The question: How do I start breathwork as a complete beginner?
The short answer: James Stewart says the best place to start is a question, not a technique: what are you trying to achieve? Different breathing patterns send different messages to your body, so the outcome you want, whether calm, sleep, focus or performance, should guide the practice you choose.
What James explains
Most of us take about 20,000 breaths a day, and James asks a simple question: how many of them do you take on purpose? With every inhale and every exhale you are sending a message inward to your body. Breathwork starts with learning what those messages are.
That is why intention comes first. A stimulating breathing exercise can be useful when you want energy or performance, but it may be completely wrong when you are trying to calm anxiety or get ready for sleep. Once you know the outcome you are looking for, you can pick a pattern that supports it.
James sees the breath as a strong tool on its own and a great companion to an exercise program, a mindfulness practice or general wellness. He describes it as a portal inward that can help the physical parts of us and the non-physical parts too: emotional, mental and spiritual health. He has practiced breathwork for more than a decade, leads retreats and workshops with Jesse Coomer, works with professional athletes and first responders, and volunteers at the VA.
Try it: notice the message your breath is sending
- Pause and let your awareness come to your breath.
- Notice the speed: are you breathing fast or slow?
- Notice where it goes: all the way down into your belly, or shallow into your chest?
- Notice the volume: are these big breaths or small ones?
- Notice the doorway: are you breathing through your nose or your mouth?
What to watch for
The most common beginner mistake is picking a technique before picking a goal. A practice that energizes you before a workout is not the one you want at bedtime. Start gently, get clear on the outcome you want, and choose breathing patterns that fit it.
Key points
- Begin by asking what you want to get out of a breathwork practice.
- Speed, depth, volume and nose or mouth breathing work together to send a message to your body.
- The right technique is the one that matches your goal, since different patterns create different effects.
Common questions
How many breaths do we take each day?
James says most of us take about 20,000 breaths a day. The real question he poses is how many of those you take on purpose, because each one sends a message to your body.
Can breathwork be combined with exercise or meditation?
Yes. James calls breathwork a great tool on its own and an excellent companion to any exercise program, mindfulness program or general wellness routine.
What can people use breathwork for?
Goals include reducing stress, calming the nervous system, better sleep and relaxation, focus, athletic performance and recovery, body awareness, and emotional or meditative practice. Each goal calls for a breathing pattern that fits it.
Research mentioned
Fincham GW, Strauss C, Montero-Marin J, Cavanagh K. Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials. Scientific Reports, 2023;13:432. Across 12 randomized controlled trials, breathwork was linked to a small-to-medium reduction in self-reported stress compared with controls; the authors ask for cautious interpretation given the small number of studies. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-27247-y
Zaccaro A, Piarulli A, Laurino M, et al. How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2018;12:353. A review of 15 studies linking slow breathing (under 10 breaths per minute) to higher heart rate variability, changes in brain activity, and greater comfort and relaxation with less anxiety. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353
Bentley TGK, D'Andrea-Penna G, Rakic M, et al. Breathing Practices for Stress and Anxiety Reduction: Conceptual Framework of Implementation Guidelines Based on a Systematic Review of the Published Literature. Brain Sciences, 2023;13(12):1612. Practices that worked best avoided fast-only breathing and very short sessions, and included guided training, multiple sessions and long-term practice. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13121612
Read the full transcript
Auto-generated from the video captions, so expect small errors.
Why do you want to start a breath work practice? What do you what do you want to achieve? And I think that's the most important way to start that breath work practice is is understanding or asking yourself that question. What am I looking to get out of this? What outcome am I looking for when I begin a breath work practice? I stumbled across breath work, you know, probably 10, 11 years ago in an effort to, you know, improve life, improve the the quality of my fulfillment, you know, that fleeting feeling of success. Uh, I wanted to stick around a little bit longer. And so, [snorts]
you I started a meditation practice and that led me to Joe Despenszer. So, I've done a lot of Joe Despenszer's work. That led me to Wimhof, uh, where I met Jesse during my certification, I think in 2017. [snorts] And uh since then, Jesse and I have done a lot of retreats. We do corporate retreats. We do retreats together, workshops. I know we both work with individuals from, you know, professional athletes, first responders. I volunteer my time at the VA to help improve people's lives using breath work and breath work patterns and techniques. So, why do you want to start a breath work practice? What do
you what do you want to achieve? Hey, I'm James with the Breathwork Channel and here we wanted to be your home of everything breath work. How, why, where? And so I want to answer some questions today that we get a lot here as you know like where to start. Most of us are doing about 20,000 breaths a day. How many do you do on purpose? Do you realize that when you're taking a breath, you're sending a message to your body? With each inhale and each exhale, you're sending a message inward. Do you know the messages that you are sending? And this is the power of
your breath. [snorts] It is a great modality and tool on its own. It is also an amazing accompiment to any exercise program, mindfulness program, or just general uh wellness expectation you may have. Using your breath as a portal inward can help both like I said the physical parts of us but then the non-physical parts of us. So whether you want to talk about emotional health, mental health, spiritual health, your breath is going to be your guide when it comes to that. I want you to pause. Pause and allow your awareness to come to your breath and simply notice observe your breath pattern. Am I breathing
fast? Am I breathing slow? What is the speed of your breath? Is my breath going all the way down into my belly or is I'm just shallow breathing into my chest? What volume I'm breathing? Are they big breaths? Are they shallow breaths? And also, am I using my mouth or am I using my nose to breathe? All these parts of your breath work pattern orchestrate together to send that message to your body. And it's important to learn the message that you're sending. So as we continue you know this journey and and discovery of of breath work and for you and for me quite frankly I
want to talk in the next episode about your breath work physiology understanding that is a gamecher you know what pipes you're using the lungs and muscles that you're using and once you understand that you can set yourself up for much better success and execution of a breath work practice. So come join me then. Like and subscribe and don't forget to put some questions. If you have questions, anything pertaining to breath work, I'd be happy to answer them and look forward to seeing you in our next episode.