But while breathwork has a long and storied past, our modern understanding of the underlying science is only just beginning. One recent paper summarizing the available evidence, noted that more than half of all studies on the subject have been published in the last six years, and Little says that researchers are still trying to pin down the precise methods and aspects which are most effective.
However, scientists have already been able to draw a number of conclusions.
Slowing down
To begin with, there is an emerging school of thought that many of us are breathing too quickly. “We all tend to hyperventilate, breathing too fast and not very effectively,” says Spiegel, with hyperventilation typically defined as taking more than 15 breaths per minute. Secondly, some people also predominantly breathe through their mouths, a habit which can begin in children before progressing into adulthood. (Read more about the benefits of nose breathing over mouth breathing.)
Spiegel says that one of the benefits of breathwork is akin to hypnosis, meditation and other mind-body practices, requiring you to focus inwards and disassociating you from everything else happening in your life. When it comes to hypnosis, he says that the effects of this have even be seen on MRI scans, with one study showing that it tones down neural activity in the brain’s inner alarm system – a region known as the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex – which is activated by stress.
“There are different breathing patterns that are sometimes associated with some of the meditation practices,” he says. “The idea is that you’re being open to your body, you’re not fighting it.”
But breathwork’s secrets are not solely linked to providing our busy brains with a time out. There is also evidence that adapting our breathing, even temporarily, can improve regulation of the nervous system.
READ MORE ON THE NEXT PAGE…
