On another platform, a woman asked me about the difference between pranayama and breathwork. She wanted to know the technical difference in execution.
Firstly, breathwork exists in many Eastern traditions.
- Tibetan Buddhism: Tumo
- Taoism: Qi Gong
- Hinduism: Pranayama
- In the West, we have a plethora of methods, such as Buteyko, Holotropic Breathing, Rebirthing Breathwork, the Oxygen Advantage, Wim Hof, Box breathing, 4-7-8, diaphragmatic breathing, etc.
I was trained as a Rebirthing Breathwork facilitator, indeed, but I mostly use the technique, rather than the philosophy behind it.
Yes, the techniques may differ between the systems above, but the philosophy behind them truly sets them apart.
I chose to go to the essence and use the tool itself. In essence, breathwork involves using different breathing patterns at various speeds, intensities, and durations.
Breathwork has various benefits, such as:
- Lower the inflammation
- Help with recovery processes
- Increase the level of oxygen in the cells
- Help manage triggered states
- Purge intense emotions
- Aid in the quality of sleep
- Optimise physical performance
- Increase focus or creativity, etc.
In the interaction, this woman wrote she practiced Pranayama and Yoga and was focused on the subtle energies of the body and awareness of all bodies (i.e., the emotional, mental, and aetheric ones).
She concluded that some need to breathe correctly, whereas others seek much more.
I answered that some people do not wish or need those subtle aspects she mentioned. I also mentioned that breathwork serves many more purposes than just breathing correctly.
- Professional athletes seek to improve their performance.
- Atheists or agnostics seek to care for the body and the mind.
- Practicing Christians (whose approach to the “beyond the physical” involves serving Jesus Christ through prayer, attending Liturgy, fasting, and reading the Bible) may also seek breathwork to manage daily challenges or to support their bodies.
So for more reasons than just “breathing correctly.”
The ranking fallacy
Followers of the “New Age” tend to think those with different worldviews are basic and use everything, even breathwork, at a basic level. That is a faulty view.
I’ve done my best to help people through breathwork. I do not assume to know more about their worldview and their view of the afterlife based on breathwork alone.
I prefer to avoid ranking someone’s practices, especially when I know nothing more about the person. Breathwork is a tool, and anyone can use it as it suits them best.
This is why I said that breathwork is the practice, without philosophy. It is a variety of techniques with clear purposes.
I sincerely hope you use breathwork to support your path in life and never fall prey to ranking others as superior or inferior.
If you resonate, you can always support your daily challenges, physical processes, or other goals with breathwork via my Patreon community. Check it out and see how it is for you!
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