What is Breathwork and How Do I Get Started?
Let’s clear something up.
Breathwork is not a mystical unicorn. It’s not about “raising your vibration,” “activating your light body,” or whatever overcooked nonsense Instagram wellness culture is currently peddling.
It’s not a spiritual bypass (many-a-folk have been successfully gaslit here).
It’s not a substitute for therapy.
And it definitely isn’t “just breathing.”
Breathwork is intentional, functional control of your breathing pattern to regulate your physiological, psychological, hormonal, mental and emotional state.
Yes that sound’s like a lot - and it is, but that’s what it is - and it’s backed by hard science, not just good vibes.
So, let’s break this down into what it actually is, how it works, and how to get started — without the fluff, the fantasy, or the guru complex.
What Actually Is Breathwork?
As mentioned, breathwork is, at its core, taking conscious control of your breathing rhythm, depth, and pattern to influence how your operating system, well, operates.
Breathwork can be broken up into four subcategories:
Strategic Intervention: using a specific technique to adapt or optimise for a specific
Therapeutic Intensity: using a high intensity technique to achieve an altered state of consciousness
Hormetic Training: putting the body under controlled stress to adapt and build resiliency
Habitual Optimisation: enhancing daily unconscious breathing habits using conscious improvments
By looking at breathwork from this lens it simplifies the journey as many people feel overhwelmed when starting out in breathwork. Once you have an idea of what your goal is you can move ahead with seeking out and experiencing the category you require.
A important side note: there is currently an emphasise on therapeutic intensity styles where we have gotten to a point where that is all you’ll see when you search the word ‘breathwork.’ It’s a big problem, and something I’ll discuss in a future article.
How Does Breathwork Work?
This is a big question.
So, for the sake of simplicity; it works because as a human you have the ability to consciously control the primary breathing muscle: the diaphgragm.
The diaphragm is part of the skeletal muscular system which are muscles that we have the ability to control at will (facial muscles, biceps, abdominals etc).
Having the diaphragm as an honorary member of this group is not just convenient; it’s a GIFT!
Controlling the depth, rate, and cadence of your breath gives you unparraleled governance over the inner-workings of your mind and body.
Meaning that we can use breathwork to make genuine, long-lasting changes to our habits, behaviours, mood and energy.
This isn’t spiritual - it’s anatomical. The diaphragm is a skeletal muscle. You can train it, and how you use it determines your physiological state.
What Does the Science Say?
Let’s ground this in some facts. Here's what we know:
Slow breathing (around 5.5–6 breaths per minute) optimises heart rate variability and baroreflex sensitivity: key indicators of autonomic flexibility and nervous system health.
📚 Reference: Shaffer et al., 2014. “A healthy heart is not a metronome: an integrative review of the heart's anatomy and heart rate variability.”Nasal breathing improves oxygen uptake, nitric oxide release, and immune defence: mouth breathing does not.
📚 Reference: Lundberg et al., 1996. “Nitric oxide in exhaled air: regional differences in the excretion.”Over-breathing (i.e., chronic hyperventilation) lowers CO₂ in the blood, causing vasoconstriction and poor oxygen delivery to the brain and muscles: not ideal for performance, focus, or sleep.
📚 Reference: Lum, L. C. (1975). “Hyperventilation: the tip and the iceberg.”Breath training is shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and chronic pain by improving vagal tone and interoception.
📚 Reference: Zaccaro et al., 2018. “How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing.”
In short - your breath is a dial. And you can learn to turn it.
Why Most People Are Breathing Like Crap
Let’s call it what it is: modern life is an evolutionary mismatch.
We’re sitting 10+ hours a day, hunched over screens
Constantly stimulated and stressed
Sleeping like trash
Consuming caffeine like it's a personality trait
All of this leads to dysfunctional breathing habits: shallow, fast, upper-chest dominant, mouth breathing: a perfect cocktail for chronic stress and low-grade anxiety.
Your breath has gone from a finely tuned regulator to a background emergency alarm stuck on snooze.
We are born breathing functionally.
Modern life has caused major disruption to this evolutionary trait leading to the majority of of the adult population breathing in a dysfunctional way.
Dysfunctional breathing may either cause and/or exacerbate symptoms of:
Restlessness (inability to be/feel calm)
Stress
Insomnia
ADHD
Diabetes
Lower back, hip, and pelvis pain
High cortisol levels
Gum disease, yellowing of teeth, bad breath
Breathlessness (at rest or during low-level activity (e.g. walking up a flight of stairs))
Anxiety
Just to name a few. No one ever looks at their breathing as the source of their pain; hopefully now you will.
The 3 Pillars of Effective Breathwork
If you're serious about getting results (not just collecting dopamine from apps and Instagram reels), get these right:
1. Mechanics – How you breathe
Use your diaphragm, not your shoulders
Breathe through your nose, not your mouth
Aim for slow, low, silent breathing
Try this: Put one hand on your chest, one on your belly. Breathe normally without change. Notice where you feel the most movement. Only the belly should move.
2. Biochemistry – What’s happening under the hood
CO₂ matters more than oxygen intake.
Oxygen is useless if it can’t get into your cells and CO₂ is what allows that to happen (through a phenomena known as the Bohr effect).
Improving your CO₂ threshold may improve endurance, focus, physical performance and stress resilience.
Try this: Time your natural exhale-hold after a normal breath. Below 20 seconds? You've got work to do.
3. Cadence – How fast and rhythmically you breathe
Ideal base: ~5.5–6 breaths per minute when resting (in and out through the nose)
Try this: 5.5s inhale, 5.5s exhale. That’s one breath every 11 seconds. Do it for 5 minutes daily. That’s your entry ticket.
How to Actually Get Started (Without Getting Overwhelmed)
Forget the ice baths and the breath holds and the spiritual retreats in the jungle — for now. You need basics first. Here is a super simple 14 day program to help you get started.
Day 1: Awareness - Establishing a Baseline
Set a reminder 3x a day.
Observe how you’re breathing.
Mouth open? Chest rising? Rapid pace?
Take notes on whart you see and feel. No right or wrong answer here. Be honest, otherwise you’re kidding yourself.
Day 2–5: Nasal reset.
Use nasal sprays or rinse if you’re blocked.
Consciously switch to nasal-only breathing during the day.
Again keep taking notes and notice on what you see, feel and experience.
Day 6–10: Diaphragmatic control
Practice crocodile breathing (lying face down, breathe into the belly, almost as if you’re breathing yourself off the floor) - do this for 5-10 minutes whilst watching your favourite TV show.
Focus on expanding the lower ribs and abdomen with each inhale.
Day 11 onwards: Coherent breathing
Build a daily 5–10 minute practice.
5.5s inhale / 5.5s exhale, nasal, eyes closed, seated upright.
Congratulations. You’ve now got the foundation 99% of the population lacks.
Final Word: Stop Waiting for a Crisis
Here’s the truth no one wants to hear:
Most people only start taking their breath seriously after:
A panic attack
A burnout diagnosis
A sleep disorder
A chronic illness
Or a performance crash
Don’t be most people.
You’ve got access to the most powerful tool to regulate your nervous system, boost your mental clarity, and improve your physical health and it’s literally under your nose.
Use it.
No fluff. No fancy tools. Just your breath done right.
Got questions? Curious about how this applies to your training, sleep, or stress levels? Hit me up in the comments or check out the Breathwork for Beginners course if you want a no-nonsense path that skips the BS.
