Why I Include Breathwork in Wellbeing and Fitness
Breathing is something we do every minute of every day, usually without giving it a second thought, and yet it’s become one of the areas of wellbeing that fascinates me most. Through my years of yoga, meditation and breathwork training, and later becoming an Oxygen Advantage Practitioner, I’ve learned just how interesting our breathing patterns are and how useful it can be to simply start paying attention to them.
My interest in breathing originally came through yoga. Pranayama, the breathing practices used within yoga, taught me that we can consciously change the way we breathe. Some breathing practices are energising, some are calming and some simply help us become more aware of what’s happening inside our bodies. I loved the fact that something so simple could completely change the feeling of a yoga or meditation practice.
Later, studying breathwork in more depth made me look at breathing in everyday life as well. How are we breathing when we’re sitting at our desk? When we’re walking? When we’re exercising? When we’re stressed? Are we breathing gently through our nose or constantly breathing through our mouth? Are we taking enormous breaths because we think more air must always be better? Are we holding our breath every time we concentrate?
Most of us have never really been taught to think about any of this.
One of the things I particularly like about breathwork is that you don’t need any special equipment. Your breath is always with you. You can use breathing practices sitting in a chair, lying on a yoga mat, walking outside or before going to sleep. Even taking a few minutes to notice your breathing can become a little moment of stopping in the middle of a busy day.
Breathing is also something I think about when I’m teaching fitness. It’s surprisingly common for people to hold their breath when they’re learning an exercise or lifting a weight. They’re concentrating so hard on what their arms and legs are doing that breathing disappears completely from their awareness. Helping someone become aware of their breath while they move can make exercise feel much more connected and controlled.
My Oxygen Advantage training also gave me another perspective on breathing, particularly around nasal breathing, breathing efficiency and the relationship between breathing and exercise. I find it fascinating that sometimes the answer isn’t to take bigger and bigger breaths but to learn to breathe more efficiently and appropriately for what we’re doing.
Then there’s the connection between breathing and relaxation. When we’re frightened, rushing or stressed, our breathing can change without us even noticing. In the same way, deliberately slowing down and working with the breath can become part of creating a calmer environment for the body and mind.
This is why I often combine breathwork with yoga, meditation and relaxation. Sometimes I might use a breathing practice at the beginning of a session to help someone arrive and become present. Sometimes I’ll use it at the end to help transition from exercise into relaxation. And sometimes breathwork can be the focus of the session itself.
What I don’t believe is that there is one magical breathing technique everybody should be doing. Different practices have different purposes, and not every technique is appropriate for every person or every situation. I prefer to understand what somebody actually needs and then choose something simple and suitable.
Sometimes that might be a gentle breathing awareness exercise. Sometimes it might be nasal breathing. Sometimes it might be a traditional pranayama practice. And sometimes the most useful thing is simply noticing that you’ve been rushing around all day barely giving yourself a moment to stop.
That’s what I love about the breath.
It’s incredibly simple, but there’s so much to explore.
We spend a lot of time thinking about what we eat, how much we exercise and how many hours we sleep. Perhaps occasionally we should also become curious about something we’re doing thousands of times every day.
How am I breathing?
Sometimes just noticing is a wonderful place to begin.
Selena
Personal Trainer, Yoga Teacher, Breathwork & Oxygen Advantage Practitioner
In Flow Wellbeing Studio, Cheltenham
