"He has, as one advertising lackey puts it, gotten rich selling people air that's fresher' than the stinky stuff outside. If a recent proliferation of real-life courses, books and online search interest is anything to go by, the act of getting that air into one's lungs is also now commodified. Online and in-person breathwork sessions now abound, some charging hundreds of dollars to teach participants a skill most have already acquired as a prerequisite for life: how to breathe."
"Breathwork as a wellness trend is difficult to precisely define, because there are all sorts of different breathwork techniques and protocols that get popularised, says Dr Vince Polito, a senior lecturer in the school of psychological sciences at Macquarie University. There genuinely are some physiological effects of changing your breathing, Polito says, describing it as a means to influence the autonomic nervous system, which regulates unconscious measures like heart rate and blood pressure. It certainly can change your mood and affect as well."
Breathwork encompasses diverse techniques that alter breathing patterns to influence the autonomic nervous system, affecting heart rate, blood pressure and mood. Some methods slow respiration to induce relaxation and reduce stress, while other protocols use rapid breathing to change oxygen availability and produce stronger physiological effects. A booming wellness market now packages breathwork into paid online and in-person sessions, sometimes commanding high prices. Scientific evidence supports certain benefits such as stress relief, but many commercial claims—like unlocking profound healing or full human potential—lack robust empirical support. Definitions and practices vary widely across practitioners and courses.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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