What Does Breathwork Feel Like?

"My hands are tingling like crazy."
"My head felt kind of funny."
"I randomly wanted to cry or laugh."
"My body just wanted to move."

These are all completely normal sensations to experience during a breathwork session.

 

Breathwork Sensations

 

The first breath session I sat in on, in all honesty I didn’t really feel much sensations. I was too in my head, trying to actually breathe properly. There’s so much unlearning while learning, ya know? So for 40 minutes, I was just recognized that I had been breathing the reverse way and inhaling while sucking my belly in. That in itself took some time to undo. I had to remember that I’ve been breathing this way for YEARS so it may take some patience to unlearn this muscle memory.

I say that to say, bring patience to your practice. If you’re intimidated by breathwork or maybe you had an experience that felt like it was too much, that is all perfectly okay. The breath only leads you to the places you’re ready to go so remember that this is YOUR practice. I should also mention here, that there are a thousand ways to breathe so maybe you experiment with various techniques.

Maybe you’ve felt lightheadedness, tingles, saw colors, experienced fear, wanted to dance and guess what? ALL of these sensations are simply just that. Sensations.

That’s what’s so beautiful about the internal spaces that breathwork leads you to. You learn how to be an observer of experiences and feelings rather than attaching to them and becoming fixated on controlling them. Through the breath, you find patience with yourself, which you can then have for others in your life as well.

Here’s a quick run through of the things I’ve experienced and heard from others when it comes to breathing exercises:

Physical Sensations:

  • Tingles

  • Lightheaded

  • Temperature change

  • Muscles/specific body parts awakened

  • Urge to clench fists or tighten up

  • Tightness around the mouth

  • Euphoric presence in the body

  • Feeling the heartbeat fully

Mental Sensations:

  • Complete clarity in the mind

  • Seeing colors/visions

  • Receiving divine messages

  • Memories coming to the surface

  • The mind relaxed and present

Emotional Sensations:

  • The urge to release sound

  • Crying

  • Laughing

  • Anger

  • Dullness in the chest

  • Grief and forgiveness

  • Joyful and invigorated

  • Motivated more than ever before

Honestly they’re all connected to each other so separating them is difficult. The spirit (breath) connects them all!

If you’re curious to learn more about the physical, mental, and emotional sensations that breathwork can ignite, check out the video below:

 
 
Casey BuddComment