Like many of you likely reading this, I deal with a fair amount of stress in my life – however, with my wiring, unfortunately I’m not always the best at managing it. I’ve had generalized anxiety disorder since I was really young and I feel like I’ve tried just about everything to shrink the beast that is my over-thinking and chronic worry, but it’s never really diminished to the point that I could say something specifically “worked” on my anxiety. From therapy to medication, EMDR sessions, attempting to journal (despite enjoying writing it turns out I loathe journaling), exercise, meditation, touching grass… you name it, I’ve probably given it a try – however, recently I tried something new that actually, genuinely seems to be helping – and it’s something available right here in Fresno – breathwork sessions.
What is breathwork?
Breathwork is essentially following intentional breathing patterns and exercises intended to yield specific results such as reducing stress, improving mindfulness, increasing blood flow, reducing pain, helping you identify or move through trapped feelings, or getting you out of your head so you can better connect with your own body.
What is a breathwork session?
Typically, a breathwork session is led by a facilitator or instructor who is trained on various breath patterns and the positive results that they can lead to. A breathwork session may be done one-on-one or in a group. The group can be comprised of strangers (like in a public class) or arranged as a private group (with your own friends or family). Sessions typically last 1-2 hours.
During a breathwork session, you’ll be lying down or seated and the facilitator will ask you to bring items that will help you to get into a comfortable position. In the session I participated in, I laid on a yoga mat, with a pillow under my head, another under my knees, covered myself with a light blanket, and wore an eye mask. I liked having an eye mask (and the fact that everyone else had one too) because I felt less awkward when doing open-mouthed breathing exercises (since one typically doesn’t like being seen as mouth-breather).
Throughout the session, your facilitator might take you through different experiences designed to enhance the session. Some facilitators use glass sound bowls or musical instruments to create soothing, relaxing, or peaceful tones that help you further de-stress. Our facilitator used a sound bowl (which was very pleasant), a big but gentle drum, a rain stick, and an instrument that made a sound like ocean waves. The sounds were like what you’d hear in the background during a good massage, but you could feel the vibration more, since they were live sounds in the same room.
Your facilitator might also play music, help you adjust your breathing to take deeper or more clearing breaths so you can experience the benefits of breathing exercises, and they may also guide you through meditation during your session, depending on their expertise and the goals of your breathwork session.
Why breathwork?
I am a logic-minded person. I like facts, evidence, research — knowing the what, why, when and where of everything. (I blame seeing how crayons were made in factories on Mr. Rogers for starting my need to know how everything works. Kidding. Kind of…) Meditation is hard for me, and sometimes things that are based on intuition or alternative practices can feel a little too “woo-woo” and hard for me to get into. However, the breathwork facilitator I took a class from, Anna Cruz of Holistic Healing with Anna, also comes from a very practical thinking field – nursing — in hospitals, with critical patients.
After going through huge and difficult changes in her own life and not finding relief from the pain and stress those experiences left behind, she found herself (like me) willing to try just about anything to improve how she was feeling. She cautiously tried breathwork and found that it helped her to manage and clear negative emotions and drastically improved her well-being, and she wanted to do the same for others. She has since been trained to be a practitioner of breathwork classes and is helping others to benefit in the same transformative way that she did.
Knowing that Anna was also someone who has a practical mindset and found great help in breathwork gave me hope it might help me, too.
So, how did breathwork help me with my stress?
During the class, Anna helped me realize I don’t take full breaths. I was essentially breathing very shallowly, almost all the time. By not taking full breaths down into my chest and belly, I was essentially robbing my body of a lot of things, including a feeling of calm.
The guided meditation that Anna took us through during the class, in combination with the breathing exercises helped me to actually physically feel like my stress was under control (for the first time in a long time) and gave me the clarity to figure out what things I was stuck thinking about so I could finally figure out how I wanted to deal with them, and be done with those thoughts. It was like shutting down the program full of malware running in the background of my brain-pc.
I’ve since caught myself breathing shallowly at times, but corrected it in the moment, which has increased the feeling of calm and mental clarity in my day-to-day life. I’m honestly surprised by how helpful the class was for me, and I would like to take some of my stressed-out friends and family members to a class soon, too.
How can I find a breathwork class?
The practitioner I worked with, Anna Cruz, regularly hosts public sessions for a fee, as well as donation-based sessions. She also offers one-on-one sessions and private group sessions through her booking site.
I also found a free, online breathwork class that is offered weekly here. (Though I have not personally taken one of these classes.)
Final Thoughts
As we journey through the ups and downs of life, finding effective methods to manage stress can be transformative. My experience with breathwork has opened up a new avenue of calm and clarity that I was previously missing. For anyone feeling overwhelmed or curious about alternative wellness methods, a breathwork class might just be the key to unlocking a deeper sense of peace and mindfulness. I encourage you to explore breathwork for yourself and discover its potential benefits firsthand. Whether you’re in Fresno or elsewhere, take a moment to breathe deeply and see where this simple yet profound practice can take you.
Author’s Note: I wrote this blog because I love highlighting local businesses here at FresYes, and I believe breathwork may help other stressed out Fresnans like it helped me. Anna has no idea I’m writing this, this is not sponsored in the slightest.
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