Do you know how to breathe? That’s not a trick question. It seems many of us are going about our lives breathing in a maladjusted or unhelpful fashion. While inhaling and expelling air is a given, were you aware this should almost always be done via your nose alone? Or that harnessing the full potential of your breath could transform your life? Fantastical though this may sound, it has been repeatedly proved that the cluster of techniques that fall under the “breathwork” umbrella have astonishing benefits for practitioners’ health and wellbeing. With several breath-focused books set to be published in 2020, the time looks ripe for a global breathing revolution. In the meantime, the festive break (and the accompanying stress) is a jolly fine window for a few breathwork taster sessions in the comfort of one’s own home.

There’s no one better placed to explain why we should all be paying more attention to our breath than Mr Richie Bostock, aka The Breath Guy, a breath coach, speaker and author of Exhale, out next year. So, what exactly is breathwork? “It’s when you become aware of your breathing and then start to change it, to modulate it to create physical, mental or emotional benefit,” says Mr Bostock. “That broad definition encapsulates different ways you can use breath, which might be as simple as a three-minute technique to help you relax or fall asleep. Then there’s breathing for athletic performance, breathing for meditative states, breathing for various medical issues and, at the deepest end, there’s breathing as a form of therapy. It’s an incredible way to work through and release past issues or traumas in a rapid and safe way. There’s something for everybody.”

Mr Bostock started out as a management consultant, but discovered the benefits of adapting one’s breathing patterns while helping his father explore treatments for his multiple sclerosis. After witnessing significant improvement to his father’s health and wellbeing with the Wim Hof method, which utilises both breathwork and exposure to icy temperatures to boost wellbeing, Mr Bostock set out on a five-continent breathing odyssey. “I travelled for years learning about different styles of breathing, including traditional practices such as pranayama and yogic breathing, Sufi breathwork and Chinese medical breathing, such as qigong,” he says. “I also explored modern styles: Transformational Breath, holotropic and biodynamic breathwork. Beyond that, I worked with athletic coaches around breathing for performance, with physiotherapists to understand its mechanics and how it can be optimised, and with doctors and psychologists around its effects on the nervous system.”

Mr Bostock was surprised that people seemed to be unaware of the power their lungs hold to improve health and happiness. “I kept witnessing people having transformative experiences where, just by breathing in certain ways over certain periods of time, they were changing their lives,” he says. “It’s almost criminal that this isn’t mainstream knowledge because it’s just breathing and, once you learn how to do it, it’s free. It’s medicine that comes from within.”

While accruing coaching experience, Mr Bostock helped people with gastro-intestinal issues reverse their symptoms, people with pulmonary disease expand their lung function, chronic insomniacs regain their ability to sleep and the bereaved let go of guilt and grief. “Breath affects every bodily system – your cardiovascular, immune, digestive, endocrine, lymphatic systems and your neurology and brain function – which means, once you learn how to use it, you can take responsibility for it,” he says. “And with more information, you have something cool to use daily. So, if you need to create energy, you can do that in minutes. There are practices for creativity or assistance in making better decisions, for example. There are practices to cure hangovers and for better sex. It’s like a Swiss Army knife for the body. All you need to know is what the breath is doing and how it does it, then you have this remarkable tool.”

Breathwork should also appeal to stressed-out city dwellers. This is where your nose comes in. “Most of the time, you should breathe in and out through your nose,” says Mr Bostock. “First, it acts as a filter for pollutants and helps to humidify and warm the air so it creates a better environment for your lungs. Second, the natural resistance of breathing through your nose means you’re going to breathe more slowly. Many people breathe too fast, especially in a fast-paced or pressured environment, where your breath will be accelerated because you’re in an action-oriented, or even fight-or-flight state. So, if you want to act from a place of calm and presence, slower breath – via the nose – helps to down-regulate your nervous system into a parasympathetic state.”

Nasal breathing releases more nitric oxide than inhalation via the mouth. This increases blood oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, among other cardiovascular benefits, which has led to its adoption as a training aid by leading sports professionals. “You have athletes who train specifically to breathe only through their noses when they exercise,” says Mr Bostock. “As with any cutting-edge fitness or sports performance technique, where is the first place that it gets adopted? CrossFit gyms. Now you have these jacked guys with tape over their mouths doing 200kg dead lifts for reps. It’s really funny.” Still, even the less competitive among us can clearly do with working on our breath.

This technique is called ladder breathing. You progressively increase the length of your inhales and exhales, concentrating on what it feels like to change the rhythm of your breathing as your nervous system is slowly calmed. This slow breathing promotes parasympathetic activity (the part of the nervous system responsible for rest and relaxation response) while the change in counts keeps the mind occupied.

• To be performed while lying in bed.
• Inhale gently through your nose for a count of 4 seconds.
• Exhale gently through your nose for a count of 4 seconds.
• Next inhale for a count of 5 seconds and then exhale for a count of 5 seconds.
• Keep increasing the length of your inhales and exhales until you get to 10 seconds in and 10 seconds out.
• Once you reach 10 seconds, you can either continue to breathe at this pace, keep increasing the length of your inhales and exhales or even go up and down the ladder. If you choose to come back down, I wouldn’t go back any lower than 6 seconds per inhale and exhale.

This technique is called 5.00pm breathing and calms down the nervous system in times of stress. It has this name because 5.00pm is supposed to be that joyous moment where most of us get to knock off work, relax, let our hair down and have a cocktail. It also stands for five breaths per minute and is designed to help you wind down and de-stress your internal systems. • Start in a seated or lying position.

• Put one or both hands over your belly button so you can feel the movement of your abdomen.
• Inhale for 4 seconds through your nose and feel your hands rise or move outwards a few centimetres.
• Exhale for 6 seconds through your nose and feel your hands fall inwards a few centimetres. No need to empty your lungs all the way, just exhale slowly until your lungs feel comfortably empty.
• Hold your breathe for 2 seconds.
• That is one breath cycle. Repeat this breath cycle at least 10 times, or until you have reached your desired state of relaxation.

You can stimulate blood flow and fire up your digestive system with deep abdominal breathing. This technique is called bellows breathing and involves inhaling deeply and exhaling completely.

• Start in a seated or lying position.
• Put one or both hands over your belly button so you can feel the movement of your abdomen.
• Inhale through your nose and fill up your lungs as much as you can (no need to strain too much). Feel your hands rise or move outwards a few centimetres as you breathe into your belly.
• Exhale out through your mouth and empty your lungs completely. You should feel a light contraction in your abs and lower back.
• Repeat this breath 5 times and then rest (breathing normally) for 20 to 30 seconds.
• Repeat another 5 times, then finish with 1 or 2 minutes of 5pm breathing (see above).

Exhale: How To Use Breathwork To Find Calm, Supercharge Your Health And Perform At Your Best (Penguin Life) by Mr Richie Bostock is out on 3 September 2020

**Click here for details of Mr Bostock’s workshops **

For advice on medical issues, you should always consult your local doctor or medical practitioner