What's Breathworks though?

Heard of Breathworks recently? Find out the relevant pieces of information on starting your breath journey & get to experience it first hand.
NOTE: Beware you may be addicted to this practice

Breathwork- the conscious effort of controlling & manipulation of the breath

We uncover some commonly asked questions on breathwork:

1. How to do breathwork
2. Is breathwork dangerous?
3. What does breathwork do?
4. Is breathwork just hyperventilating?
5. What is breathwork meditation?

​What does breathwork do?

Essentially you are working the physical aspect of your muscles that are associated with breathing. Doing such practices helps you improve & see many aspects of your life change in many positive ways, & along with the physical practices of it, you also get to dive inward into what is known as introspection. Breathwork is done by a conscious effort, control, & manipulation of the breathing cycle to provide maximum benefits that involve the 3 key areas of our being, mental, physical, & mind.
People who have never done any sort of breathing session have reported (in a single session):

• increased clarity of the mind
• increased energy
• emotional stability
• improved focus
• better breathing
• lowered levels of stress
• the improved mental state of mind
• gotten over a trauma

Just as with a yoga class, breathwork comes in many different types of presentations, which can be for emotional release, holotropic breathwork, meditation, stress, & so on. Breathing is so closely related to how our current mental state of mind is. A great line of example would be for each time you express yourself in any way angry, happy, shocked, scared, depressed, excited, relief, & so on, you breathe differently. Lifestyle dependent, but do you know that we breathe in the range of 20,000 -30,000 times a day, & of which, we are not even aware of how breath affects both our mental & physical being. Our heart is closely linked to the brain, & there is a staying in Buddhism "a stable breath, is a stable mind", & on that account, imagine if you are able to control & be a bit more conscious of how you're breathing from moment to moment, it will then allow you to be aware of any thoughts that may be affecting how you feel (nervous, disappointed, etc), & to make necessary adjustments rather than being affected, not knowing what happened to you when you snapped out of nowhere.

"Breathwork- the conscious effort of controlling & manipulation of the breath"

​Is breathwork dangerous?

Generally, it is safe to do most of the exercises, however, as you work with certain techniques such as holding of the breath, may increase certain tension in your body, increase the build-up of carbon dioxide in your bloodstream which may be the reason why you feel giddy when holding your breath. Another technnique namely holotropic breathwork is slightly more intense, so it would wise to know if it's a holotropic breahting session or not. Typically, the teacher would work on very basic techniques as not many people as you know it now, know about breathing sessions. A breathwork session is not dangerous, but who guides the session may make it so, thus, it's very important to attend a session with only qualified breathwork specialists/ teachers as they know how to mould the session accordingly to your comfort. Breath work's aim is to help with your overall wellbeing, improve your health via physical, mental, or emotional state of mind

Is breathwork just hyperventilating?

To the laymen person, it may look strikingly similar to someone who is actually hyperventilating, however, what separates it is that you are doing it consciously with effort, & this effort is also known to help with changing the state of your blood. Doing breathwork techniques helps with decreasing acidity & neutralizes the alkalinity of your blood, yes simply by facilitating certain breathing technique, you help to alkalize your body. This greatly increases & promotes the healing process of your body naturally, now that it is having more blood flow, increased retention of oxygenated blood, increased in nitric oxide to lower free radicals in your body.
More to that, it helps you to learn how to manage stress & recognised when you are breathing differently after a few short practice sessions so that you would know how your natural breathing pattern is without any stressors or distractions. Such practices not only increase the awareness of your own body, it will also help you maintain a more stable mind.

​ 

​What is breathwork meditation?

In one of the presentations of breathwork, it is also used as a form of mindfulness or meditation, of which are:

• Shamanic Breathwork.
• Vivation.
• Transformational Breath.
• Holotropic Breathwork.
• Clarity Breathwork.
• Rebirthing.

But there are many other names that it goes by & the names are created along with the different techniques that has evolved with time, types of practice, geographical, & so on. The name is not all that important unlike what you are about to experience or practice. Breathing techniques practiced during meditation allows deepening of your states of awareness, & may lead to personal realisations. For those who like to learn how to lower your stress levels, opt for a meditative breathing session that allows you to just concentrate more on a slower pace of training

​How to do breathwork?

Thats great that you are still here, experiencing your first session can be quite an experience so remember, whenever you feel overwhelmed, just taper it down to suit your comfort, & progress from there. Here is a simple way to start improving your wellness/ health, you can do it by yourself or in a group it doesn't matter, what matters most is that you don't push yourself too hard but rather think of it to be consistent throughout the session than to stop ten minutes into it. Try do a short session of breathworks below with simple instructions & there is nothing to set up, just you & a comfortable position either seated or lying down. 

Step 1(allow 5 mins for all this to take place):

1. Lie or sit down & be as comfortable as you can.
2. Have your eyes gently closed.
3. Allow some moments to pass by without doing anything to give relaxation a chance to happen
4. Feel heavy & relaxed while just taking in deep inhale & exhales
5. Keep relaxing from moment to moment

Step 2 (allow 5-6 minutes of constant practice):

1. Inhale strong & fast / exhale& let it go without control (do this 20 times)
2. Next on the last exhale, take a deep inhale & hold your breath anywhere from 30 seconds to whatever you feel is without any discomfort.
3. Exhale slowly & allow your natural rhythm of breath to follow.
4. Repeat two more time, alternating between holding of breath when you inhale & exhale on the last count.

Step3 (let 5 minutes of nothing happen):

1. Just allow yourself to stay relaxed sitting or lying down.

NOTE: If you feel any tingling sensations around your face, neck, arms, & other parts of your body, it is perfectly natural to feel it because of the increased amount of oxygen in your body. It will pass away quickly as it came to you, don't worry. Just learn to pace yourself with the lightheaded sensation if it's too strong a feeling. 

PS: If you feel like moving any time during the session just do what feels right, this is not a stay lifeless kinda session. Also, don't hold back any emotional feelings (eg to cry, laugh, shout, etc), just go with the flow if it feels like something that should happen, allow it to happen.

To find a breathwork teacher & experience it yourself, you can do it right here.

​Well, that is breathwork in a nutshell, try & practise this & let us know if you have questions or if there are any techniques or methods you work with!