Breathwork is Not a One-Trick Pony

Lots of people miss out on the benefits of breathwork, but now you know better

The first time I did an extended breathwork session, I tossed down my father’s favorite buckwheat pillow — the one I took when my sister and I split up his belongings after the funeral — and an old, pink fleece blanket that I got free with a purchase from Victoria’s Secret.

I wiped the dust bunnies off my yoga mat to create a makeshift bed. And then I got ready to scream.

Screaming is common as a form of release in longer, more intense breathwork sessions. 

How long are we talking?  

A course I bought early in my own breathwork journey suggests daily sessions which get longer by the week. The last week’s practice takes an hour every day. 

That’s only half the length of the two-hour sessions offered several times a week in a different breathwork community I recently checked out.

You know when you enroll in a bunch of online programs, but you still haven’t finished the last ones you bought, and you have so many things in life competing for your attention that you put a bunch aside “for later” and don’t come back to them?

I fully admit…

I never made it through the last week of the daily course.

Nor did I make it to a single session during my month-long trial of the other community 🫣

Don’t get me wrong – if you’re interested in breathwork for somatic wellness, long and deep sessions absolutely have their place. I’ve done dozens of them myself, and there have been times I felt tension release that I hadn’t even realized I was carrying around.

But would I want to spend an hour or more doing that day after day?

Nope nope nope!

And I say that as a person who loves breathwork enough that I became certified to teach it.

An hour a day is a LOT - not only in terms of literal time, but also as far as the amount of emotional baggage you might process. You may not want that much hardcore healing… or have room for it on your calendar. (Not to mention that if your sessions include screams, you might start pissing off your neighbors.) 

The thing is, breathwork still has incredible benefits in smaller, less potent doses. Think vitamins, not Vicodin.

Yet because some types of practices require copious amounts of time and special techniques and hotel scent diffuser… lots of people have no clue that it can be super beneficial in shorter spurts.

Did you know that just a few minutes of intentional, focused breathwork can measurably lower your blood pressure and heart rate? Yup. Multiple studies have confirmed it.

Conversely, a different breathing technique can raise your temperature, pump you up, and fill in nicely as a caffeine substitute for people who give it up for Lent or dietary reasons.

(There’s a word for those people… oh right, it’s masochists.)

So all those little moments throughout the day that don’t require much brainpower —

When you’re getting dressed…

Or standing in line at the corner store…

Or waiting through that one traffic light on the way home that makes the vein on the left side of your forehead throb…

If you used those times as short breathwork breaks, you could seriously improve not just your mood, but your entire day - and more importantly, your overall health.

So don’t be intimidated by the idea of breathwork. It doesn’t have to be A BIG THING.

All you need to do is start focusing on your breath during those “in between” moments and slowing it down.

You. Listening to your breath. Counting the seconds in your head, or with your phone. That’s it.

Give it a try, and see how just a few minutes here and there can make a world of difference in how you feel. No hotel scent diffuser required!