Breathwork

Breathwork is a contemporary umbrella term for a diverse and not fully standardized field of practices that intentionally work with breathing—its awareness, pattern, rate, depth, rhythm, route, retention or ventilation—to influence physical, psychological, emotional, contemplative or performance states.

The term may encompass everything from simple regulated breathing and functional breathing retraining to intensive facilitated practices intended to produce emotional release or non-ordinary states of consciousness. It is also sometimes used broadly enough to include traditional practices such as pranayama, although PRANAYAMA.COM maintains an important historical and philosophical distinction between pranayama and the contemporary breathwork field.