You’re probably not breathing correctly (and it could be killing you)

Yes, there’s a right and wrong way

There are undeniable benefits to breathing correctly. Image: Getty

According to experts, (and increasingly mounting research), there are undeniable benefits to breathing correctly – here’s how to tap into them. 

Broadly speaking, breath work is about as ‘woo-woo’ as it comes in terms of wellness practices. Not because there isn’t enough science to back up its benefits – quite the opposite, in fact – but because most of us never really give much thought to how we breathe or whether we’re doing it properly. 

As a result, it still feels a little out of the ordinary for us to consider it as a practice we might want to dedicate our scant self-care time to.

But the truth is, learning how to breathe correctly (and yes, there is a correct way), can transform our wellbeing – with research mounting as to its benefits not only for our physical health, but our emotional wellbeing as well. 

“Breathwork in its most simple explanation is conscious awareness of the breath,” says Ella Pike, affectionately known as ‘The Breath Boss’ and founder of The Breath Haus. 

“Practices can vary from energising to calming, from one slow and deep breath to three-hour deep dives – there is a huge range of techniques you can use to improve physical, emotional and mental wellbeing,” she says. 

“I believe breathwork is our powerful tool for self-exploration and healing – and once you understand this is a tool that is quite literally always with you, it can help you at any moment to reduce stress, promote relaxation and enhance focus.”

According to Pike, most of us need to experience the benefits for ourselves before we can truly appreciate how profound breathwork can really be, “Not only did I think ‘breathwork’ was a silly idea – and was very much the person who rolled her eyes at this practice,” she says. 

Conscious breathing could elevate your health. Image: iStock

“But I was also a shallow mouth breather. I had terrible anxiety, was a shocking sleeper and relied on a lot of things to get me through the day… until I realised how profound doing active breathwork is.”

“The mind-blowing moments I had with myself in the deeper dives left me so intrigued to know more about breathing as a whole which very quickly taught me, I was breathing in a way that was keeping my body feeling unnecessarily overwhelmed.”

Pike’s story isn’t uncommon and with evidence supporting how slow breathing techniques can improve our physiology and mood – reducing respiratory rate, heart rate and blood pressure as well as helping to ameliorate symptoms of anxiety and decrease stress (not to mention improve our sleep quality) – it’s no surprise that more and more of us are turning to our breath to hack our health.

“The limit doesn’t really exist to the benefits of understanding the way breathing can completely change your world,” Pike says. 

“With consistent practice, there is a reduction in your stress in your everyday life, higher tolerance to stressful situations when they arise, emotional regulation, better focus, and a noticeable improvement in sleep. I also find for myself and so many people in the studios, the self-exploration time to just exist in a world that is so busy is so powerful and has such an incredible ripple effect.”

Image: Unsplash

How can we capitalise on the benefits of better breathing?

While there’s no argument that breathing through our nose is much more beneficial than mouth breathing – helping to filter, heat and humidify the air as it enters our body – the simplest way to improve our breathing more broadly is to become more conscious of how we breathe in the first place.

“The first thing that I look at when someone finds themselves in front with any query is how they breathe – and every second/third person will not actually know how incorrectly they are breathing,” says Pike. “Once they learn to breathe more consciously and effectively, almost all of them report back with massive improvements in their overall wellbeing.”

But despite how essential effective breathing is to our overall health, unfortunately as a practice, it still tends to find itself at the bottom of our self-care list. It’s not seen as glamorous, or indeed even necessary and with the current cost of living crisis, it can be hard to justify forking out on classes that teach us how to breathe.

While there’s no disputing that working with a practitioner is your best bet in terms of gaining the most benefits from your breathwork practice, Pike says there are some simple ways to improve your breath at home. 

There are some simple ways to improve your breath at home. Image: Unsplash

“I love to suggest finding a slow song you enjoy, getting comfortable and simply breathing in and out of your nose as slowly and deeply as you can. Doing this once a day no matter how busy you feel you are would improve the quality of your days very quickly,” she says. “Your mind will wander and try to take you elsewhere for that time but choose to stay and see what happens when you take this time for yourself.” 

“Something as simple as taking a few slow deep breaths before you eat a meal, while you are walking to work, or even sitting at the lights in your car, is also another easy, but super incredible way to "do breathwork",” Pike explains. 

It’s also important for us to tune into our bodies more regularly to better understand how we breathe in different situations – not just when we’re ‘practising’ breathwork.

“Notice how you are breathing when you are feeling overwhelmed and slowing the breath down to make it in and out of the nose, and deep into the body,” she says. “Nasal breathing has an incredible way of putting our bodies back into our parasympathetic ‘rest and digest’ state.”

Take deep breaths through the nose as you move through the day. Image: iStock

Two simple techniques you can try at home

#1. Box breathing

“In and out of the nose, in for the count of 4, holding for the count of 4, out for the count of 4, holding for the count of 4. Repeating as many times as needed, you should notice a difference after around two rounds,” she says.

#2. 4:7:8 breathing

“Another basic but powerful technique to relax is 4:7:8 breathing. In and out of the nose, in for 4, holding for 7, letting go for the count of 8. Really focusing on relaxing the body while holding on the inhale, then letting go for the full 8 and without rushing yourself!”

We all breathe – this much is true. But unlike other wellness practices, we don’t consider the impact it can have on our overall well-being, often until it’s too late. “Breathing is a superpower!” Ella says.

 “It’s so much more than most of us have been led to believe – we hold so much power in our breath. And I feel so many of us place so much attention of so many things in our day like our steps, water intake, the food we eat, the movement we do – and while all of these things are very important, we don’t pay anywhere near enough attention on this one powerful thing that we literally cannot live without, our breath.”

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Originally published as You’re probably not breathing correctly (and it could be killing you)