Breathwork Series - Part 1 of 4
Part 1: The Hidden Power of Breath ← you’re here
Part 2: Breathe to Shift Stress and Cravings
Part 3: Break the Breath-Holding Habit
Part 4: Daily Breathwork for Calm and Control
I used to think breathing exercises sounded a bit too simple.
If I was stressed or thinking about alcohol, how was breathing supposed to change anything? I was already breathing.
What I hadn't understood was that breathing happens by itself, but we can also use it on purpose. That gives us a way to influence how the body feels without waiting for everything around us to change first.
When we're stressed, anxious or dealing with a craving, the body can feel as though it's moving faster than our thoughts. The breath gets quicker, the chest feels tight and everything seems more urgent.
A comfortable slower breath doesn't solve the day. But it can take some of the rush out of the moment.
It gave me some control in the moment
When I was drinking, alcohol was the quickest way I knew to change how I felt. So when the pressure built, the thought of a drink could arrive before I'd even considered another response.
Breathing gave me something I could do before following that thought.
I could sit upright, breathe out slowly and let the next breath come in without forcing it. Sometimes I felt a difference quite quickly. Other times, I still needed to get up, move or deal with whatever had caused the stress.
But it meant I didn't have to go straight from feeling stressed to thinking alcohol was the answer.
It works in a similar way to observing thoughts and urges. We notice what's happening before the thought carries us straight into the usual response.
It didn’t only help with cravings
I began using breathwork before a difficult call, after a long day or when my head was running ahead of me.
For me, the breathing itself became comforting. I wasn't only using it to get through an urge. I started reaching for it because I liked the way it helped me come down from pressure.
I still use it now. And when I later stopped smoking, it helped there as well. It wasn't the main thing that helped me stop, but it gave me a way to deal with some of the uncomfortable moments without immediately following the old response.
The more familiar it became, the less I had to think about using it.
It doesn't have to look one particular way
I tried many different breathing routines before I worked out what suited me. Some were simple, some were counted and some were much stronger.
They didn't all feel the same, so it was worth giving them a proper try instead of deciding too quickly that a particular routine wasn't for me.
And I don't think we need to rush into choosing one. The routine we enjoy when we have more time might not be the one we want when we're stressed or tired.
A few slower breaths can help when we're under pressure, but breathwork doesn't have to be limited to that. Longer sessions can be worthwhile as well. They give us time to get into the routine, notice how it affects us and become more comfortable with it.
That longer practice also means we're not trying to learn it for the first time when we're already stressed. We've done it before, we know what it feels like and we have a better idea of what works for us.
And none of this needs to be spiritual or complicated. For me, it was practical. I could change the way I was breathing and see what happened to the way I felt.
Why this matters in recovery
Alcohol had become my familiar way of changing stress, anxiety or that restless feeling at the end of the day.
Breathwork wasn't the main tool I used to stop drinking. The main work was changing how I thought about alcohol and understanding why I kept returning to it.
Breathing supported that work. It gave me another way to deal with some of the physical pressure while I was changing the thought process behind the drinking.
Sometimes it created a small pause. Other times, it changed the physical feeling enough for the thought of a drink to lose some of its urgency.
Breathing had always been there. Once I started using it on purpose, it became something I could reach for before alcohol.
— Brent
Next Up: Breathe to Shift Stress and Cravings