Breathwork uses specific rhythmic patterns to regulate the nervous system, reducing stress and improving sleep. Explore essential techniques like box breathing and coherent breathing to build a sustainable daily practice.
Key takeaways
- Breathwork directly influences the autonomic nervous system, helping to shift the body from a high-stress state into a restorative parasympathetic state.
- Techniques can be performed anywhere in as little as five minutes, making them a practical tool for busy professionals to manage daily tension.
- Beginners should prioritize nasal breathing and natural rhythms to build tolerance safely, avoiding forceful techniques until they are more experienced.
Is breathwork another word for meditation? While there is some overlap between breathwork and meditation, breathwork exercises use specific breathing patterns to influence the nervous system. Meditation, on the other hand, is more cerebral, focusing on observing your thoughts or bodily sensations to cultivate mindfulness.
The neurological and biological benefits of breathwork are linked to the nervous system's resilience. Changing the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the body triggers a physiological cascade that stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, affecting heart rate variability, vagal tone, and emotional clarity.
Read on to learn how to do breathwork to release tension in your nervous system, expand your capacity to tolerate stress, and make breathwork techniques part of your daily routine.
What Should You Expect During Your First Breathwork Session?
For an in-person breathwork practice, you can usually expect the session to begin with slow, diaphragmatic breathing through the nose to help you settle into your body. The next phase is active breathing, where your facilitator will guide you through a specific breathing technique. Depending on the class, this could take 30 to 60 minutes.
You should expect physical sensations during a breathwork practice. Increasing oxygen levels in the body can cause temporary sensations such as lightheadedness, feeling warm or cold, tingling, or muscle tension. Emotionally, some people may experience a release of tension that causes them to laugh, cry, or sigh involuntarily as the nervous system shifts into a parasympathetic state.
How Do Breathwork Techniques Physically Change Your State?
Breathwork exercises physically alter your brain chemistry. The combination of increased oxygenation and the stimulation of the vagus nerve has a direct impact on your autonomic nervous system. Different practices have different effects on the body and support different emotional states.
Guided Breathing Meditation
Guided breathing exercises follow a structure that specifically increases blood carbon dioxide levels. Some somatic breathing techniques increase blood oxygen levels and heart rate for emotional release. It’s common for guided box breathing exercises to lower the heart rate while maintaining mental alertness, making it easier for practitioners to regulate intense stress and anxiety. Practices for somatic breathing include:
Parasympathetic Breathing
Parasympathetic breathing techniques, such as the 4:7:8 rhythm, deliberately extend exhalations to stimulate the vagus nerve. This stimulation supports lowering blood pressure, reducing cortisol, and easing anxiety. Practices that stimulate the parasympathetic response include:
How to Do Breathwork at Home Safely
To safely practice breathwork at home, it’s best to avoid altering your breathing patterns while you are driving, swimming, showering, or in the bath. Remember to avoid:
- Straining your lungs
- Forcefully holding your breath
- Breathing with your upper chest
Starting with a safe, comfortable position is key, as is ensuring you have a quiet, relaxing environment. Make sure you are wearing loose clothing so you can fully and comfortably expand your chest. As a beginner, setting a timer for five to 10 minutes gives you a safe duration to practice. To anchor yourself and avoid the common mistake of shallow chest breathing, place one hand on your belly to track your diaphragm movements.
Box Breathing
Box breathing techniques follow a repetitive pattern of inhaling for 4 seconds, holding for 4 seconds, exhaling for 4 seconds, and holding for 4 seconds. Start with one minute of box breathing, check in on how your body feels, and then add more minutes until you feel calm.
Coherent Breathing
Coherent breathing follows a smooth, rhythmic pattern: breathing in through the nose for 6 seconds, then exhaling through the nose for 6 seconds. Nasal breathing increases oxygen absorption, so it is a great technique for activating your body’s parasympathetic response while also supporting mental clarity.
4:7:8 Breathing
This breathing technique involves inhaling for 4 seconds, holding for 7 seconds, and exhaling through the mouth for 8 seconds. The extended exhale is key to stimulating the parasympathetic response in your nervous system, which supports sleep and reduces anxiety.
What Are the Best Ways to Breathe for Relaxation?
Breathing for relaxation can easily become part of your daily routine when you make it part of a habit stack. If you’re the type to start your day with a cup of coffee, use the five minutes it takes for a pot to brew to practice coherent breathing. If a deep stretch is part of your nighttime routine, pair it with a physiological sigh practice. Pairing breathwork techniques for relaxation with other activities is a great way to make practice part of your everyday lifestyle, rather than something you do occasionally.
How Can You Integrate Breathwork Exercises Into Your Daily Routine with Open?
How can you start a breathwork practice that fits into your busy LA schedule? Easy. The Open app gives you instant access to dozens of breathwork and meditation techniques so you can fit practice into any part of your day. From five-minute practices to longer sessions designed to wind down your evening, this app is an essential piece of your daily wellness ritual.
But how does the Open app compare to other meditation apps for breathwork? While other apps offer a limited number of breathwork practices or present them as visualizations or sound-only experiences, the Open app has an expansive library of science-backed practices with curated acoustics and guided sessions. For beginners, the opportunity to gradually practice through longer sessions designed for specific purposes, such as stress relief or sleep aid, is what sets Open apart.
At-Home Breathwork Exercises FAQs
How long do you need to practice breathwork for it to work?
Most people can feel a shift in their nervous system and their emotions in as little as three to five minutes, making breathwork exercises one of the most immediately accessible ways to self-regulate stress and anxiety. Consistent practice is more important than duration, as your body and nervous system gradually develop a greater window of tolerance and learn to return to a calm state more quickly after stress.
Do you need special equipment or a studio space for at-home breathing exercises?
No. Breathing exercises can be done from almost anywhere, whether you’re standing in your kitchen, sitting in your living room, or lying on your bed. All you need for a breathwork practice is a comfortable place to sit or lie down, preferably somewhere quiet so you can focus on breathing, following guided instructions, or sink into sound therapy.
What should you do if you feel lightheaded during practice?
It’s common for beginners to experience lightheadedness during longer or intense sessions, particularly for practices involving mouth breathing. If you start to feel dizzy, return your breathing to your natural rhythm and try breathing through your nose to increase oxygen absorption until your heart rate stabilizes. Taking it slow and gradually building up your tolerance for longer sessions is the safest practice.
Open Your Breath. Retrain Your Nervous System.
Breathwork practices for beginners are short, five to 10-minute sessions that gradually ease the body into a parasympathetic state to reduce anxiety, support better sleep, and expand your capacity to tolerate stress and return to a calm state.
The breath-body connection is the physiological key to integrating mindfulness into your daily routine. Download the Open app or attend an in-person session at Open’s LA studio to learn how to reduce stress after a long workday.
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