Did you know that intentional deep breathing can provide some amazing health benefits? Each one of us was given the gift of breath to keep us alive, and it is up to us to use that gift to its fullest potential.
I teamed up with Crystal Halverson, an incredible Pause Breathwork facilitator, to provide you with some important and helpful information about breathwork. I have been able to experience the powerful healing benefits of breathwork for myself with Crystal as my facilitator, so I am thrilled that she agreed to share her wealth of knowledge with all of us here! After reading through the Q&A, I will share some more information on how you can get started with breathwork today!
Q: What is breathwork?
Crystal: Breathwork is a method where we use a continual breath pattern that allows the body to break down emotions that are stuck & stagnant and creating havoc in our energy systems. It is a practice that allows our system to connect with our body and to heal by releasing these built-up emotions that leads to us to a transformation. The great thing about breathwork is that it allows us to surrender the mind not by force, but by just focusing our attention on our breath and our energy to our body to bypass the mind which is our biggest block to feeling and transformation. From this place, we are able to open up the body allow the body to do its work- healing, transformation and transcending old layers and patterns.
Q: What’s the difference between meditation and breathwork?
C: The core difference is that Pause Breathwork is for healing and transformation. There are a lot of breathing practices where the goal or outcome is relaxation, but with Pause, relaxation and connection are an after effect of the practice. The goal with Pause is to unearth the stuck energy that prevents us from living in our highest alignment and operating in elevated frequencies.
Meditation is known for its relaxing and calming properties and is great for us to practice. But, for myself, I struggled with being able to quiet my mind and it would continuously hijack my experience because I couldn’t ever “shut it off”. Compared to breathwork, it literally is using our breath and putting it to work. By having a specific breath pattern and focusing on this breath, it allows you to bypass your mind and your thoughts that likes to hijack your experiences and it brings you quickly into the body where the work happens. By focusing on the mantra and the breath pattern, I’m able to calm my mind and allow my body to feel emotions instead of thinking my way out of it. Both meditation and breathwork can reduce anxiety and allow you to feel a sense of calm and peace. But the biggest difference is that breathwork intention is to bring up past stuck emotion and to move it out of your body to fully release it so it no longer continues to wreak havoc on your system.
Q: What happens to the body during breathwork?
C: The physiologic changes we see during sustained breathwork is created by a shift in the blood ph.which is called respiratory alkalosis. It occurs when we take in oxygen during the inhale breath and get rid of CO2 (carbon dioxide) with every exhale. When we utilize this faster breath pattern, we end up getting rid of more CO2 at a quicker rate. This CO2 is acidic, so when we get into this respiratory alkalosis state, we get rid of the acid in our blood and it shifts to a higher more alkaline ph. Most breathers experience fairly instant sensations of an elevated mood which is due to this respiratory alkalosis. When the breath is more alkaline, calcium ions that usually float around in the blood end up going into hiding so the body experiences a short-term low calcium state which brings a tingling sensation, smooth muscle contraction and an increase muscle tone. It has an anti-inflammatory effect because neurons in the autonomic nervous system fire more and release epinephrine. This epinephrine surge causes the innate immune system to increase its anti- inflammatory activity.
Q: What is a typical breathwork session like?
C: Your Pause facilitator trainee will follow the guided steps taught by Founder and CEO, Samantha Skelly. Sessions can be completed either online or in-person. Prior to the session, your facilitator trainee will curate the space, ensuring it is clean, safe, and appropriate. They will educate about breathwork, it’s history, the origin of Pause, and let you know what to expect as the session unfolds. They will share the intention for the session, demonstrate the breathing patterns, and ask for consent to do light bodywork. Bodywork is when the facilitator grounds participants and reminds them to breathe, staying with the pattern. If a client is experiencing tension, the facilitator may apply pressure to the area, for myofascial release. Before the session begins, you will be asked to sign a General & Medical questionnaire form as well as a liability form for safety. Your facilitator trainee will also ask questions to ensure you are fully aware of the session and you’re comfortable to move forward. After the session, your facilitator trainee will provide follow up homework or post session self-care tips to enhance the healing process.
Q: What are the biggest benefits of breathwork?
C: Here are the most common benefits:
» Immediate stress reduction & anxiety relief.
» Connect with your emotions & change your response to them.
» Revitalizes your organs.
» Gives you access to your higher power.
» Reduces toxins in your body & provides an energetic release.
» More energy & mental clarity.
» Deepens your relationship to your body.
» Release trauma that has been stuck in your system for years.
» Better access your intuition.
Q: Is breathwork safe and effective for everyone?
C: Breathwork is safe for children; however, being in an altered state of consciousness with intense emotionality might be jarring on their system. For children, sticking to the Pause Integrative Exercises will be most appropriate. This decision is ultimately up to the caregiver or parent.
If you have any medical conditions or are currently taking medication, please consult your doctor before starting breathwork. Medical conditions may include, but are not limited to, high blood pressure, depression, kidney disease, heart disease, chronic panic attacks, and asthma.
Breathwork is not recommend for pregnant women. The practice can create intense emotionality within the system, which may create emotional disruption for the baby. Breathwork is highly recommended prenatal to allow for the release of past trauma and to create a healthy energetic environment for the baby, as well as postnatal. Breathwork is safe to use when breastfeeding.
Q: How often should breathwork be practiced?
C: It’s important to listen to your body when you are checking in with this question. Breathwork is completely safe to do every single day, or twice a day. However, you want to first ask yourself, “What is my intention for my practice?” Ask yourself the why behind wanting to complete the practice. There are absolutely no downsides for increasing the duration of your sessions or the number of sessions completed on a weekly basis.
Now that you know a little more about breathwork, check out Samantha Skelly’s website to watch videos, read about other people’s experiences, and receive a free breathwork audio experience!
Crystal also hosts a wonderful podcast, and you can learn more about that (and her) here!
Thank you again, Crystal, for all of the wonderful information you’ve shared!
Have you experienced a breathwork session? Do you want to after learning more? Let me know in the comments!
The Art of Wellness 