Breath work is breathing exercises used to improved mental, physical and spiritual health through the focus and control of your breath. The following techniques are tools to help with transformation and healing and can be used to relieve mental, physical, and emotional tension. By learning this simple technique, you will benefit your mind, body, and soul.

By breathing deeply, you can activate your nervous system, slow down your heart rate, and lower your blood pressure, this creates the feeling of calm. You also rely on your diaphragm instead of your chest, so your neck and chest muscles relax, and you engage your abdominal muscles helping a larger amount of oxygen to reach your body’s cells and organs.

When your body is operating under “fight-or-flight” response, or stress, it releases a surge of hormones, causing your breathing to speed up, increasing your pulse rate and blood pressure. Deep breathing can help reverse this response and relax your body.

Deep breathing can also help calm and slow down the emotional disturbance in the mind, this is a mindfulness practice that can help treat mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

By allowing yourself to reach the Theta brain wave pattern often associated with mediation, and lucid dreaming, allows the brain to effortless shift into Theta, as 20% of the brain’s energy is use in keeping you aware of where you are spatially and 20% of the cortex of the brain is used to process visual information.

Breath work can also be a spiritual practice, which allows you to move beyond your mind and body and help you connect to your inner selves. Many people who practice breath work experience spiritual awakenings, and the ultimate state of mediation and relaxation.