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A Beginners Guide to What Breathwork Is and ItsBenefits

breathwork
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If you think breathwork is just…breathing, welcome to class. Breathwork is an umbrella term for any practice that involves a conscious change in your breathing pattern. Whether your favourite techniques were invented thousands of years ago (like the pranayama you might do in a yoga class) or popularized in the last decade (like 4-7-8 breathing), the goals and long-term benefits are the same: the improvement of mental and emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being through the manipulation of breath.

Some practices are super-easy; others have a steeper learning curve and can be

emotionally intense, even a little trippy. But when practised correctly and regularly, even the simplest techniques offer profound benefits. Breathwork has been shown to reduce anxiety, depression, stress, and chronic pain; it can help heal trauma and manage traumatic stress; it improves energy, lung health, and attention span; and it can even boost your immune and digestive systems.

Put simply, breathwork is the best. It can provide a restorative pause during a stressful moment, soothe anxiety before you sleep, and clear a path to re-centring yourself after a brutal day.

To get the most out of your practice, think of it as you would meditation: Your sessions can be as long or as short as you like. Do them comfortably seated or lying flat on your back to encourage optimal airflow. And be consistent—even five to 10 minutes every morning will yield short- and long-term benefits. We also recommend—especially if you’re pregnant, on certain medications, or have had recent surgery—checking with your doctor or practitioner if you have any doubts about doing a breathwork exercise.

Most importantly, notice how you are breathing. Pay attention to how the air feels in your nose and lungs or the rhythm of your breath—whether it’s fast or slow, deep or shallow, smooth or difficult. The power of breathwork comes just as much (if not more) from the mindfulness you experience than from the actual flow of air through your body.

These fundamental techniques are arranged from dip-your-toe-in to float out of your body intense. We’ve also listed a few more complex methods we recommend trying with a trained professional or guide.

Belly Breathing

Also called diaphragmatic or abdominal breathing is the bread and butter of breathwork and the basis for all the following practices. Unless directed otherwise, you should always be trying to breathe into your diaphragm when practising any breathwork technique—and even when not!

Intensity: 1/5

Good for: Resetting yourself mentally, anytime, anyplace.

How to:

  1. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen.
  2. Slowly inhale through the nose for a count of 4. Instead of breathing into your chest, draw your breath into your abdomen. (Tip: Resting a hand on your abdomen and slightly distending it can help you feel the motion—it should be just below your rib cage.)
  3. Exhale through the nose or mouth while gently contracting your abdomen, letting the air flow out.
  4. Repeat for the length of your practice.

Sa-Ha

This is a simple and favourite practice of breathwork expert, Robert Litman.

Intensity: 1/5

Good for: Settling comfortably into your body and allowing yourself to “being breathed.”

How to:

  1. Slowly inhale through the nose, thinking of one long “sa” while you do so. (You can even form the word without opening it.)
  2. Slowly exhale through the nose or mouth, thinking of one long “ha.”
  3. Repeat for the length of your practice.

Lion’s Breath

This energizing practice involves harnessing your inner beast and exhaling with a “roar.” Handy before a presentation or a tricky conversation.

Intensity: 2/5

Good for: Relieving tension in the body and boosting confidence.

How to:

  1. This is one to do while sitting—so find yourself a comfortable position.
  2. Slowly and mindfully inhale through your nose. As you inhale, open your eyes wide.
  3. Open your mouth wide and stick out your tongue as far as possible.
  4. Exhale forcefully through the mouth, saying a long “ha.” Draw the sound from your belly and throat.
  5. Breathe normally for a few moments.
  6. Repeat 4 to 6 times.
  7. Finish by breathing deeply for 1 to 3 minutes.

Bumblebee Breath

This practice evokes the mighty buzzing of our pollinator friends to help drown out inner noise.

Intensity: 2/5

Good for: Lowering blood pressure, mitigating headaches and head tension, insomnia.

How to:

  1. Place your index fingers on the cartilage just below your cheekbones to cover your ears, and close your eyes.
  2. Inhale through the nose, slowly and deeply.
  3. Hold for a moment.
  4. Exhale through the nose while humming like a bee—don’t be afraid to make noise! Be sure that your mouth is closed but facial muscles are relaxed.
  5. Repeat 3 to 5 times.

Box Breathing

U.S. Navy SEALs frequently employ this technique to improve concentration, manage stress, and enhance overall wellness. Visualize traveling along the sides of a square while you breathe.

Intensity: 2/5

Good for: Focusing, stress reduction, deactivating the fight-flight-freeze response.

How to:

  1. Inhale for a count of 4.
  2. Hold for a count of 4.
  3. Exhale for a count of 4.
  4. Hold for a count of 4.
  5. Repeat 3 to 4 times or until you feel grounded.

Alternate Nostril Breathing

As one of the oldest practices on our list, there are many variations. This is one of the simplest.

Intensity: 2.5/5

Good for: Enhancing calm and circulating energy through the body.

How to:

  1. Bring your right hand to your nose as if to pinch the nostrils between your forefinger and thumb.
  2. Put your thumb over the right nostril, gently plugging it.
  3. Inhale through the left nostril.
  4. Release the right nostril and plug the left nostril with your forefinger.
  5. Exhale through the right nostril.
  6. Inhale through the right nostril.
  7. Release the left nostril, plug the right nostril, and repeat the exhalation/inhalation process, alternating between the nostrils each breath.
  8. Repeat 2 to 3 more times, alternating between the nostrils with each breath.

4-7-8 Breathing

Like box breathing, the 4-7-8 technique involves counting your inhalation, counting while holding your breath, and counting as you exhale. This practice was popularized by integrative medicine teacher and advocate Andrew Weil, MD.

Intensity: 2.5/5

Good for: Winding down before you sleep, reducing anxiety and anger responses.

How to:

  1. Rest the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth, right behind your top front teeth. (Keep your tongue in place throughout the practice.)
  2. Close your mouth, and inhale through the nose for a count of 4.
  3. Hold your breath for a count of 7.
  4. Exhale through the mouth—purse the lips and make a whoosh sound—for a count of 8.
  5. Repeat up to 4 times.

Buteyko Breathing

Like alternate nostril breathing, this exercise has a few variations. It was created by Ukrainian physiologist Konstantin Buteyko, MD, in the 1950s. It has also been shown to alleviate the symptoms of asthma.

Intensity: 3/5

Good for: Anxiety, opening the airways, and improving blood circulation.

How to:

  1. Breathe normally for a few minutes to relax your muscles.
  2. Exhale slowly, and hold your breath.
  3. Plug your nose with your thumb and forefinger and hold until you feel the urge to breathe.
  4. Lowering the hand, inhale slowly.
  5. Breathe through the nose as you would typically for 30 to 60 seconds.
  6. Repeat several times.

Skull-Shining Breath

This technique is common in Kundalini yogic practices and involves a series of semi-rapid and forceful breaths propelled by the abdomen. (Pro tip: Do this one on an empty stomach.)

Intensity: 3.5/5

Good for: Warming up the body, waking up the mind.

How to:

  1. Inhale gently through the nose, filling your lungs most (but not all) of the way.
  2. Exhale strongly, drawing the navel into the spine and tightening the abdomen. Try to force all the breath out until you can’t anymore.
  3. Allow lungs to refill naturally (i.e., don’t make yourself inhale—just let it happen!).
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3. It’s okay to start slower, taking a brief pause after your inhalation if needed, but try to speed it up when you’re familiar with the practice and you establish a rhythm.
  5. To complete a set, repeat 10 to 50 breaths—depending on your comfort level—per practice. Up to three sets can be done per practice.

Stacked Breathing

Often used as a physical therapy exercise, this technique can benefit anyone and everyone. Whatever your goal—better cardio health, easier opera singing, day-to-day breathing ease—it’s highly effective.

Intensity: 4/5

Good for: Stretching the lung muscles, promoting well-oxygenated blood, and improving breath control.

How to:

  1. Inhale as you would typically, filling your lungs most of the way.
  2. “Trap” that breath by holding it; do not exhale.
  3. Inhale again, “stacking” this breath on top of the first.
  4. Inhale, stacking for a third time—try to inhale as much as you can, and don’t exhale yet!
  5. Hold for 2 to 3 seconds.
  6. Slowly exhale through the nose.
  7. Repeat 3 to 5 times.

And, as promised, here are just a few more techniques we recommend doing with a trained pro or a guide:

Rebirthing Breathwork

Also called conscious energy breathing or intuitive breathing, this technique involves taking soft, shallow breaths with no break between an inhale and an exhale. Sessions can last from 45 minutes to two hours. This technique was developed by New Age leader Leonard Orr back in the 1960s. It is a highly therapeutic form of breathwork and, as the name suggests, is commonly used to resolve trauma surrounding birth and early childhood. Because it can be so emotionally powerful and is technically challenging (at least compared to the other practices we’ve listed here), it’s recommended that you do 10 sessions with a trained professional.

Intensity: 5/5

Good for: Processing childhood trauma, accessing repressed emotions, cathartic release, self-exploration and transformation, trauma resolution and inner healing, and mitigating anxiety.

Holotropic Breathing

Similar to rebirthing breathwork, which started in the ’70s, holotropic breathing should not be practised alone—in fact, it’s usually done in a group setting. Its founders, Christina and Stanislav Grof, took inspiration from psychedelic research, mysticism, psychology, and more to design this mode of breathing meant to empower the self and spur us toward positive change. The method involves taking deep, rapid breaths for up to several hours at a time, producing a “non-ordinary” state of consciousness.

Intensity: 5/5

Good for self-exploration and transformation, trauma resolution and inner healing, and mitigating anxiety.