Should you be incorporating breathwork in your wellness routine?

First off, what’s breathwork? How’s it different from just breathing?

Breathwork is conscious breathing, rather than [breathing that’s] unconscious and involuntary. Anytime you control the rhythm, rate and depth of your breath, you’re practising breathwork. Think of it as an umbrella term that involves changing your breath to change your state.

You can use it to [help] up-regulate, down-regulate, balance the nervous system, enhance athletic performance [and] improve sleep quality, the list goes on and on. Personally, and as a coach, I use breathwork as a tool to enhance wellbeing [and] optimise performance.

Why is it important to be conscious of our breath?

Conscious breathing will help you live a more conscious life. If you’re not living and breathing consciously, you’ll most likely be mindlessly moving through life, rather than mindfully. Your breath is constantly sending you signals, and letting you know how you’re feeling. When you’re stressed, your heart rate will increase and you’ll most likely be breathing short, shallow and fast [breaths].

The quicker you notice this, the quicker you’ll be able to regulate how you’re breathing to help control how you’re feeling… You don’t need to go to a 45-minute breathwork class every day – in fact, I’d probably tell you not to do this. I created Hale with Stu to help you practise anytime, anywhere. The sessions are short and easily accessible ranging from two to 10 minutes.

In what ways can breathwork help us improve our functioning on an emotional and mental level?

When we breathe in, this is sympathetic [nervous system] driven. It will increase your heart rate and heighten your arousal state. As we breathe out, this is parasympathetic. It will decrease your heart rate and lower your arousal state. [So] to feel clear and calm, a super simple and incredibly effective technique we can use is 4:6 breathing.

Whenever you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, bring your attention to your breath, use your nose [to] inhale for four seconds and exhale for six seconds. By lengthening the exhale, this will shift the nervous system into a more relaxed state. It’s the fastest and most direct way to move from stress to calm in a matter of seconds. This gives you [the] power and confidence to execute under pressure when times may feel tough.

How can energy be altered through breathwork?

Breathing fast can increase the stress hormone cortisol which will bring more energy and alertness into the brain and body. Remember, if you’re in control of the stress, this [can be] a positive. It’s not always about the state you’re in, but more if you had anything to do with it or not. Just as we stress a muscle in the gym to promote adaptation, you can use your breath to consciously add stress to switch on. Purposefully increasing stress creates alertness.

What’s the added benefit of combining breathwork with sound?

Music is an incredibly powerful tool to create thought and feeling. Sound creates emotion and the augmented effect of evidence-based breathing and sound can create a truly unique experience…

Over years of attending thousands of breathwork sessions, I often found that the facilitator didn’t pair the music well. I felt music came secondary, which didn’t click with me. Each Hale Volume has a specific intention, but generally, my aim is for the user to become so present in the session that they become lost in the moment.

Are there different types of breathwork?

There are loads of methods, practices, exercises, tools and techniques! I’m a man of simplicity and focus my attention on the minimal effective dose – the least amount of work and effort for the most gain and reward. Having one technique to slow down if you’re feeling stressed, one technique to speed up if you’re feeling tired and one technique to breathe optimally is a great place to start.

Head here for five-minute breathwork exercises.