The Importance of Breathwork

Photo by cottonbro

“Breath is the link between your mind & body.” – Dan Brule

Did you know your breath is a way to gain control over yourself ?

Never thought of it that way, did you?

Let me explain how.

Your mind is connected to your body, and the body to the mind. Think of them as partners.

So in any situation, where either of them is under threat or thinks there’s danger, they will send an alarm to the other partner. This is the fight/ flight/ freeze response of your body. A response programmed into us for survival, during which, your self is not in your control–

the prefrontal cortex in your brain (incharge of rational thinking) is impaired. So, no logic or rationale will help here.

But there is a better way to cope– your breath and breathing plays a major role. The one thing you can take control of in this situation, is your breath. Taking control of your breathing through stress, sends a signal back to your mind that there is no imminent danger and you can relax.

Changing the rhythm of your breath can signal relaxation to your brain, slowing your heart rate and stimulating the vagus nerve (part of the parasympathetic nervous system), which is responsible for the body’s “rest and digest” activities (in contrast to the sympathetic nervous system, which regulates many of our “fight or flight” responses).

So, what do I mean by taking control of our breath or breath work?

When we say breath work, it means bringing your consciousness to your breath. Noticing it and changing its rhythm, as needed.

Research has shown that different emotions elicit different kinds of breathing patterns. When you are joyful, it’s regular, slow & deep; when you are stressed or angry it is irregular, fast & shallow. The same applies vice versa–when you follow breathing patterns corresponding to these emotions, you could feel them too!

A simple way of changing the rhythm of your breath is by changing the ratio of inhale to exhale. When you inhale, your heart rate normally increases and when you exhale it reduces. So as you consciously breathe, make sure you exhale longer than you inhale. It’s always good to keep a 1:2 ratio: for example, inhale 4 seconds & exhale for 8 seconds.

A few other breathing techniques that is based on this ratio include:

1. Box breathing
2. Belly Breathing / Diaphragmatic breathing
3. Pranayam
4. Sudarshan Kriya breathing
5. Alternate nostril breathing (Anulom Villom)

Breath work teaches you to deal with stress better, thereby reducing loads of stress hormones in the body. Stress hormones,, if present chronically in the body, can lead to illnesses like diabetes and hypertension.

Conscious breathing helps in bringing back homeostasis (internal balance) to the body, promoting healthy growth mechanisms in the body. You can imagine this as, every cell  in your body being in its best state & jumping with joy, rewarding you with a healthy mind & body.

With increased practice of these breathing techniques, you learn to be more aware of your breath & emotions, aiding you to regulate them better & build resilience within you.

After all, with increased awareness of self, comes development of self.

With development, comes confidence & comfort in self.

With increased comfort in self comes better self esteem and self image.

Breath work also plays a major role in coping with various mental health illnesses like depression and anxiety.

Now think.

How often are you aware of your breath?

How often do you take control of this one essential power that you have?

Maybe not very often, but it’s never too late to start now.

We all tend to take our breath for granted. Funny isn’t it? Life begins with our first breath. Breathing is the one thing that keeps us alive & and we can consciously control it. And yet, we barely pay it any attention.

My advice–

Your breath is what connects your mind & body.

Your breath is what keeps you alive.

Your breath is your power.

Your breath will bring you peace.

So breathe!