A commonly asked Question: Can I teach myself Breathwork?

Question: Can you teach yourself breathwork?
There are thousands of breathing techniques, and you can find out about them free or low cost, through podcasts, books or free online resources. You can absolutely teach yourself breathwork, and it is one of the most empowering journeys you can go on since the breath is always with you and you can access this powerful transformative modality absolutely free wherever you are in the world. Most books about breathwork include practices you can do, and there are numerous breathwork schools that provide free breathwork sessions as a gift or as part of their commitment to providing free and low cost opportunities to as wide a community as possible. A couple of these are Breathing Space, started by Benedict Beaumont and Neurodynamic Breathwork with Michael Stone. Breathwork can be short, focused exercises, or it can be longer sessions (between half and hour and 3 hours!). Breathing can be focussed on regulating the nervous system or activating it, depending on your goals and there are even specific breathwork patterns you can do to increase concentration, focus, athletic performance, mental agility or spiritual connection. Breathwork has been proven to be more effective than meditation for reducing stress (Hubberman Lab Podcast). So however you want to engage with breathwork, the opportunity exists to do it.
You could also book a breathwork session with a facilitator in person or online, attend a group breathwork session in person or online or use a breathwork app such as Breathwrk, iBreathe or Breathe+.

 Some of these are listed below.

Free breathwork sessions:
Breathing Space
https://www.makesomebreathingspace.com/weekly-breathwork

Alchemy of Breath
https://alchemyofbreath.com/free-breathwork-sessions/

Micahel Stone Neurodynamic breathwork https://breathworkonline.com/flexible-date-free-breathwork-workshop-home/

There are also podcasts, including:
And Breathe with Rebecca Dennis
The Breathwork Club
Breathwork with Ryan Williams

Some books you might want to check out include:
Breath by James Nestor
The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown

And finally, here are 3 Simple breathwork techniques to get you started:
Coherence Breathing:
Why: 

• Simple and effective
• Balances and regulates the nervous system, and brings the whole body into ‘coherence’
• Synchronises with heartbeat to create calm, relaxed state

How:

• Find somewhere to sit or lie comfortably
• If you want to, you can bring a hand up to your heart centre and close your eyes
• Breathe in through your nose for five and a half seconds
• Breathe out through your nose for five and a half seconds 
• Continue for 5 minutes (set a timer so you don’t have to peek!)

Box breathing
Why:

• A great practice to bring you back from the brink of stress or overwhelm
• Can be used with a visual prompt, since there is almost always a square to ‘breathe round the edges of’ within your field of vision… even if it’s your computer screen!
• Slows and stabilises breathing in stressful situations

How:

• Breathe in, counting to four slowly
• Hold your breath for four seconds
• Breathe out counting to four
• Hold your breath for four seconds
• Repeat until you feel calm and centred again.

Lung stretch 
Why: 

• Lung capacity predicts health and longevity
• Increases athletic and resting capabilities

How:

• This technique requires you to stand, with your hands on your hips
• Breathe in fully through your nose
• Take a last ‘sip’ of air through your mouth
• Hold for 3 seconds
• ‘Sip’ air again through your mouth to completely ‘fill’ your lungs (lungs are never completely empty or completely full)
• Hold for 3 seconds
• Exhale completely
• Breathe normally for a few breaths to return to normal
• Repeat, and over time increase the length of time you do this. Start with 3 minutes, gradually increase to 5, 8 or 10. 

Congratulations! You just taught yourself breathwork!

​Finally, did you know I have a FREE guide to getting started with breathwork?




​