Does ‘Breathwork’ Actually Better Our Health?

Does ‘Breathwork’ Actually Better Our Heatlh?

 

You may have heard that yogis focus on breathwork a lot. Breathing in and out at a controlled pace, even holding the breath for a time, allowing the body to relax the mind and focus the brain so that a pose may be accomplished with better ease. 

Or maybe you haven't heard any of this. Maybe you've never tried yoga.

Oxygen is one of the essentials of life on Earth.

Or so we've been told. 

At least we know for a fact that one of the first things we need to accomplish in this physical world is to breath in and out, to use the lungs, to give and receive the air or elements on the inside of the body in exchange for the air or elements on the outside of the body.

We know this because babies who don't accomplish this task soon after birth simply don't 'make it'.  

In Aryuvedic and Chinese medicine it's ALL about the give and the take. The yin and the yang. The stress, and the release (the relief). 

They consider the breath the life-force, the vehicle or mechinism which keeps this 'in and out' in balance, essentially getting the rest of the body to follow suit (i.e. the body of the newborn baby lives, the body of the newborn baby does not live.)

And so when we learn to control our breath intentionally, we are better able to control the mind overall.

And everything starts in the mind. Including health. 

Or so we are told.

Now one might say, yes, but this is all only theory, right? It makes sense, but can it be explained with actual scientific studies, using the scientific method? Can we get physical proof of these statements? Something more tangible than words? 

So today I bring you some studies and research papers on the matter. 

Read them. Consider them. Critique them. 

As always, see where you land, and enjoy the process. 

Happy reading.

🤍🤍🤍🤍 🤍🤍🤍 

(The studies below are nowhere near an exhaustive list. Always continue your own research and read the papers within each paper below)

STUDIES & RESOURCES:

1) How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing

2) Effect Of Breathwork On Stress And Mental Health: A Meta-Analysis Of Randomised-Controlled Trials

3) Brief Structured Respiration Practices Enhance Mood And Reduce Physiological Arousal

4) Deep Breathing Exercise At Work: Potential Applications And Impact

5) Slow Breathing For Reducing Stress: The Effect Of Extending Exhale

6) Breathing Practices For Stress and Anxiety Reduction: Conceptual Framework Of Implementation Guidelines Based On A Systematic Review Of The Published Literature 

🤍🤍🤍🤍 🤍🤍🤍

🤍🤍🤍🤍 🤍🤍🤍

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. I am not a doctor. I am simply sharing my opinions and studies as a clinical herbalist, researcher, and fellow human being on health topics and methods. Always take my opinions, thoughts, and advice with a grain of salt. Try them on for size but always by your own consent. And continue to research on your own. Remember: your health is your own. 

🤍🤍🤍🤍 🤍🤍🤍

 

 

 

 

 

Back to blog