Science of breathwork

Just watched a video on BBC reel, talking about yogic breathing and the many related health benefits it brings. There were people in the video learning the art in India and claiming that it had helped them change their life forever.

 

Whenever I look at such videos or articles about breathwork and its benefits, my mind simply goes back to the classic book 'Relaxation Response' by Dr Herbert Benson . This book, I believe was a seminal work in western literature and brought the idea of breath and relaxation to the general scientific-minded audience. In fact, it helped to ‘rationalize’ these spiritual and esoteric practices to a large extent. When discussing the introduction of breathwork and other spiritual practices to the west, one cant go without talking about Jon Kabat-Zinn who essentially made meditation secular, and accessible in the west. These two authors and researchers have done the most to introduce, clarify, and explain the benefits of breathwork in the modern era.

 

My own inclination is to has always view esoteric, mystical, and spiritual practices and their benefits from a scientific perspective. Not only do I think their benefits can be explained through science but I feel its the only way to justify them. Yogic and shamanic breathwork can be understood through the lens of the book ‘relaxation response’ and the general body and mind response to prolonged, attention, repeatedly, over a period of time. Benefits of such focus have been reported to be mental clarity and focus, fewer mistakes and errors at work, better energy levels, and hence better exercise, lower stress, lower anxiety, higher productivity, and overall higher well being.

 

The benefits of such focused breathwork is not a matter of spirituality, its a matter of science and mindfulness is now widely used and suggested by therapists everywhere. It's a classic example of a tradition that science has verified and accepted. Any kind of practice, that may involve breathwork and or sustained attention on a particular task, for a prolonged period of time, can have recognizable benefits for you. This includes self-hypnosis, mindfulness meditation, guided meditation, breathwork, and so on. I must add that some forms of yogic and shamanic breathwork also actively try to reduce the amount of oxygen available to the body resulting in a different sensation, but it is not the topic of discussion at the moment.

 

It is not EASY to get into this practice, and it is perhaps even more difficult to remain patient while the 'benefits' become apparent. Jon kabat Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress reduction program eg requires daily commitment for over an hour at a time, which is perhaps why its a guided program. However, the benefits are well noted. This patience and consistency are perhaps is the biggest hurdle to realize the benefits of meditation….perhaps developing patience and consistency themselves are one of the great benefits of such practices.

 

 

Umair Usman is a Rapid Transformational Therapy Practitioner, a businessperson, and a blogger. You can know more about him at www.thecognitiveconsultants.com. To book a free consultancy session, please fill the form https://tinyurl.com/y6n2vv8w