Breathwork: Things You Most Likely Didn't Know About Breathwork
"The practice of breathwork naturally allows participants to become more connected to their emotions and physical bodies than to their minds and thoughts."
Breath in Breath Out is a regular activity, yet our life depends on it. Breathing is life.
Imagine how useful it would be if we used it as our meditation.
Breathwork is a meditation technique but different than any other form of meditation. The essence of Active Breathing Meditation is to break the traditional notion that meditation must be done in silence with your thoughts in an all-white, peaceful environment.
The practice of breathwork naturally allows participants to become more connected to their emotions and physical bodies than to their minds and thoughts, where we traditionally spend most of our time.
What is Breathwork?
The term "breathwork" refers to various breathing exercises and techniques used for controlling the breath. Why controlling? Because breathwork can help improve one's physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual health. Exhaling and inhaling are primary life activities we do unintentionally for survival. Still, when we breathe with conscious intent, we feel how much our body benefits from it. Depending on our situation, our breathing changes. So experts use this mechanism to achieve a variety of health benefits and, most notably, to relax.
Several ancient and modern practices range from simple to complex.
Health Benefits of Breathwork
Human health can be greatly improved through breathwork meditation. Formal breathing practices have even more profound effects, and they work in an almost opposite way to how traditional breathing practices do. Breathwork has a number of magical benefits. Some of them are
- Breathing exercises can improve mental health by relieving stress, and depression, and promoting positive effects, mindfulness, and social connections.
- Emotional scars can be healed and the perspective on life, contentment, and joy can be improved with breathing exercises.
- Breathing exercises help to alkalize your blood pH.
- This is a powerful tool for instant stress relief because it eases our autonomic nervous system and gets us out of our 'fight-or-flight' thought pattern.
- In addition to helping improve lung health and breathing patterns, it also helps improve a person's circulatory system, manage moods, and helps with sleep patterns.
- Deep breathing exercises can help persons with high blood pressure and improve blood circulation. This could be beneficial for persons who suffer from stress, a risk factor for hypertension.
- Breathwork benefits also include anti-inflammatory properties because they reduce the severity of inflammatory responses.
Different Types of Breathwork
Many breathing exercises and techniques have been developed in modern times, but both ancient and contemporary variations of breathwork continue to be practiced today. You can learn easy exercises and advanced methods through a training program or course.
Here are some breathing exercises that you can easily practice.
Box Breathing
It is the simplest breathing technique. The practice involves focusing on a square shape, then inhaling deeply for four counts while imagining it. After holding your breath for four counts, slowly exhale for four counts. Following that, hold your breath for four counts before inhaling for another four counts.
4-7-8 Breathing
The 4-8 breathing technique is another way to relax and ground yourself by counting your breaths. Start by exhaling, then inhale deeply through your nose for four breaths. You should hold your breath at the top of your lungs for seven counts, then exhale any negative energy for eight counts. Repeat this breathing cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.
The practice of counting beats while inhaling and exhaling helps focus your mind. You will inhale for four beats, hold your breath for seven beats, and then exhale for eight beats. By slowly exhaling, your lungs will be thoroughly emptied.
Deep Abdominal Breathing
Breathing deeply and expansively is possible when you use your diaphragm between your chest and abdomen. The technique involves taking a long, deep breath. While you breathe, visualize your breath filling up your body. When you inhale, visualize both your chest and belly expanding. Your chest relaxes with an exhalation, and your navel draws toward your spine. When you breathe deeply, your body relaxes.
Alternate Nostril Breathing
Researchers have shown that strategic Breathing in one nostril at a time reduces baseline indicators of anxiety. Close your right nostril with your right thumb by putting your right hand in front of your face. Take a deep breath through your left nostril, and then seal it with your right ring finger. Make sure both nostrils are completely closed. Exhale through the left nostril as you inhale through the right. Plug the left nostril with the right ring finger as you exhale through the left. Complete the cycle a few more times.
Breathwork VS Meditation:
Breathwork and meditation are identical, and both have a lot of advantages, so choosing which one to start with might be tricky. When deciding between breathwork and meditation, keep the following points in mind:
Key Factors
- Consider how easy it would be for you to begin each practice and whether you are aware of any resources that can assist you in learning how to do it.
- Consider what you want to get out of these activities and which one is most successful at providing your desired outcomes.
- Consider how much time each exercise will take you on a daily basis and how long you'll need to practice to see the results you seek.
- Consider your everyday routine and how readily each exercise might be incorporated into it.
- Think about the ease of getting resources and guidance for each discipline and your willingness to spend time and money (including travel).
you can learn the benefits of meditation here.
Benefits of Choosing Breathwork
Here are some benefits of choosing breathwork over meditation.
- It is the best way to relieve stress right away. Despite its popularity for its ability to relax, some people find meditation challenging because they find it difficult to reach a deep state of relaxation. At the same time, breathwork includes workouts that are designed to assist your body in completing the stress cycle by changing your Breathing.
- It helps you to improve your breathing patterns. Breathwork is all about learning to control and enhance our Breathing. As people become older, they may unknowingly move from diaphragmatic to shallow Breathing, leading to increased stress. It assists you in returning to your natural breathing patterns, allowing you to reduce stress and reap the various advantages associated with proper Breathing.
- It's not as overwhelming. Breathwork simply modifies your breathing pattern, which is a lot easier to do. It does not necessitate the level of awareness required for meditation.
- Breathwork has a slew of other advantages that benefit our general health. The most important benefits are to our respiratory and circulatory systems, with stronger lungs and reduced blood pressure being the most popular. Breathwork has been utilized by a wide range of people, from athletes trying to enhance their endurance to COPD and asthma patients looking to improve their Breathing.
Final Thoughts on Breathwork
There are many benefits of breathwork, including reducing stress, depression, inflammation, and alkalizing your blood PH levels. And we already know how breathwork manipulates your breathing rate to affect your mood. So it is the simplest way to get health benefits.
There are several types of breathwork practices, some of which are simple and easy to perform at home, and others require you to work with an expert. OmidLife is a global holistic platform offering different breathwork courses to improve our lifestyle. You can also check the Omidlife app to get help on the go.