Breathwork: What Is It And How Does It Work? (2024)

Breathwork is a broad term that encompasses various exercises involving the breath that “facilitate physical, mental and emotional healing,” according to Mandy DeVries, a registered respiratory therapist based in South Carolina and director of education at the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC). Breathwork can encompass anything from simply being conscious and mindful about your breath to purposefully influencing it through specific steps.

Breathing is part of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which connects involuntary bodily functions to the rest of the body. Breathing also directly affects how much oxygen our cells are getting, explains DeVries. “For example, when we deepen and slow down the breath from its usual shallow pattern, we allow more oxygen to enter each cell, thus allowing better communication between cells,” she explains.

Successful breathwork typically involves breathing through your nose (to inhale oxygen efficiently), diaphragmatically (inflating the belly when inhaling to get air to the deepest parts of the lungs), rhythmically (​​not too deep nor too shallow) and with open posture (maximizing the space between your ears and shoulders or pointing your shoulder blades towards each other), explains Stefanie Broes, Ph.D., CEO and cofounder of Belgium-based Moonbird, which manufactures a handheld breathwork coaching device.

Benefits of Breathwork

While many of the recent studies being conducted are somewhat small, breathwork techniques have shown to promote both psychological and physical benefits, including:

• Increased feelings of comfort, relaxation, pleasantness, vigor and alertness, and decreased symptoms of arousal, anxiety, depression, anger and confusion via slow breathing (taking fewer than 10 breaths per minute)^[1]Zaccaro A, Piarulli A, Laurino M, et al. How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing. Front Hum Neurosci. 2018;12:353.
• Improved attention, emotional state and levels of cortisol (a hormone released in response to stress and associated with depression and anxiety) via diaphragmatic, or deep, breathing^[2]Ma X, Yue ZQ, Gong ZQ, et al. The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention, Negative Affect and Stress in Healthy Adults. Front Psychol. 2017;8:874.
• Reduced physiological stress and anxiety, especially in older adults, through deep and slow breathing (according to a smaller 2021 study)^[3]Magnon V, Dutheil F, Vallet GT. Benefits from one session of deep and slow breathing on vagal tone and anxiety in young and older adults. Sci Rep. 2021;11(1).
• An improved sleep cycle, social connectedness and self-esteem and reduced stress, anxiety and depression through Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY), a breathing technique that incorporates natural breathing rhythms (according to a small 2020 study)^[4]Chaudhari KS, Chaudhari SS, Rankhambe HB, Kochupillai V, Tiwari RR. Effect of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) on daytime and situational sleep propensity in novice practitioners: a prospective cohort study. J Complement Integr Med. 2020;18(3):585-592. ^[5]Goldstein MR, Lewin RK, Allen JJB. Improvements in well-being and cardiac metrics of stress following a yogic breathing workshop: Randomized controlled trial with active comparison. J American College Health. 2020;1-11.

Breathwork can also be a self-soothing tool in moments of stress, anxiety, exhaustion or insomnia, says Charlotte Mulloy, a Colorado-based psychotherapist at Freespira, a digital breathwork therapy company. “Intentional breaks during our day, even if it’s just two minutes of noticing, ‘Hey, I’m breathing,’ can actually soothe your body in ways you didn’t even know you needed,” she says.

As a result of these various benefits, overall wellness may increase, as well as long-term personal development, adds DeVries.

There are many types of breathwork techniques that can be used in various situations. You can practice them on your own or seek guidance from breathwork coaches, respiratory therapists, apps or YouTube videos.

Zee Clarke, a breathwork coach, mindfulness and racial healing expert and author of Black People Breathe, recommends checking in with your emotions to find a technique that fits you best, as well as baking in a regular breathing exercise into your daily routine.

Box, or Square, Breathing

Box breathing is a solid daily practice technique, as well as an effective technique in moments of distraction, says Clarke.

This involves four steps, each lasting for four seconds: You inhale, hold your breath, exhale, then hold your breath again and repeat. This is best performed with both inhales and exhales through the nose.

4-7-8 Breathing

The 4-7-8 technique helps reduce anxiety by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), explains Clarke. The PNS is responsible for controlling the body’s “rest and digest” impulses, so when it is stimulated, the theory is that more relaxation can occur.

This technique involves inhaling through the nose for four seconds, holding the breath for seven seconds then exhaling through the nose for eight seconds. Clarke recommends doing this for a few rounds or a couple of minutes for the full benefit.

Three-Part Breath

Three-part breathing involves both the mind and body, and can aid in grounding yourself in the present moment, explains Clarke.

As you start to take long, deep breaths, imagine the air coming in through your throat, filling up your chest and then filling up your belly; on the exhale, follow your breath back out through the belly, the chest and the throat.

“This forces you to move more slowly, which then stimulates that parasympathetic nervous system,” continues Clarke.

Bellows Breath

The bellows breath can help wake you up when you’re feeling tired or exhausted, explains Clarke.

Start by making loose fists with your hands and holding them by your shoulders so your elbows are by your ribs. Inhale through the nose as you shoot your fists up to the sky, quickly exhale while you bring your fists back to your shoulders and repeat as needed.

While breathwork can be therapeutic, it isn’t meant to cure conditions or eliminate anxiety or trauma symptoms completely.

“There’s a severity aspect,” says Heidi Kar, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist and principal advisor at the Education Development Center. “People who have more severe types of depression, anxiety, PTSD or even addiction are going to need more than a breathing practice. You still might need a lot more from a psychotherapy standpoint to help address those thinking patterns.”

Breathwork may also not be suitable for folks with certain mental or physical health conditions, including those who have a history with hyperventilation and asthma, says Broes. In these cases, it’s best to consult a doctor or trained breathwork professional to determine the right course of action for you.