My first encounter with breathwork was seeing my biological father practice alternate-nostril breathing, or nadi shodhana. He’d spent years at an ashram, so I chalked it up as another one of his odd habits.
Then I started doing it myself in yoga class. Controlled-breathing practices — collectively known as pranayama — helped calm my nerves and clear my mind. I just had no idea why.
Thankfully, I didn’t need to know in order to reap the benefits; I just needed to keep breathing.
Humans have recognized the power of controlled breathing for centuries. Diaphragmatic breath exercises feature prominently in the 2,000-year-old text Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. And in Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, journalist James Nestor describes dozens more breathwork practices from around the world.
Today breathwork is enjoying a resurgence. Cold-conditioning guru Wim Hof has us taking icy showers and jumping into frozen lakes with the help of his fast-breathing technique. Many of us rely on the antianxiety effects of a 4-7-8 breath practice. There may be thousands of us lying on yoga mats doing pranayama right this minute.
The calming and regulating forms of breathwork generally involve slow nasal breathing. More stimulating techniques use fast, forceful breath, often through the nose and mouth.
Both typically include some kind of breath-holding. These work, according to Nestor, because breathing is a simple, noninvasive way to access the body’s vagus nerve and, by extension, the body’s nervous system.
“Willing ourselves to breathe slowly will open up communication along the vagus nerve and relax us into a parasympathetic state,” he writes. “Breathing really fast and heavy on purpose flips the vagal response the other way, shoving us into a stressed state.”
Cultivating a stress response can help build stress resilience over time, but these methods can be risky. The benefits of slow, controlled breathing, however, are largely indisputable.
Downregulating the stress response through nasal breathing has been linked to a range of health improvements — from better sleep and improved digestion to recovery from chronic lung conditions.
Experience what controlled breathing can do by trying the following methods, adapted from Nestor’s book.
Alternate-Nostril Breathing/Nadi Shodhana
This staple pranayama technique helps balance two branches of the nervous system. (The right nostril is related to the activating sympathetic branch; the left is connected to the calming parasympathetic.) A systematic review published in 2017 found alternate-nostril breathing can lower blood pressure, improve lung function, and support memory and overall cognitive function.
How to:
1. Place the thumb of your right hand over your right nostril and your ring finger on your left nostril. Rest your forefinger and middle finger between your eyebrows.
2. Gently close the right nostril with your thumb and inhale slowly through your left nostril.
3. At the top of the breath, pause briefly, hold both nostrils closed, then lift your thumb to exhale through your right nostril.
4. At the natural conclusion of the exhale, hold both nostrils closed for a moment, then inhale through your right nostril.
5. Continue alternating breaths this way for five to 10 cycles.
Resonant (Coherent) Breathing
This slow-breathing practice is among the simplest of all breathwork techniques. It involves approximately five-and-a-half full breaths per minute, with each inhale and exhale about five-and-a-half seconds long. This pace brings the heart, lungs, and nervous system into a state of calm coherence.
Nestor reports that the pacing of resonant breathing also matches the breath pattern of many prayers and chants associated with the world’s major religions. As such, he writes, this technique may offer the effects of yoga for people who don’t like yoga, and the healing touch of prayer for people who aren’t religious.
How to:
1. Sit up straight with a relaxed belly; exhale.
2. Inhale softly for five and a half seconds, expanding the belly as air fills the bottom of your lungs.
3. Without pausing, exhale for five and a half seconds to empty your belly and lungs. Each breath should feel like a circle.
4. Repeat at least 10 times, more if possible.
Natural Healing
Energy medicine has a long history across many cultures. Today, we also have research to confirm the value of these subtle modalities for health and well-being. Explore other articles in our Natural Healing department to learn how you can embrace these modalities in your own life.
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