Breathwork for beginners: what to expect at your first session

Breathwork is a broad word. It can mean five minutes of slow breathing to calm down before a meeting, or a 90-minute group session with music, faster breathing and a lot of feeling. Knowing which kind you’re walking into makes all the difference.

Two broad families

• Gentle, regulating breath. Slow, steady patterns such as box breathing (in, hold, out, hold, for four counts each) or longer exhales. Often used for stress and sleep. Easy to try on your own.
• Active or connected breath. Faster, fuller breathing with no pause between breaths, usually lying down to music, for 30 to 60 minutes. It can bring up strong sensations and emotions, and is best learned with a trained facilitator.

What happens in a class

A good session starts with an explanation of what you will do and how to stop if you want to. You will usually lie down or sit, with a blanket and an eye mask. The facilitator talks you through the breathing pattern, and music carries the middle of the session. Afterwards there is time to rest, and often a few minutes to share or write if you want to.

What you might notice

Tingling hands or face, feeling warm or cold, a tight jaw, sudden laughter or tears. These are common in active styles. A facilitator should tell you that you can slow your breathing down at any point and the sensations will ease.

Check with a doctor first if you

• are pregnant,
• have a heart condition, high blood pressure or a history of stroke,
• have epilepsy or a seizure disorder,
• have glaucoma or a detached retina,
• are living with a serious mental-health condition, or have a history of panic attacks or psychosis.

Gentle breathing is generally fine for most people; the list above matters most for faster, more intense styles. A responsible facilitator will ask about these before you start.

How to choose a facilitator

• Ask where they trained and how long the training was.
• Ask how they screen participants and what they do if someone becomes overwhelmed.
• For your first time, choose a smaller group or a one-to-one session.

Breathwork is a wellbeing practice. It is not a treatment for any medical or mental-health condition.