2c. How it Works: Your Body’s Response to Breathwork
Incorporating breathwork practices into your daily routine can improve your well-being in many ways. Let’s explore some of the many benefits of breathwork.
Tap or click the numbered icons to learn more about the steps of breathing in and out.
Benefits of Breathwork
Tap or click each title to learn more about how your body responds to breathwork.
Stress and anxiety
• Studies have shown that controlled breathwork exercises can be used as a coping strategy in stressful situations
• Another study found a reduction in anxiety scores after participants followed a deep breathing program
• Another study found a reduction in anxiety scores after participants followed a deep breathing program
Immunity
• Research shows that shallow breathing while under stress can negatively impact our immune systems; air inhaled this way isn't fully filtered by our bodies and dust, bacteria and viruses can get into our throat and lungs, making us sick
• Proper breathwork exercises bring more oxygen into the body, and fuels our cells to keep us healthy
• Proper breathwork exercises bring more oxygen into the body, and fuels our cells to keep us healthy
Blood pressure and circulation
Slow and deep breathing exercises help to activate our nervous system; this in turn helps decrease the heart rate, dilates the blood vessels, and reduces blood pressure
Sleep
• Breathwork can help you relax and fall asleep naturally
• Studies show that breathing exercises can be more effective than medications in treating insomnia
• Studies show that breathing exercises can be more effective than medications in treating insomnia
Lungs
• Breathwork is often recommended by healthcare professionals to assist in improving lung health
• A study of elderly smokers found that regular breathing exercise helped improve their lung capacity
• A study of elderly smokers found that regular breathing exercise helped improve their lung capacity
Mood and self-esteem
Breathing techniques relax and ground us into the present moment; they can be used to combat low self-esteem, negative thoughts and unkind feelings