I have seen the power of breathwork practice and teaching teaching breathwork exercises from long before I was a therapist. Though the category of what we call breathwork is so broad that you might need a little more information. Breathwork is the label we give to a wide variety of practices that use the breath to either calm, or activate the nervous system. And within those two big boxes there are a host of different practices and ways to adapt them.
If you want a deeper look at the science (and fascinating history) of various ways of using the breath I suggest the book Breathe: The New Science of a Lost Art (by James Nestor). This article will not cover all the science (spoilers, there are ways of breathing that have big impacts on our bodies and health, and we still don’t understand why certain techniques have the impacts they do), it will provide an overview of what breathwork can do and how you can use it in your everyday life.
Let’s start with a simple definition. At its most basic breathwork involves altering our unconscious breath pattern to affect some sort of change. Breathwork has been used throughout history and across nearly every culture. The results achieved by those practitioners are still not all understood by modern science (for example: monks who can sit unprotected in snowy mountains for hours with no ill effect just by altering their breathing pattern). This article will not teach you to overcome the elements, but I do want to cover the most common breathing patterns I use myself, and that I share with clients.
Some of these researchers are also showing that many modern maladies–asthma, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, psoriasis, and more–could either be reduced or reverse simply by changing the way we inhale and exhale. This work is upending long-held beliefs in Western medical science. Yes, breathing in different patterns really can influence our body weight and overall health. Yes, how we breathe really does affect the size and function of our lungs. Yes, breathing allows us to hack into our own nervous system, control our immune response, and restore our health. Yes, changing how we breathe will help us life longer. Breathe: The New Science of a Lost Art, xix.
There are two major categories of breathwork exercises, those that activate our parasympathetic nervous system (or calming breathwork practices) and practices that activate our sympathetic (or activating) nervous system. Because most folks are familiar with calming breath patterns we’ll start there.
Calming Patterns
These are the most familiar breathwork exercises and you may already know these. However, there are some caveats that don’t often get talked about. Did you know that deep breathing can actually increase feelings of anxiety? So often breathwork is offered as a tool to use when feeling anxious or battling panic attacks. And yet too much focus on trying to take deep slow breathes can make feelings of shortness of breath (common with anxiety and panic attacks) worse.[1] But there are ways to overcome this!
4-7-8
So, where do you start? I like to start everyone with this breath pattern because it is calming, and incredibly adaptable. In the 4-7-8 pattern you breath in lightly for 4 (the goal here is not to breathe in as deeply as you can, make it easy, let it be natural. You then pause for a count of 7. It is important to not hold your breath hard, you aren’t trying to cure hiccups just pause keep it light and relaxed. And then you breath out (you can breath out through your mouth in a big sigh) for a count of 8. This will likely fully empty your lungs so just let your automatic inhale happen for a four count and repeat.
The real key to this pattern is that you breathe out for twice as long as you breathed in, and that there is a pause between breaths. Why? Because both of these parts of the pattern are things you just can’t do while running from a tiger. They are things you can only do while relaxed, so they automatically send safety signals through your nervous system. This pattern can be done for just two cycles, then return to normal easy breathing. If necessary repeat. You don’t have to stay in this pattern long and you can make your count as slow or quick as feels comfortable for you. The goal is not to ever strain.
Does even that feel too complex? Then try this: let yourself take a natural easy breath in and then breathe out gently for twice as long (roughly, no counting required) as you breathed in.
Box Breathing
Box breathing is a fairly simple pattern. Breathe in for a count of 4, pause for a count of 4, breathe out for a count of 4, pause again for a count of 4 before starting again. You can count slowly or quickly, box breathing can be grounding, and because it includes two pauses there is more space to slow down, notice, and get back into the feelings of your body. Try during the pause to just notice what is happening in your body between each part of the breath. Experiment with changing the size of the “sides” of the box but remember to keep all the sides the same. And remember if you feel any light headedness or shortness of breath to return to the natural breath.
Mindful breathing
Don’t like counting? Here’s a way of breathing you might like. Mindful breathing is perhaps the simplest way to start, and probably the most difficult to master. To breathe mindfully sit or lay down comfortably, you don’t want to be distracted by a sore back or neck. Find a comfortable position, set a timer (start with something short like 1 minute) if you like and then bring your attention to your breath, but don’t change it. Just notice: can you feel the way your stomach or chest move as you breathe? Can you feel the air moving past your upper lip or your nostrils? Find a sensation connected to your breath that you can notice (just one, not all of them) and simply notice. When your mind wanders just go back to noticing the sensation.
Coherent Breathing [2]
Coherent breathing is excellent for creating a feeling of calm and for promoting relaxation in the body. It is an incredibly simple pattern. Start by laying down on a yoga mat, bed, or couch anywhere comfortable. You might want to place a pillow under your knees to relieve pressure on your back.
Close your eyes, and breath in gently through your nose for a count of six, do not overfill your lungs. The goal is not a deep breath, just a long one. Then exhale for six seconds, letting your exhale also be slow and gentle and unforced, repeat for 5 – 10 minutes (set yourself a timer that will go off gently and ideally doesn’t need to be stopped). Then rest for an additional few minutes breathing naturally and notice how your body feels.
Diaphragmatic Breathing
This one is as simple as it gets. If you are not used to breathing with your diaphragm start laying down to make it as easy as possible. Put one hand over your heart, and one on your belly below your ribs. Again, you may want to prop up your knees for comfort.
Breathe in and out gently through your nose concentrating on your belly lifting your hand (just a little) on the inhale and dropping or tightening as your exhale (your diaphragm is expanding and contracting!) and your hand over your heart staying more still (your ribs will move a little that’s normal). Repeat for a few minutes (start small) and notice how you feel. When breathing this way is natural in a laying position you can try it sitting up and notice the difference.
Activating Breath!
Calming breath isn’t the only way of using breathwork. For many cultures the breath is used to bring energy into the body, not just to diffuse it. Activating breath practices have been used for a variety of reasons, they add energy to the system, can kick start creativity, increase access to emotions and body sensations for those too prone to hypoarousal, and perhaps most importantly teach us that we can control our level of activation! When you learn to kick your nervous system into high energy activation, and notice how quickly it settles after the practice ends you gain a powerful tool against anxiety, panic, and fear.
Because activating practices can be uncomfortable, and can (especially at first and until the breather gains mastery) temporarily increase feelings of anxiety I suggest always starting with a qualified breathwork facilitator before trying them on your own. You can find more detailed information about this form of breathowrk, and how you can try it right here where I discuss my use of breathwork.
