Learn About the Potential Benefits of Breathwork & Breathing Exercises

An important part of any yoga class is focusing on and unlocking the potential of the breath, which is often referred to as pranayama. For example, you will often experience meditation and breathwork at the start or end of the class, but also throughout, moving through poses with the breath. 

At Dottír, we are currently offering a breathwork workshop where the aim is to deepen the breath over a prolonged period of time, in order to achieve deep relaxation in the body and mind as a way to learn how to manage stress in your day-to-day life. If you are interested in joining the workshop, or any class at Dottír, it can be very useful to get some more information on breathwork and pranayama, and some of the benefits of practising. 

What is breathwork and pranayama?

Breathwork is a powerful form of therapy that involves learning how to control the breath in various ways, in order to promote physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It has been practised for thousands of years by different cultures and has recently gained popularity in the Western world as a way of dealing with stress and anxiety.

Learning how to work with the breath will give you increased control over your breathing patterns, as well as increase oxygen flow and induce a state of deep relaxation. Breathwork techniques will help you tap into your own innate ability to heal yourself, while at the same time releasing emotional and physical tension stored in the body.

Specifically, in yoga, breathwork techniques are often referred to as pranayama. Pranayama is a term from Sanskrit, where “prana” translates to life force, and “yama” means regulation or control. This is an ancient practice stemming from India, which involves various different breathwork techniques of deep, rhythmic breathing exercises that are practised to balance the body’s energy channels.

What are the benefits of breathwork?

Deep breathing relaxes the mind and body. Breathing deeply is one of the fastest ways to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, the relaxation response, which will make you feel more relaxed. Breathwork has been shown to have many other health benefits, such as improving sleep quality, boosting the immune system, reducing stress and anxiety, and improving focus. Breathwork is also a powerful tool used to manage chronic pain or symptoms of depression.

As mentioned, breathwork can be an antidote for stress. Stress will often be accompanied by shallow breathing, which in turn will decrease the amount of oxygen that goes into the body, leaving the muscles more contracted. That’s why learning how to deepen your breath will not only help you relieve stress, but it can also be a powerful tool when deepening into a stretch during a yoga class. 

Who can practice breathwork?

Breathwork is a safe and effective therapy that can be practised by anyone, anywhere, regardless of age or physical ability. It can be done on its own or combined with other forms of therapy, such as meditation and yoga.

If you are interested in trying breathwork, it can be useful to start working with a trained practitioner, such as our teachers at Dottír, who can guide you through the process and ensure your safety. The breathwork teacher will be able to help you choose the right breathing techniques for you, and tailor them to your specific needs and goals. 

Want to know more?

As we know, breathwork is a big part of any yoga class, and it can also be a powerful tool for you to improve your overall health and well-being. If you are interested in learning more about the breath, have a look at the workshops we are currently running at the studio.