THE RISE OF BREATHWORK: WHAT’S BEHIND THE BIG BOOM!
Breathwork is booming!
Statistics indicate a 900% search engine increase for ‘breathwork’ on Google over the last 5 years! That’s pretty massive right? So what’s behind this explosive growth in general? There’s some compelling scientific and anecdotal evidence that may go some way to explain this rise in interest.
Firstly, breathwork isn’t new! It’s an ancient practice which has gained a lot of traction of late. Recent meta-analyses and controlled studies reveal breathwork's measurable impact on stress, anxiety, and nervous system regulation which goes some way to providing an evidence-based foundation, driving the widespread adoption of breathwork as a conscious and intentional healing modality.
Breathwork has been researched and proven effective as a moderator to regulate stress and reduce anxiety. Below are two studies of the many you can now find online.
Breathwork for mood enhancement and reduced arousal (regulation):: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666379122004748
Breathwork for anxiety: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9954474/
A comprehensive 2023 meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (linked above) found breathwork was associated with lower levels of stress than control conditions, showing a significant small-to-medium mean effect. The same research demonstrated similar significant effect sizes for anxiety and depressive symptoms (also linked above), with all results reaching statistical significance, and in our view, any improvement is exactly that - improvement! But let’s be clear here - there are many different ways to work with the breath and the above studies typically refer to how you can work to moderate and improve your day to day breathing, what we refer to as ‘functional breathing’ rather than the more widely known conscious connected breathwork.
These more physiologically focussed practices can, and do have helpful direct impact on overall health and on nervous system regulation. Unlike many wellness interventions, breathwork operates through a direct "bottom-up" (i.e., body-based) approach to stress reduction. Breathing acts directly on the autonomic nervous system, so its benefits run across diverse populations and people. Stanford Medicine researchers demonstrated that controlled breathwork produces greater improvement in mood and reduction in respiratory rate compared with mindfulness meditation, and these effects were measurable after just five minutes daily.
What sets breathwork apart is its dual capacity for immediate relief and lasting change. Brief structured respiration practices such as coherence breathing, 4-7-8 breathing and box breathing for example, enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. This includes supporting decreased respiratory rate, decreased heart rate, and improved heart rate variability. These physiological changes can occur fairly rapidly, offering tangible positive changes and making breathwork particularly appealing in our instant-gratification culture, but lasting beyond that instantaneous fix.
The Pandemic Catalyst
COVID-19 highlighted the importance of simple, fast-acting, and cost-effective techniques to address the widespread physical and mental health challenges that became so evident during the pandemic. Declines in mental health and wellbeing were widely documented, with people beginning to look for at-home, accessible solutions to support themselves in staying ‘well’.
During this period, breathwork emerged as an ideal solution: it was universally accessible, scalable, and cost-free, with no side effects (in the functional practices) and no dependence on healthcare services or location based centres which were unavailable at that time.
Scientific Mechanisms
Research reveals multiple pathways through which breathwork creates change. Slow diaphragmatic breathing stimulates the vagus nerve, activating the parasympathetic nervous system's "rest and digest" response. This counters the chronic sympathetic activation associated with modern stress. Schools such as Oxygen Advantage and the School of Breath Science offer fantastic understandings of our breathing and how we can work with greater understanding of the science of breathwork, where schools like ours focus in part on those aspects and to a greater extent on the personal growth aspects of breathwork.
Clinical Applications
Studies such as those linked above show that breathwork interventions yield significant improvements in anxiety symptoms in patients clinically diagnosed with anxiety disorders. The bidirectional relationship between breathing and nervous system function explains both why anxiety causes hyperventilation and why controlled breathing can interrupt anxiety cycles.
The Ancient-Modern Bridge
While evidence of breathwork dates back to 2700 B.C.E. in China and 3000 B.C.E. in India, and was similarly practiced in many other indigenous and/or shamanic cultures, modern neuroscience now explains the mechanisms our ancestors intuited. This scientific validation has transformed breathwork from spiritual practice to medical intervention and back again, driving adoption across healthcare, corporate wellness, and therapeutic settings. That said, the rise of conscious connected breathwork also holds a strong focus on the spiritual aspects of breathing practices, which we see as a remarkable thing. As a conscious connected breathwork training school, we have witnessed the most incredible breakthroughs, insights, and life-changing awareness which would not likely arise through the more regulating, therapeutic functional practices. In other words, both have their place and both are of equal value.
The bottom line is that the growth of breathwork practices isn't just trendy, it's evidence and anecdotally based healing work. With scientific proof of the many measurable benefits for stress, anxiety, nervous system regulation, and overall well-being, breathwork represents the convergence of ancient wisdom and modern validation that defines effective 21st-century wellness.
Do you want to be part of this change?
Do you have a dream to make breathwork accessible in the communities that need it most?
Do you love the idea of shifting from quick fix modalities to lasting, embodied and liberatory change in your life and the lives of others?
Do be in touch! We have three upcoming breathwork certification trainings and we always offer our one to one pathway too. We welcome your inquiry!
