A Guide to Breathwork
By: Dr. Denise Renye
The breath is a powerful process and can be understood even as a mind-body tool. It can both indicate an emotional/mental state as well as encourage one. For instance, when a person is calm and relaxed, often their breathing slows. It gets deeper, in the belly, and even out almost through the ribs and down the back. When a person is stressed and tensed, often their breathing quickens. It gets shallower and in the chest. However, you can also facilitate each of those emotional states by changing your breathing. Meaning if you start breathing more slowly, taking belly breaths, you may start to feel more relaxed and at ease.
A powerful example of how breath can support the emotional state comes from Genelle Guzman McMillan, the last person who was pulled out of Tower 1 wreckage on September 11, 2001. She spent 27 hours in the debris and wrote a book about her experience called Angel in the Rubble. She said if she wasn’t attentive to her breath, she definitely would have died. Breathing helped in that high-stakes situation, but breathing can help in lower-stakes situations as well.
I was introduced to breathwork as a psychospiritual practice in 1998 when I first learned the techniques of Rebirthing and Holotropic Breathwork. It astounded me that the practice involved something I had access to at all times. Learning about breathwork also opened my eyes to how often I and others hold their breath. We do so in anticipation of something and also when we feel anxious.
Breathwork is used in a variety of ways – it can help a person get into an alternative state of consciousness, which we see in psychedelic work, some fasting practices, as well as yoga, meditation, and other spiritual path practices. However, in my professional work, I encourage the use of the breath as a tool to increase attunement with, and to, oneself. There are many ways to practice breathwork, a few of which I’ve listed below. If one technique doesn't feel aligned for you, don’t worry, there are plenty of others to explore.
Pranayama
Pranayama is a yogic form of breathing that consists of focusing on the breath. Prana is the life force that runs through you and everyone whereas yama is a phrase akin to mastering. To take the breath in, hold it or retain it, and then let the breath go is the historical way to practice pranayama. There is a certain level of attentiveness, mindfulness, and/or becoming conscious of the breath that pranayama provides.
Another fairly straightforward pranayama technique that can clear stuck energy and get things moving in the body and consciousness is nadi shodhana or alternate nostril breathing. Nadi shodhana is best practiced on an empty stomach. To start, choose a comfortable sitting position, whether that’s cross-legged on the floor with optional props, or in a chair with your feet flat on the floor. Lengthen your spine so your back, neck, and head are erect. Gently close your eyes and begin by taking a full, deep inhalation into your belly followed by a slow, gentle exhale. Do this several times to allow your mind and body to settle.
1. Fold the tips of your index and middle fingers on your right hand inward until they touch the palm at the base of your right thumb. You will use the right thumb to close the right nostril and the right ring and pinky fingers (together) to close the left nostril.
2. Use the right thumb to close the right nostril. Exhale gently, but completely, through the left nostril. Keep the right nostril closed and inhale through the left nostril all the way down into your belly. As you inhale, allow the breath to travel upward along the left side of your body and pause briefly at the crown of your head.
3. Now use your ring and pinky fingers to gently close the left nostril and simultaneously remove your thumb from the right nostril. Exhale through your right nostril all the way down to your stomach and pause briefly.
4. Keep the left nostril closed and inhale through the right nostril, allowing the breath to travel up the right side of the body all the way to your crown.
5. Now you’re back to the starting position – use your right thumb to close your right nostril as you release your left nostril. Exhale through the left nostril down to your belly and pause gently.
You just completed one round. Keep going – inhaling through your left nostril, exhaling through your right nostril, inhaling through your right nostril, and exhaling through your left nostril – for several more rounds. Maintain your awareness of the route your breath is following – up one side of the body and back down the other. Keep your breath slow, gentle, and relaxed throughout the practice.
When you are ready to stop, complete your final round of nadi shodhana by exhaling through your left nostril. Relax your right hand and place it comfortably in your lap as you once again breathe fully and deeply into your stomach a few times.
Rebirthing
Rebirthing is a technique that uses quick and short breaths that are shallow. It utilizes continuous, or circular, breath, meaning there are no pauses between the inhale and the exhale, and can go on for 1-2 hours.
To begin circular breathing, get in a comfortable position whether that’s sitting in a chair or lying on the floor. Lying on the floor can be helpful for beginning breathing practitioners as it allows them to notice the body on each inhale and each exhale.
1. Hold your spine erect, if sitting, to allow air to fully enter and exit your body. If lying down, allow the earth to hold you.
2. Breathe naturally for a few moments to center yourself, to get grounded and physically present.
3. When you’re ready, breathe in through your nose and out your nose without pausing. (You may choose to breathe in through your nose or your mouth. I recommend choosing one only. During different breathwork sessions, you could try out the nose. And another, mouth. Then you can see which works better for you)
4. As you hit the top of the inhale, immediately exhale.
5. As you reach the bottom of the exhale, immediately inhale.
6. The length of time for your inhale should match the length of time for your exhale.
7. Keep going until you’re ready to stop. Some people practice for 5 minutes and some for a full hour!
8. When you’re ready to close the practice, allow your breathing to return to normal.
9. Breathe in and out normally for a few moments and notice your body and your mind. What’s different? What’s the same? How do you feel in different parts of your body? What do you notice about your mind?
With any breathwork technique, something called tetany may occur. Tetany involves cramping, tightening, tingling, paralyzing, or numbing sensations of the hands and/or feet. It’s a very common occurrence during breathwork, and if it happens to you, know it’s common and there’s nothing to fear. The sensation is temporary and will go away once you start breathing normally again.
Tetany occurs because deep and connected breathing causes Co2 levels to drop, which results in less oxygen released into the bloodstream, tissues, and vital organs. The drop also causes the blood pH to become more alkaline and results in tetany.
Alchemy of Breath facilitator Megan Ashton interprets tetany as your body revealing something significant for you to become curious about. She says, “It is showing you there is a threshold that is waiting to be crossed, and your breathing session is the perfect opportunity to do so.” In other words, tetany may encourage you to let go of something that is perhaps holding you back. The more spiritual aspect of breathwork leads me to the next technique: Holotropic Breathwork.
Holotropic Breathwork
I attended a weekend workshop led by a student of Stan Grof and Tav Sparks, who started the Holotropic Breathwork movement through the Grof Transpersonal Training, when I was in my late teens. It wasn't until my mid-20s that I got to work with Stan, his wife Christina, and Sparks directly.
What separates this type of breathwork from others is the (often intense) music that accompanies the technique. It can be done individually but it is often conducted in a group setting with pre-arranged music. People start their breathing journey together and by doing so, much can be unearthed through the breath and the body. Not only can a person enter a deep state of altered consciousness, but also release blocked energy and emotions.
Breathwork can be done on its own or it can be done as a practice of psychedelic integration. It is powerful and oftentimes best to work with a trained practitioner who has years of experience in their own practice as well as experience guiding others in the technique. Even though a relationship with your breath is inevitable, you can raise your awareness and consciousness through breathwork practices and thereby deepen your relationship with you.
Journal Prompts
1) What is my relationship with my breath currently?
2) Might I be willing to engage in a breathwork practice, which would require time and effort on my part? What would support me in doing so?
Recommended Readings
A Constant in Life: The Breath
The Power in the Conscious Breath
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Reference
Ashton, Megan. “Understanding Tetany and Discovering the Treasure Within It.” Alchemy of Breath. September 1, 2020. https://alchemyofbreath.com/understanding-tetany-and-discovering-the-treasure-within-it/#:~:text=During%20breathwork%2C%20deep%20and%20connected,leads%20to%20tetany%20(2)