Why I don’t hyperventilate when I do breathwork
A personal perspective rooted in experience and our current reality of trending media.
Big-experience breathwork events are quite the trend these days. It’s all I see on social media when I scroll with the topic of breathwork in mind (vs when I’m scrolling cute dog videos…). Of course my algorithm is set to more gentler tones, but the usual video of a woman on the floor screaming, thrashing around and sobbing with an eye mask on, and a facilitator hovering their hands over their body doing some sort of reiki adjustment - is the common scene when it comes to this.
I’m not saying this is a bad thing, and I’m sure as heck not bashing the ‘big experience breathwork industry’ (or hyperventilation styles in general) because it is a useful practice and has benefited many just as gentler, more foundational breathwork has too. What I do see happening in my own world and with my clients, are women who have left these experiences feeling dysregulated for days afterwards, unsupported and confused, and in fear of ever working with their breath again. Absolutely not ideal (and heartbreaking for me to see) considering the breath can be a powerful portal to whole-being wellness.
What is hyperventilation breathwork?
When I speak of hyperventilation (I also often refer to it as the ‘big experience breathwork’), I’m referring to the pattern of breathing more than your natural breath (you’re taking in and letting go more air volume than normal) — you’re breathing deeper and/or faster, often in and out through the mouth primarily. Classes/sessions often run for average of 30mins, and some practice these daily while others dip-in less frequently, once a month/year for example. These styles of breathwork are usually referred to as Conscious Connected, Rebirthing , Wim Hoff, Circular, and Holotropic breathwork for example. They all stem from ancient origins (usually from buddhist, taoist and yogic traditions) and are all performed in a controlled manner (different to hyperventilation you may experience as a panic attack!).
As I mentioned before, there are benefits to this type of breathwork including effects on immunity and inflammation, energy levels, altered states of awareness, emotional regulation and stress resiliency. May I be clear in also saying that gentler, more foundational practices also bring these same benefits, but from a more accessible level - and it is important to always balance out the upregulating and activating practices with these. This is how you can avoid walking out feeling dysregulated.
Note: Some people also use these styles of breathwork to directly release and ‘work with’ trauma. Here is when I jump in and remind you; please always ensure that if you are planning to do a workshop/practice that mentions ‘trauma’ , ensure that the facilitator is trauma-informed or has support facilitators who are. This is important.
‘What breathwork should I do?’
It depends. What are your intentions?
Is it to increase your ability to breathe easefully and ‘fully’? Is it to manage stress and emotions? Is it to calm the mind and explore your inner-self? Do you want to embody more calm, clarity, grounding, resilience, presence and focus? Do you want to explore these things gently and with a sense of spaciousness, softness and ease?
If yes to any of these, then Breathe Her breathwork can help you.
And if your answer is to go and do/try the hyperventilation practices then please go ahead, and come back to me for the downregulation, grounding and balance after 😉
‘How does Breathe Her breathwork benefit me?’
At Breathe Her breathwork, what I’m most interested in (myself) and for others, is how are you breathing all day? Not just for 10-30mins while you do a practice, but for the other 23+ hours of the day when you’re not ‘practicing’. Because these are the hours of the day when you’re most likely to need a stress regulator, to have a tool that allows you to get through tricky moments, or to in-general just want and need a nice easeful breath. This is why we ‘do the thing (practice)’ — is to embody tools that we can use in our every-day life ‘off the mat’ (as they say in yoga).
I’ll make it plain and simple; you can’t stop mid-traffic jam and do a Wim Hoff session (it is forbidden to practice hyperventilation while operating machinery or near water), you can’t lay on the floor in your public work office and start a rebirthing practice, you can’t cook dinner while also doing a practice that has the potential to lead you to pass-out (if not practiced properly).
It’s 1. unsafe, 2. not socially acceptable (sorry, hyperventilating on the office floor will probably lead to triple zero being called because your colleagues are freaking out!), and 3. just isn’t practical. Our lives are busy and complex. We need accessible, life-applicable and effective practices and tools that we can call on anytime if the day, anywhere.
Breathe Her breathwork focusses on gentle and foundational pranayama (yogic) practices that teach you tools for every-day (moment by moment) life. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, you can always call on a Breathe Her breathwork tool, mid-conversation, mid-car ride, mid multi-task…
But if you’re someone who is into the idea of intense and rapid breathing, don’t let me stop you -
‘I’m going to a hyperventilation workshop or event for the first time, what should i keep in mind?’
Read the event description, what is the theme or intention of the event. Be mentally prepared for this… (I often have women come to me saying ‘I had no idea we’d be doing xxx!’)
Research the facilitator: do they have breathwork credentials, are they trauma-informed and trained (highly recommended), do they have support facilitators with them (if it is a large event)?
What pre-event information and support/preparation is there? What post-event support is there? Who can I speak to afterwards if I feel like I need to debrief or receive professional mental support?
Ask yourself: have I tried breathwork or meditation before? Have I ever spent time exploring my inner self? If the answer is no to any of these, please know that if this is going to be your first experience with breathwork/inner-experience, that it may be intense and bring up a lot of emotion.
Plan your post-event integration: grab a Breathe Her breathwork pack or program to have up your sleeve for any downregulation and grounding that you might need afterwards. Then continue to use these practices each day afterwards for at least a week, ensuring sustained balance and stability within the nervous system. Continue to check in with yourself for the weeks after the event and ask yourself ‘how did this practice and event impact my nervous system, mind, body, life…has it been positive, negative, neutral? what changes have I noticed’.