You’re drowning in deadlines, stuck in traffic, or dealing with a frustrating situation, and someone offers the age-old advice, “Just breathe.” It’s easy to roll your eyes in the moment, but there’s a powerful truth hidden in that simple phrase.
Breathing is something everyone does every second of every day, usually without thinking about it. But breath can be so much more than an unconscious biological function.
Breathwork, the intentional practice of controlling your breath in specific ways, goes beyond calming you down when stressed. It’s a powerful tool that can lead to a range of benefits for your mental, emotional, and physical health. It can also greatly aid in the treatment of mental health issues, intimacy disorders, and addictions.
Understanding Breathwork
Breathwork refers to various breathing techniques used to intentionally focus and channel your breath. By manipulating the rhythm, depth, and pace of your breath, you can positively influence your physical, mental, and emotional state. With roots in yoga and Eastern medicine, humans have practiced breathwork for thousands of years.
There are many types of breathwork, each serving different purposes and offering unique benefits. Deep breathing is the most common technique, which aims to release toxins and promote relaxation. Other breathing techniques can help increase mental clarity, enhance mindfulness, regulate energy levels, and even release pent-up emotions and trauma.
Benefits of Breathwork
One of the biggest benefits of breathwork is its positive impact on your central nervous system. Deep breathing gives you control of your automatic stress response. It helps you regain a sense of calm during stressful situations.
When you get stressed or anxious, your breathing often becomes rapid and shallow. This triggers your brain’s sympathetic nervous system (SNS), which controls the “fight or flight” response. And when the stress response is activated for prolonged periods, it can leave you feeling tense and on edge. Long term, it can also increase your risk of many physical and mental health conditions.
Breathwork helps counteract this stress response by engaging your parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), or the “rest and digest” system. By intentionally slowing down and deepening your breath, you signal to your brain that it’s safe to relax. It helps lower your heart rate, reduce stress hormones, and promote feelings of relaxation.
Beyond regulating the nervous system, breathwork has many other physical, psychological, and emotional benefits, too.
Physical benefits of breathwork:
- Improves respiratory function
- Lowers blood pressure
- Improves sleep quality
- Boosts immune system
- Relieves muscle tension
- Regulates stress hormones like cortisol
Psychological and emotional benefits of breathwork:
- Improves overall mood and well-being
- Reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression
- Alleviates post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Aids in the release of pent-up emotions and trauma
- Enhances focus and cognitive function
- Regulates energy levels
- Increases present moment awareness
- Improves mind-body connection
Various Breathwork Techniques
Breathwork generally involves taking deep and controlled breaths to calm the mind and body. But different techniques can have varying purposes and offer unique benefits.
Diaphragm Breathing
This method, also known as deep breathing or belly breathing, is the simplest and best-known breathwork technique for relaxation.
Taking slow, deep breaths lowers your blood pressure and heart rate. It triggers the parasympathetic nervous system, making it an effective way to reduce stress and calm the mind.
Method: Breathe in slowly through the nose, then out through the mouth. Focus on taking deep breaths into the diaphragm rather than shallow breaths into the chest.
Alternate Nostril Breathing
Nadī Shodhana is an ancient yogi breathing practice that’s believed to clear energy blockages in the body and promote inner balance.
Even outside of yoga, alternate nostril breathing is becoming increasingly popular. The technique helps balance the left and right hemispheres of the brain, leading to better focus and concentration, increased energy levels, greater emotional stability, and a stronger mind-body connection.
Method: Breathe through one nostril while holding the other shut, then change nostrils and exhale through the other.
Box Breathing
A common form of deep breathing, called box or square breathing, involves keeping to a slow, even rhythm. The deep breaths help reduce stress and calm the nervous system. Counting adds an extra level of meditation, helping to further clear your mind and ground you in the present moment.
Athletes and the military often use box breathing to improve mental clarity, focus, and concentration.
Method: Inhale for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, and hold again for 4 seconds. You can imagine drawing a square, or box, with your breath during the exercise.
4-7-8 Breathing
Similar to box breathing, 4-7-8 encourages you to take deep rhythmic breaths, but with more of a focus on the exhale. A longer exhale helps adjust the body’s balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
This method has been shown to encourage deeper relaxation and improve sleep.
Method: Inhale quietly through the nose for a count of 4. Hold the breath for a count of 7. Exhale through the mouth for a count of 8. During the exhale, make sure to completely empty your lungs.
Circular Breathing
This style of breathwork involves no pause between inhalation and exhalation. It’s often used by singers and musicians to increase stamina and lung capacity.
But circular breathing can also be used to achieve a meditative or altered state of consciousness.
The technique has been shown to help release negative energy stored in your body and ease symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Method: Inhale deeply and continuously through the nose or mouth, without any pauses. Ensure the breaths are coming from your diaphragm.
Holotropic Breathwork
Holotropic Breathwork is a new age breathwork practice that helps you access altered states of consciousness using rapid and even breaths.
Altered states encourage deep self-exploration and help you purge any repressed memories.
This technique is often used as a tool for self-discovery and healing past trauma.
Method: Holotropic is a type of continuous circular breathing using rapid, deep, and even breaths while listening to music. Holotropic breathwork should only be performed under the guidance of a trained facilitator.
How Breathwork Helps People in Recovery
Many people practice breathwork regularly to proactively promote physical and mental well-being. But it can also be a powerful tool for those in recovery from mental health disorders, intimacy issues, and addiction.
At Begin Again Institute, we believe breathwork is a vital tool for meditation and mindfulness in the treatment of sex and pornography addictions.
Circular and holotropic breathwork can induce altered states of consciousness. They allow you to delve deeper into your own subconscious. This self-exploration can lead to emotional breakthroughs and help you uncover the underlying cause of addiction. Identifying and processing the root cause of the addiction is a vital first step in recovery.
Breathing techniques also encourage emotional release and healing. Focusing on the breath enhances present-moment awareness, stopping you from dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. It also deepens the mind-body connection, increasing your ability to manage cravings and cope with triggers.
Treatment at Begin Again Institute
At Begin Again Institute, we incorporate breathwork techniques alongside trauma-focused treatment modalities for men with sex and pornography addictions. Breathwork can help reconnect your mind and body, keep you grounded in your current reality, and keep unwanted thoughts and cravings at bay.
We offer multiple intensive sex addiction recovery programs where you will uncover the root cause of your addiction and gain the skills you need to control your sexual urges.
Contact us today to learn more about sex addiction treatment with Begin Again Institute.
