A monthly muse on all thing’s health & wellbeing with Carole Baker, Founder of the self centre
“Err, I’ve been breathing just fine since the day I was born thanks” might be your first response to this statement. But there is compelling evidence now that being “Conscious” about your breathing and learning to control it, can have utterly amazing effects on the body and mind.
There is so much power within your breath that lies untapped. Every culture and tribe on Earth has traditional ancient breathwork practices.
- Traditional Yogic breathing exercises (Pranayama) have been around for centuries, benefits include both energising you and calming you down – regulating the breath, can still the mind and achieve a deeper understanding of yourself.
- In ancient China, QiGong practitioners believed that the breath was closely connected to the body’s vital energy and that controlling the breath could help balance and harmonise the body’s energy.
- Ancient Egyptians developed a variety of breath control techniques to promote well-being. And techniques were used for spiritual/physical health.
Breathwork in the Modern Age
Early 20thC Rank & Reich believed breath was closely connected to emotional/psychological well-being – the technique was used to help individuals release repressed emotions/traumas, believing repressed emotions were stored in the body and by releasing them through breathwork, one could improve emotional and psychological well-being.
1950s, Orr developed Rebirthing-Breathwork, which is a form of conscious connected breathing – a self-healing technique that aims to release emotional and physical blockages, maybe from birth, through breath practices.
1960s Grof developed Holotropic Breathwork that uses rapid and deep breathing to achieve altered states of consciousness to access the healing potential of the unconscious mind – by accessing the unconscious mind, one could access repressed emotions, traumas, and negative behaviours that were blocking personal growth and well-being.
Come the 21st century Wim Hof, also known as “The Iceman”, has brought breathwork practices more into the public, undergoing lots of scientific studies. He uses ancient Yoga breathwork techniques and positive mindset to enhance the ability to withstand extremely cold temperatures, boost immune system function and perform extreme athletic feats. Patrick McKeown has recently developed The Oxygen Advantage Breathwork Programme which focuses on using breath to enhance athletic performance, mimicking high altitude training.
So, breathwork is a diverse practice that encompasses many different techniques, they all share the common goal of using the breath to promote physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
All of our Marvellous Autumn Masterclasses @theselfcentre will be incorporating breathwork practices, so whether you need energising or de-stressing or want to release emotions, we have the perfect one for you!
