Breathwork
Ecstatic Breathwork by Scott Schwenk
Biodynamic Breathwork by Giten Tonkov
Breathwork practitioner, Levi Banner, whom I had the pleasure of attending a shamanic breathwork ceremony with in Bali, states that the difference in Pranayama and Breathwork is in Pranayama you control the breath in order to achieve a state of meditation. In Breathwork control is released.
Personally, as a practitioner of both Pranayama and Modern Breathwork, I do see quite a difference in the practices themselves and the resulting impact they have on the mental, physical, and emotional health of students. My biggest suggestion, talk to a practitioner who is trained in breathing techniques and ask them what they would suggest as a practice for you surrounding your specific constitution and goals.
What are the benefits of Breathwork?
1. Provides an efficient and quick relief from stress
A 2017 study published in the Frontiers in Psychology journal found that participants who completed 20 breathwork training sessions over eight weeks had significantly lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, compared to those who did not receive the training.
2. Reduce back pain
3. Reduce intensity and duration of migraines
4. Improve digestion
5. Increase creativity
6. Breathing slower can lower blood pressure. Breathwork techniques that include training to slow down the breath can significantly lower blood pressure without adverse effects.
7. Breathwork can reduce symptoms of depression by decreasing the size of the amygdala, the part of the brain that detects fear and triggers the fight, flight, or freeze response.
8. Increase alertness
9. Boost the immune system
10. Reduce anxiety
11. Can alkalize your blood PH for very short periods of time which can increase muscle tone, decrease inflammation, and elevate mood and a sense of well-being
12. Increase self esteem
Is Breathwork safe?
Precautions should be taken in the cases of pregnancy, history of cardiovascular issues, high blood pressure, or currently taking antipsychotic medications or being treated for severe mental health disorders. There are Breathwork techniques that can work for anyone, but be sure to ask your doctor and work with an experienced practitioner if you are experiencing any of the above.
Of all the research and personal experience with both Pranayama and various modern Breathwork techniques, the one thing that was absolutely agreed upon was that each individual experiences Breathwork differently. Each one of our nervous systems acts in a different way as we have different triggers, reactions, patterns etc. Regardless of the definition, the change in your breathing patterns may have an affect on your mind and body and the method to which you practice and receive the benefits from these practices depends on what you’ve been through and what your mind and body needs.
My suggestion, try them! You can go to a Breathwork class or receive personal sessions with a practitioner and after each practice notice what the affect is in your mind and body and what the rest of your day or the following day feels like. Breathing techniques can be custom designed for your goals and needs and most likely will need to change throughout your life as you circumstances change.
I hope this helped give you a bit more information and since this is such a deep topic I’ve included some references and further reading if you’re still curious and want to know more.
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References and further reading:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5455070/#
https://www.parsleyhealth.com/blog/breathwork-does-it-work/
https://levibanner.com/2018/11/17/whats-the-difference-between-breathwork-and-pranayama/
https://www.healthline.com/health/breathwork#holotropic
Breathe deep!
