This informal CPD article, 'Introduction to Breathwork', was provided by InnerCamp, who work within the holistic health sector offering expert-led solutions to help you rediscover your inner force and stand strong in your foundation on both personal and professional levels.
What is Breathwork?
Breathing is our primary source of energy. It's the only vital bodily function done unconsciously, but it can also be practiced and regulated consciously. We take 16-17 breaths per minute, but we only use about 1 liter of our 6-7liter lung capacity. Mostly it's because we breathe too shallow into our chest and not into our bellies. Short, shallow breathing into the chest activates our sympathetic nervous system, which throws our bodies into "fight or flight" mode, causing feelings of confusion, anxiety, and stress. On the other hand, deep belly breathing activates our parasympathetic nervous system," which throws us into a "rest and digest" state of living, and we feel calm, at peace, and regulated.
Next time you feel stressed, overwhelmed, and anxious, override your nervous system by focusing on your breath and taking a few full and deep breaths into the belly. You can use this short breathing exercise anytime throughout the day to get back into your body. Although such a minor daily correction in your usual breathing patterns can help you a lot, conscious connected breathwork has even more potent, long-lasting transforming effects on your whole being.
Conscious Connected Breathwork
Conscious connected breathwork is a holistic therapeutic tool that helps to heal and fully integrate the physical, mental and emotional state. Several breathing techniques have been used for thousands of years in Yoga (Pranayama), Taoist, Buddhist, and Shamanic traditions and have mostly come to the Western cultures during the previous century. Nowadays, popular conscious connected breathwork techniques, such as Holotropic and Rebirthing Breathwork, were developed in the 1960s and 1970s, during the self-awareness era. Besides these, many other forms of breathwork have been developed, such as Clarity Breathwork, Transformational Breathwork, The Wim Hof Method, and Shamanic Breathwork.
By consciously breathing through the mouth, without pauses after the inhale or after the exhale, we dive deep into our subconscious mind, from where we can release suppressed memories and emotions, awaken our senses, see the vision of our true self, and sharpen our intuition. We can access the same transformational benefits as with herbal medicine with no external intake but conscious connected breathing. That's why some claim that breathwork is the most powerful self-healing tool anyone can use.