Deep breath: Try breathwork exercises the next time you’re stressed out

Does breathwork actually work  

It’s all about mindset however there are studies that prove mindful breathing does indeed work in lowering your stress, anxiety and promoting better heart health and control of your response to stress.

“Deep and slow breathing, especially with a long exhale, is the best way to stimulate the vagus nerves. The vagus nerves pass through the diaphragm and are the main nerves of the parasympathetic nervous system,” says Theresa Larkin and Judy Pickard from the University of Wollongong.

Simulating the nerves calms our fight or flight stress response to improve your mood, lowers the stress hormone. 

Does breathwork help anxiety     

Eddie says deep slow breathing is one of the best ways to lower stress in our bodies.

“The practice of breathing deeply can help to manage anxiety, PTSD and offers many mental health benefits for us. When we take deep breaths, signals are sent to our brains, telling us to calm down and relax,” she says.

“From my own experience I was a very anxious person, always breathing from my chest and always trying to catch my breath. When I started my own practice of slow deep breathing and retraining my breath my anxiety completely disappeared, I changed my breathing patterns, I changed the state of my body which then changed my thoughts and my internal dialogue. My mental health has never been better and this is all thanks to breathwork,” Eddie adds. 

How breathwork supports mental health generally

What many people don’t realise is the connection between our emotional state, our breath and the tension we hold in the body, explains the team from Owaken Breathwork.

Breathwork is considered a “bottom-up” form of therapy – providing a somatic and sensory-based approach to releasing emotions from the body whereas traditional talk therapy is considered a “top-down” form – focused on talking through experiences to make sense of emotions and reframe perspectives.

Chronic stress, highly charged emotional events and traumas that are left unresolved, contribute to a long list of imbalances in the bodymind system and life experience of our clients. During an Owaken Breathwork session, our clients are guided to safely access and release frozen energy, sensations and emotions within the body.

Following on from breathwork, people feel lighter, clearer and that the shifts they experience go beyond being mental and conceptual, and become a felt-knowing.

Three things to avoid when doing breathwork

According to Eddie, there are some big no-no’s when it comes to breathing correctly for mindfulness. She recommends:

1. Avoid breathing with your mouth open. Unless of course it’s in a breathwork session that utilises an open mouth.
2. Try not to breathe loudly! Instead, breathe as softly as you can.
3. Do your best to not breathe from your chest. The aim is to breathe as low and slowly as you possibly can, so breathe from your belly and expand your ribcage as you’re doing so.

Four tips to successfully breathe for mental clarity

Ready to get your breathing on? Eddies shares her four tips for a great breathwork session that can bring about mental clarity and ease stress:

1. Notice your breath when you feel stressed and anxious. Place your hands on your belly and slowly bring the breath down and breathe deeply and slowly. 
2. Go as low, slow and quiet as you possibly can.
3. Try a breathing technique called ‘box breath’ as a way to lower stress, anxiety and bring us into our parasympathetic function, also known as rest and digest. To do this, breathe in for four counts, hold for four, and exhale, holding for four counts. Repeat this until you feel yourself shift into a state of relaxation.
4. Even just being conscious of your breath will bring us into the present moment. To become present, we become mindful of our breath. As you practice this more and more you will notice a shift not just in your day but in your life.

Can you do breathwork while pregnant? 

Generally speaking, breathwork is completely safe during your pregnancy journey. However it’s important to look out for signs in your body to know when to stop. Avoid any exercises that require you to hold your breath for extended periods of time and speak to your health practitioner for their expert advice.

How do you actually breathe properly?

It’s very common for people to be breathing incorrectly which can contribute to increased stress and inflammation, explains the Owaken team. The most common improper breathing habits we see are very shallow breathing and mouth breathing throughout the day and night.

Improvements in daily breathing habits often occur as a result of working with our clients to connect to their body and breath, and safely process and release frozen energy, sensations and emotions.

Some additional breathing tips to have up your sleeve

A few simple shifts that can make a huge difference. 

• Practice slow diaphragmatic breathing anytime you feel stressed, anxious or notice yourself holding your breath throughout the day.
• Practice breathing in and out of nose throughout the day. During exercise, close your mouth and at night if you notice yourself mouth breathing, try wearing mouth tape. Nasal breathing can lead to better sleep quality, reduced inflammation, a healthier immune system, a more defined jawline and for some it even helps to correct tongue posture and eliminate snoring.