How much time is really required for Breathwork?
Often I get asked how much time is needed for Breathwork, if you want to start a new routine to support your nervous system.
The answer is not straight forward. Obviously you are really treating your body and mind to something special, if you can dedicate 60+ minutes to a daily breathwork practice. But for many this is rather unrealistic. Thats why they either don’t start at all or give up quickly because it does create stress trying to practice for 60 minutes daily. While the goal was initially to support you in your stress management.
Therefore I would recommend to start with a minimum of 10-15 minutes per day. This is something you can easily integrate into your morning routine after waking up or you just take a couple of minutes in bed before you fall asleep.
Design your own Breathwork routine based on your needs.
The most important part, when starting with Breathwork is to establish a routine that works for you. If your days are always packed and you have not yet established a daily routine, it’s unrealistic to aim for 60 minutes from the start.
That’s why I would recommend to consider the following 4 steps, when you kick things off:
- Habit Stacking: If you already have a daily routine (running in the morning, a little yoga, a morning walks, etc.), thats great! Then just add 5-15 minutes to whatever activity it is you are doing on a daily basis. It is proven to be easier to add to an existing routine than to establish a completely new one.
- Start with small, achievable goals: For your first week you could aim to only take 5-10 minutes in the morning. Alternatively use the time when you are already lying in bed to practice whichever breathing technique is on your Breathwork Plan. This allows you to associate your practice with small moments of accomplishment rather than feeling depleted, when you can’t hold up to unrealistic expectations.
- Find an accountability buddy: It’s always easier to stay on track if you have someone who is checking in with you and your practice.
- Join a Breathwork Community of like minded people. A Community can help you to get easy access to guided practices. It can also provide room with your peers for exchange and to ask questions. If this sounds interesting, then take a look at The Exhale Space and become part of our new, but growing Community.
Do I have too much on my plate to start doing Breathwork?
I have believed for the longest time that I don’t have enough time to start a daily routine. That I could start a routine that could actually help me with stress management and reduce the risk to experience a burnout. There was always plenty to do at work and I often had the feeling to not get enough done. This on its own created additional stress and anxiety, which ultimately also had an impact on the quality of my sleep.
This always turns into a negative spiral that is difficult to stop: You believe that you don’t have enough time to establish a Breathwork routine to support yourself. At the same time you keep feeling more and more stressed out about everything that keeps piling on your plate. Ultimately this leads to you not being able to actually perform at the level you expect of yourself …
But if you can only integrate 5 minutes in the morning and evening, this can have really start shifting things – and those 10 minutes are always available for everyone, no matter how busy your day:
- Set your alarm to 5 minutes earlier and take those 5 minutes to practice your chosen breathing technique.
- When you go to bed at night, put a hot water bottel on your lower belly and practice 5 minutes of diaphragmatic breathing until you fall asleep.
- Everytime you change tasks or when you finish one take a moment to connect with your breath – observe how it flows in and out of your body: the rhythm, the pace, where you feel it.
- When you are waiting at traffic lights pratice a balancing brathing technique.
- …
As you can see there are loads of ways how you can actually integrate Breathwork into your day, although you feel like you have literally no time left in your day.
