But first, what is breath work?

Contrary to popular belief, breath work is not the same as meditation. Breath work is an active and powerful practice where you intentionally use a variety of different breathing patterns, holds, and durations to quiet the mind and drop into your body.

What are the benefits of breath work?

When you find yourself stuck in thought, seem jumpy or numbed out, or are ready to go dig for gold in their subconscious, breath work is a great tool to reach for.

Breath work can recalibrate your nervous system, spark creativity, give you access to memories, offer visions and deep insights, heal trauma, clear anxious, sad, or sticky energy, and even take you on a psychedelic ride.

In short, breath work is a state-changer; it can leave you feeling different in 5 minutes flat.

Powerfully Simple

Conscious breathing sounds simple, but don’t let that fool you into thinking simple isn’t powerful. In a culture set to the rhythm of urgency, the vast majority of people default to a pattern of talking very fast with shallow chest breaths. We’ve never needed to breathe deeply, and with intention, more.

In some spiritual circles, it is believed that your body holds the energy of memories: both recent and ancient; that it is a scrapbook of moments, mixing all that is mundane, beautiful, and difficult. Breath work is a tool you can use to climb into the body to start grounding, shifting, clearing, and healing from the inside out.

Those who have started breath work state that they are sleeping better, feeling more lucid, light, loveable, and more connected with their world – just an overall feeling of being generally more present in their daily lives.

Start With The Resonance Pattern

Slow breathing is healthy breathing. Research done on ancient religious texts and meditative chants from African, Hawaiian, Native American, Buddhist, Taoist, and Christian traditions share a fascinating similarity — they all lead the person doing the chanting/praying/reading to settle into an almost identical rhythm of breathing.

Try for 6 rounds of breath per minute.

Breathing this slowly increases blood flow to the brain, and systems within the body (heart, nervous system, and circulation) sync into coordination, increasing the openness of the body and mind. Resonance breath work can also send you back to sleep if you wake up during the night.

To practice:

  • Inhale for 5 seconds, then exhale for 5 seconds. This rhythm will slow you breathing down to 6 rounds of breath per minute.
  • Repeat for 5-10 minutes.

The best thing about the Resonance pattern is that it’s invisible. Frustrated in the car? Trouble with a personal relationship? On a dreadful work call? Time to breathe. No one will notice you’re doing breath work, so there’s no need to feel self-conscious.

So, whether you’re looking for transformation or you just want to feel a little more human and like yourself again, breath work is for you. Remember, no time spent on the body is ever wasted. Breathe deep. You deserve to feel good.