Did you know that it’s possible to elevate your mood, activate your body’s anti-inflammatory response, and alkalize your blood PH by doing breathwork regularly?
Breathing is a fundamental part of being alive. It is a continual activity that people tend to do without realizing it. But if you take time out of your busy life to control your breathing, you will start feeling happier and healthier.
Unfortunately, it can be challenging to know how to embrace this powerful practice if you are not aware of the different types of breathwork. We’ve written a guide to help to clear up confusion. Keep reading to find out more.
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What Is Breathwork?
There are many different types of breathwork. In the most basic sense, breathwork involves breathing consciously.
People often do breathwork in order to heal, get rid of stress, and encourage personal growth.
If you are doing breathwork for the first time, it is a good idea to work with a breathwork facilitator. Trained breathwork facilitators use deep breathing exercises to help their clients overcome profound life challenges.
Those who perform breathwork on a regular basis tend to be more even-tempered and are able to resolve psychological pain.
Many people choose to do breathwork without the help of a facilitator. One of the most popular forms of breathwork that people do on their own is known as circular breathing.
Other important types of breathwork include shamanic and holotropic breathwork and Wim Hof breathing.
If you have been doing breathwork on your own and want to help others to connect with their breath, you should consider getting your breathwork training certification.
Different Types of Breathwork
Every breathwork technique will garner unique results. Some techniques will help you to relax your muscles. Others will help you to focus and will increase your energy.
Here are several of the most important types of breathwork.
Controlled Breathing
Controlled breathing involves changing your natural, unconscious breathing patterns. There are various controlled breathing techniques.
They all require different breathing patterns. The goal of controlled breathing is to create an anchor so that it becomes easier to notice your breathing.
One of the most popular types of controlled breathing is known as box breathing. To perform this breathwork technique, you need to focus on breathing in four segments of equal count: exhale, hold, inhale, and hold.
Circular Breathing
This breathwork technique involves making long and slow inhalations and exhalations. You should make sure that the length of the inhalation and the exhalation are about the same.
This is a great technique to embrace if you want to clear away energy that is stuck in your body. It can also help you to get rid of trapped emotions.
When doing circular breathing, you should focus on inhaling from your abdomen and exhaling through your throat.
It is common for people who are doing circular breathing to visualize themselves as trees. They imagine that roots are growing from their feet. This helps them to feel more grounded in the earth.
Conscious Connected Breathwork
There are many similarities between conscious connected breathwork and circular breathing.
The main difference between these two techniques is that conscious connected breathwork involves pausing between inhalations and exhalations.
You can breathe through either your mouth or your nose when you are performing this technique. The most important thing is that you continue breathing at a consistent pace.
If you’ve never performed conscious connected breathwork before, you should consider doing it under the guidance of a trained facilitator. This is because it is possible to enter altered states of consciousness very quickly.
Fast and Full Breathing
Fast and full breathing is another type of breathwork that often induces altered states of consciousness. To perform this technique, you’ll need to focus on inhaling and exhaling without pausing.
Unlike conscious connected breathwork, you’ll need to focus on breathing rapidly.
Try to let your exhalation “fall” instead of pushing the air out of your lungs. If you force the air out of your lungs, your hands and mouth might start to cramp.
Deep Relaxation Breathing
Deep relaxation breathing is also known as diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing, and relaxation breathing.
There are many types of healthcare professionals who guide their patients through deep relaxation breathing. This includes dentists, nurses, and public health workers.
The goal of deep relaxation breathing is to expand your diaphragm and to make deep inhalations. You should focus on making slow exhalations.
Most people inhale for seven seconds and exhale for eight seconds.
By doing deep relaxation breathing on a regular basis, you can decrease your blood pressure and manage anxiety.
Holotropic Breathwork
There are two main aspects of holotropic breathwork: hyperventilating and listening to music.
It is important to have a trained facilitator guide you through a holotropic breathwork session.
It is common for facilitators to use tough and to perform various types of bodywork when they are guiding people through this technique.
Yogic Breathing
Some people refer to yogic breathing as pranayama breathing. The goal of this breathwork technique is to strengthen the body-brain connection.
There are many different varieties of yogic breathing, such as alternate nostril breathing and paced breathing.
What Are the Different Types of Breathwork?
There are many different types of breathwork. If you have never done breathwork before, you should consider working with a trained facilitator.
Do you want to learn more about the benefits of breathwork? If so, make sure to check out the Health section of our website.