Try this to see how breathwork works.

Take a couple of moments to breathe through your nose, deep into your abdomen, and then out your mouth. Do this five times. 

You will notice your body relaxing. Your mind may start to clear of any lingering stressors. What you are experiencing is a sample of what breathwork can do.

Why Your Breathing Matters

At some point in your life, a teacher or a parent explained to you in a very simple way how breathing works. Perhaps it went something like this: When we breathe in, our body takes in oxygen, and when we exhale, we breathe out carbon dioxide. Though this is a fantastic way to give a simple answer, there is much more to consider. 

Breathing is not just about taking oxygen into our lungs. Breathing involves your whole body.

Every single cell in our bodies requires oxygen so it’s important to understand that breathing is just fundamentally good and works in a beautiful way. Our body signals our brain that it needs more oxygen. Our blood cells carry the oxygen throughout our bodies proving the needed energy all while expelling the carbon dioxide.

Breathwork is powerful because it clears the mind and the body!

What Does Breathwork Do?

When we control our breathing, we are controlling the oxygen flow into our bodies. By controlling oxygen, we can influence a number of things.

When we inhale deeply with our belly, we can bring our heart rate down to the pace of our breathing, and as a result, our brain releases endorphins, chemicals that naturally occur in the body that help to create a calming effect and reduces anxiety. Studies have shown that the release of endorphins can encourage a number of benefits to our minds and bodies.

Though more research is still being conducted, there is substantial evidence that breathwork is absolutely good for you. Studies have even suggested it can improve depression, reduces anxiety, and even increase grey matter in the brain—that means it has the ability to improve our brain’s function in relation to our bodies and emotions.

Breathwork uses the ability to slow the pace of our heart, suppress stress hormones, and release endorphins to promote healing and improvement in the body.

Think of how your body may be breathing throughout the day, or how you’ve learned to breathe in the midst of stress. Frequent release of stress hormones can drastically deplete your health. If you were able to encourage your body to breathe properly and effectively throughout the day, even through stress, who knows just how far the benefits of breathwork could be taken!

Let’s take a look to see some of the major benefits you can get from breathwork in the ways it helps your body.

5 Things Breathwork Does For Your Body

1. Immune System Booster

We may often associate stress with the mind and emotions, but stress manifests in our bodies as well in more ways than we realize. In fact, stress has been proven to be a significant contributor to a decline in health both physically and mentally. 

Continually overdosing the system with stress hormones has shown to drastically weaken the immune system, making you more susceptible to health complications.

When stress hormones are released, we have to find some way to deal with them. This is where breathwork comes into play. Consistent use of breathwork exercise, especially when it’s paired with physical exercise, can help you make your immune system stronger.

2. Reduces Blood Pressure and Improves Blood Circulation

When you take deep breaths to calm yourself, you’ll notice your heart rate beginning to drop. The influence breathwork can have on the heart can lead to improvements to our blood pressure and overall circulation.

By decreasing heart rate and dilating blood vessels through breathwork, we can lower our blood pressure, thus minimizing the risks that come with it. In improving our blood circulation, nutrients, oxygen, and warmth are able to more efficiently disperse throughout our bodies.

3. Breathwork Is Good for Your Looks

Maybe the bags under your eyes are darker, your skin is extra textured or breaking out, or maybe your hair has begun thinning significantly more than it has before. Breathwork has been shown to help all those things. And as you see yourself physically change, you will notice your confidence boost. 

Additionally, improper breathing caused by stress can influence poor posture. Aside from looking like a hunched-over vulture, poor posture can lead to neck pain and a number of other issues. Proper breathing, especially deep breaths into the abdomen can help encourage proper posture.

Also, let’s not forget the obvious. When you practice your breathwork in the gym or in a Deep End Fitness session, you’re exercising. We all know that exercising helps anyone look even better than they already do. 

Our Deep End Fitness training sessions are designed for all levels of athletes, corporate leaders, and high-performing individuals to develop mental focus, help manage stress, strengthen water confidence, and build efficient breathing techniques through enhancing water and life confidence.

Additionally, improper breathing caused by stress can influence poor posture. Aside from looking like a hunched-over vulture, poor posture can lead to neck pain and a number of other issues. Proper breathing, especially deep breaths into the abdomen can help encourage proper posture.

 4. Minimizes Chronic Pain

 A lot of chronic pain is linked to stress and circulation. With that in mind, it is easy to realize that chronic pain can be minimized and potentially treated with the use of breathwork. Suppose you deal with headaches frequently; breathwork has been shown to be of use when it comes to treating such pains.

Sometimes, the issue is something that requires a doctor’s help and certainly go to a doctor if you need to. However, sometimes, the issue is rooted in stress or poor circulation, and you can find a coach to give you guidance on breathwork.

5. Releases Negative Thoughts

Typically what we are thinking influences our bodies. Imagine you are in the middle of a workout and are feeling discouraged, or maybe you haven’t even started the workout. In these scenarios, one of the best things you can do is change your mindset to win.

Proper breathing techniques can encourage positive thoughts, or even neutralize negative ones. Training your breathing can help you stay calm when you need it. 

It’s one of the reasons breathwork is a key component in a Deep End Fitness session.  Our training sessions use a low-impact fitness program created by U.S. Military Special Operators, backed by science, proven to boost mental resilience, reduce stress, and build efficient breathing. If you can master efficient breathing in the pool, you can master it out in the real world too. 

The Major Takeaway of Practicing Breathwork

Regardless of where you are at in terms of your health, you can benefit from some breathwork. If you’re training and you find yourself struggling to focus, you can utilize breathing exercises to stay on task. Perhaps your job has become notably more stressful, and you need some way to create a state of relaxation.

Maybe you desire to be at the peak of your health all around to the best of your ability. Maybe you’re trying to learn to stay calm in work meetings, to keep PMA all day, or to have more patience with your kids at dinner. Breathwork exercises are definitely worth your time. 

It is important to note that even though it can be done by anyone, breathwork is still something you will want guidance on. Visit us at a Deep End Fitness session for coaching and instruction so you can utilize it properly. 

And if the idea of working on your breath underwater freaks you out, don’t worry. Every Deep End Fitness session starts with the “Circle of Trust,” where we welcome you into the same community that will have your back in the pool. Then, before we even dip a toe into the water, we prime those lungs with breathing ladders and some good, strong lung work. 

Even if you are just curious to know more, or want to gain some knowledge for yourself, the best source is someone who is experienced and knows what they are talking about. However, you won’t really know unless you try it out. So stop waiting and start breathing.