“Deep Breathing Strengthens Your Brain and Boosts Attention Span”, says new study.

It turns out the yoga masters were right — breathing properly can improve your attention span and help you focus better. A new study has found a direct neurophysiological link between the breath and the brain.

Breathwork is a practice that uses breathing exercises in conjunction with different elements to induce access to non-ordinary states of consciousness.

This scientific practice developed by Stanislav Grof gained this wisdom from ancient shamanic breathing techniques (or rituals) to create a non-ordinary state as a brain effect through the breath alone. Like pranayama, an ancient breathing ritual from India, Yogis hacked their physiology to a level where they could stay healthy and happy and secure for an extended period and live much longer. This practice shows an incredible display strength. This group of people was the first to create the primary schools of yoga and yantra and pranayama. 

Today, there is a growing body of scientific research suggesting that attentional distraction, mind-wandering, and chronic stress are all variables greatly influenced by how we breathe. Thus, Breathwork has become increasingly popular among those seeking to explore a unique self-healing process to attain a state of wholeness. This unconventional New Age practice was developed by psychiatrists Stanislav and Christina Grof in the 1970s to achieve altered states of consciousness (without using drugs) as a potential therapeutic tool (Holmes, 1996).

Studies show a tremendous amount of benefits for reaching non-ordinary states of consciousness through a regular breathwork practice. They also show a correlation between therapeutic changes in levels of distress associated with self-identified problems, anxiety, self-esteem, and a sense of affiliation with others, and a weekly breathwork practice.

There is a positive side to human nature that we do not look at often, and that is the benefits of altered states in general, one of the reasons for this is because one of the leading most common ways for us to get into non-ordinary states of consciousness is through the use of psychedelic drugs. However, Breathwork provides a natural alternative to reap the benefits from altered-states of consciousness without the drugs. These states have since been proven incredibly beneficial for our brains (Holmes, 1996).

The instrument of our mind that we use to interrogate the nature of our minds is relatively constant across people. The notion that we can train our minds to, in some sense, polish the lens to create a more accurate ability to observe, is still something entirely foreign to most elite athletes, except, however, the Navy Seals. The US army deems Breathwork an essential part of their training programs

Breathing practices come from ancient Yogis who used it to alter their state of consciousness, into deep meditative states. Navy SEALs use it under high-stress situations. CEOs of companies use it to increase their productivity and creativity. Breathwork is a practice that is quite common in the yogi circle. These ancient practices are still compelling today. During this time, it is essential to keep the immune system healthy, the cardiovascular system, and the respiratory system in optimal shape (Brody, 2019).

The breath will guide participants in specific techniques that will increase the amount of Co2 in the body. Breathwork will induce a state similar to what occurs in the body during high elevation training. For decades, exercise scientists have known that even if sitting or sleeping, the body responds to high altitudes by creating more red blood cells to boost oxygen levels. The increased oxygen can, in turn, enhance an athlete’s endurance during training and competition. The consensus is that high altitude stimulates the production of the red blood cells in the body. More red blood cells, it stimulates the body to make more red blood cells (Peterson, 2010)