It is thought that a regular human being inhales and exhales around 17,000 times daily, and generally does not think about this essential act of living. Since it’s an involuntary function, why would we? Our frantic lives and crowded agendas give us a much-needed respite when our bodies can take care of something by themselves.
One can take charge of the natural process of respiration, utilizing a technique referred to as breathwork. This practice can offer far more than the traditional act of inhaling and exhaling. Concentrating on the regularity of our inhalations and exhalations can be quite beneficial, both psychologically and physically.
At the beginning of my twenties, I encountered breathwork for the first time, Grace MacLeod, the founder of Graceful Living Coaching & Mentoring stated to DailyOM. ” I underwent a major transformation during a prolonged breathwork training which could not be described in any other way. I continually practice for my own benefit, feeling strongly towards it like it is the most significant thing I have – something that I am just as eager to express after forty years as the day I was introduced to it.
Experts in the field were consulted by DailyOM to determine the substantial background and advantages of the practice. Continue reading to find out more information and the reasons why you should consider these techniques as essential.
What Is Breathwork?
Practicing breath control as a means of achieving therapeutic results is known as breathwork. Meditation is oftentimes used as a means to quieten the psyche and provide relief to the physical body, yet it offers further advantages too. There are numerous ways of doing breathing exercises, each with its own purpose of helping to achieve a particular goal. These may involve engaging in physical relaxation techniques, withdrawing from a nerve-racking scenario, or providing oneself with strength and vigor both physically and mentally.
The History of Breathwork
The utilization of deliberate, intentional breathing has its routes in olden days, particularly in the disciplines of yoga, martial arts, and Buddhism (as well as other religious practices). It was employed as a healing practice and a technique to bring one's mind into focus.
During the 1960s and 1970s, a new way of doing breathwork was brought to the West, mainly thanks to two leading figures in the area. Stanislav Grof, a psychiatrist, is the creator of the influential technique known as holotropic breathwork. He used it as a method to change a patient’s level of awareness without taking medication. Meanwhile, in New York, Leonard Orr, who had practiced yoga for a long time, found out about rebirthing breathwork, an interrelated breathing method. He wrote several works of literature about finding oneself, with Rebirthing in the New Age as one of them.
The implementation of two novel methods of breathwork accelerated the escalation of its fame.
The Science of Breathwork
Kelly Kessler, the owner of Optimal You Health and Wellness, emphasizes that one can survive for a week without sustenance, a couple of days without water, but barely any time at all without oxygen. ” Yet, when it comes to augmenting personal health, dietary habits and physical activity are normally the approaches taken. Breathing is an advantageous asset that makes possible lots of positive effects on one's psychological, mental, and physical health.
Dr. Kessler emphasizes that the autonomic nervous system is in charge of all the essentials for maintaining life and harmony. A few of the systems included in the body are the heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion. This system supervises various processes, however, the act of respiration is the only procedure that can be both deliberately directed, and instinctively operated.
Breathwork can be used to control the level of engagement within the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system is a network of nerves that initiates our reflex to either fight or flee. The parasympathetic nervous system takes charge when the body needs to be soothed and calmed in times of distress. It is very beneficial to understand how your breathing can be managed to either calm or wake up your body.
An investigation that was printed revealed proof that the practice of taking slow breaths is influential in fostering psychological and cognitive “flexibility”, which allows for healthier psychological balance and greater control over emotions.
Why Is Breathwork So Popular Now?
MacLeod has witnessed the ebb and flow of enthusiasm in the practice of breathwork over the past 40 years in which she has been training and educating people. She believes that the increase in anxiety levels among people over the past few years due to crisis is the major factor behind the recent rise. Individuals are finding that breathwork is an easy way to take care of themselves.
MacLeod states that the activity is easy to do and can be done in any location. The emergence of applications for breathing has made it possible for people to have access to a practice they can utilize in the moment when they need it.
She mentions successful executives participating in breathwork while they're taking a flight to an event or while they're making their way to work. Some new moms engage in this type of activity while nursing or putting their infants to rest, while companions can utilize breathwork to form a connection.
MacLeod stated that he has experienced working with couples who experienced so much suffering and disagreement that they were unable to communicate. ” They decided to do a basic exercise involving breathing as one, and after achieving emotional stability, consented to match their respiratory rhythms. The walls they had erected fell away, their souls softened, and they were able to further process their suffering and become reattached.
LaCriscia Fowlkes, an independent scholar, highlighted in her recently published paper that last year, the demand for breathwork to be available to BIPOC communities revealed itself markedly. The global pandemic of COVID-19 not only triggered attention to itself, but also put the spotlight on deeply rooted issues of racism and racially motivated violence towards Black people. Fowlkes, who is a holistic healer, advocates that Black music should be included as part of breathwork sessions, as a way to make them more open to those who could gain a lot from taking part. Organizations like Black Girls Breathing have been created to give Black women a safe, encouraging environment in which to explore and tackle their mental health issues through breathwork. This is an essential form of looking after oneself that frequently does not extend to disadvantaged populations.
The Emotional Benefits of Breathwork
Gaining the ability to regulate your breath can bring about a feeling that is beyond value. Kessler asserts that transitioning the body into a state of rest, digestion, and recuperation can reduce uneasiness and nervousness. The practitioner stated, in addition, that breathwork helps increase clearness of mind, focus, and recall.
Doing the activity serves to increase self-assurance and gain control of one's feelings. MacLeod suggests that gentle practice of breathwork, with the right type of guidance and assistance, is beneficial because it helps us to become aware of and process our emotions one inhalation and exhalation at a time. ” We acknowledge the strong emotional burdens caused by repressed or restrained feelings. We can observe how these responses originate in the physique and psyche. Then we educate ourselves to come in contact with them, build up trust in them, and identify that they are merely pulses of energy with helpful hints for us.
Breathwork Is Gaining Traction for Its Simplicity
Various methods such as meditation, mindfulness, yoga, and sophrology are available for those seeking less stress and more serenity in life. So what makes breathwork so special?
Bostock believes the power lies in its simplicity.
Bostock remarked to Insider that nowadays life moves quickly and is always evolving, which can create a sense of difficulty and anxiety.
In today's world, stress and worry have reached unprecedented levels, leading to diminished physical condition, emotional distress, and a decline in intellectual aptitude. People are on the hunt for techniques and answers to deal with their hectic and often overwhelmed lives.
Breathwork has seen an incredible surge in popularity due to its straightforwardness and usefulness. It is not a must for you to have any prior knowledge of meditation or awareness techniques.
“It doesn't require you to have to think or feel in a certain way, you just breathe and you will experience something new. I see breathwork playing a very big part in bringing more peace and balance to a fast-paced and sometimes chaotic world.”
Breathwork can be particularly powerful for men
For many years, men have not been inspired to express their feelings and this is causing them to seek out new ways to do so. One popular choice is breathwork, which is increasing in popularity as men are finding it to be a powerful tool for emotional liberation.
Ben Bidwell is a supporter for males' emotional well-being, a participant in the podcast The Naked Professors and a backer for males being honest about their weaknesses. He has personally seen the impact that breathwork has on men.
Recently, I had the opportunity to take part in a retreat for men that included a powerful activity involving breathwork, he confided to Insider.
He divulged that the majority of them were brought to tears and encountered a variety of different feelings.
“The men were opening up from this breathwork, it was quite incredible, he said. “And I've seen that a few times.”
Bidwell is of the opinion that breathwork can take people, particularly men, to an altered realm.
He went on to say: “Guys in particular tend to get fixated on the logical side of things, always trying to take charge and figure out how to make it happen. In an instant, they are taken to their hearts as a result of the breathwork practice, finding a place of love, kindness, empathy, and togetherness that contains within it all the unique feminine forces that everyone has.
“Suddenly we tap into it, we feel it and wow, it feels really lovely. It's powerful.”
Bidwell uncovered breathwork a few years ago and was initially uncertain about it, like many people.
People are often skeptical at first
I had declined numerous invitations to try breathwork over the past few years, believing it was a waste of time that I could have used to be active or to do something worthwhile.
At first, Bidwell had a similar idea, yet when he eventually experimented with breathwork a couple of years ago, he was completely astonished.
“I was like, wow, like what is this?” he said. “I'd never taken a drug in my life, but it felt like I'd just got close to the experiences some people describe on drugs. My body became alive. It felt like there was more to my body than I previously understood.”
From there, Bidwell experienced a captivating one-on-one meeting with Bostock, and he is now a believer in the exhilarating advantages of breathwork, attempting to do a session every month or around that.
He explained that doing it was a wonderful way to get to his heart. “You're in a very meditative state. You're very present in that moment.
“I walked into my last breathwork class last Thursday — it was pissing it down, I'd been on the run all day, going from meeting to meeting, got drenched, couldn't find the venue, was stressed, and I turned up 15 minutes late for the breathwork class.”
The session brought a radical alteration in Bidwell's mental state, leaving him feeling exceptionally eager to revel in different flavors after his faculties had become alert from the experience.
Studies reinforce devotees' feelings
The practice of breathwork, sometimes known as conscious or managed respiration, has been around for a long time, however, it is getting more recognition lately as individuals are noticing advantages such as stress management, lower levels of anxiety, and improved sleep.
Investigations have shown that managed respiration might be a good way of treating things such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia, hypertension, burnout, and even improving immunity.
Certain researchers, such as Dr. Richard Brown, who co-authored the book, “The Healing Power of the Breath,” posit that respiration can alter the nervous system of the body. Dr. Brown is an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University.
He expressed to the New York Times that intentionally taking deep breaths can prompt the neural pathways to modify the parasympathetic region of the nervous system, which can improve digestion, slow down the heart rate, and bring about a feeling of restfulness.
According to Bostock, he does quite a lot of corporate work nowadays, since companies have started to recognize the advantages of breathwork in bettering the well-being of their staff.
How one man became the Breath Guy
“I teach people how to breathe for a living,” Bostock said. “It's a strange profession but it's an important one.”
There could not be a more considerable difference between his job before this one in managerial consultancy at one of the large global agencies.
He did not find out about breathwork until his dad was given the bad news that he was suffering from multiple sclerosis. He began studying up on alternate therapies and different way of living that may possibly be of use.
Bostock stumbled upon a Dutchman by the name of Wim Hof, also referred to as the ‘Iceman.' He has gained a following of devoted admirers. He was recently featured in an instalment of the Netflix docu-sequence “The Goop Lab,” in which viewers can see employees from Gwyneth Paltrow's team emotionally dwindling and quivering while they partake in a breathing technique seminar steered by Hof.
