Breathwork describes a group of exercises that teach you to manipulate your breathing rate and depth with the goal of bringing awareness to your breath and ultimately providing the same benefits you might get from a meditative practice. Most formal practices involve 20 minutes to an hour of sustained, rhythmic breathing techniques. People who practice breathwork describe feeling tingling sensations throughout their body, feelings of clarity, alertness, increased mind-body connection and even emotional purging. Breathwork is more than an exercise of breathing correctly or with intent. Breathing techniques are tools for major transformation and healing. Breathwork encompasses a broad range of whole-being therapeutic practices and exercises used to relieve mental, physical, and emotional tension.
People practice breathwork for a variety of reasons. Overall, it’s thought to bring about improvements in emotional state and to decrease levels of stress in otherwise healthy people. People have practiced breathwork to: aid positive self-development; boost immunity; process emotions; heal emotional pain and trauma; develop life skills; improve personal and professional relationships; increase confidence, self-image, and self-esteem; increase joy and happiness; overcome addictions; reduce stress and anxiety levels; release negative thoughts. Breathwork is used to help to improve a wide range of issues including anger issues, anxiety, chronic pain, depression, emotional effects of illness, grief, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).