Breathwork at your desk
I love a deep breathwork session where you lie down to breathe for 30-45 minutes AND you can absolutely get benefits from breathwork even if you only have 3-5 minutes and you are sitting at your desk at work.
Andrew Huberman and his colleagues at Stanford published a study in January this year comparing 5 minutes of breathwork to mindfulness meditation and “brief structured breathing" (aka breathwork) out performed meditation for improving mood and autonomic regulation and lowering stress around the clock." [citation]
All 3 of the different breathwork patterns they tested: cyclic sighing (two inhales and a long exhale), box breathing (inhale-hold-exhale-hold) and cyclic hyperventilation (long inhale, short exhale, hold) were effective but cyclic sighing had the biggest impact on improved mood, lowering stress and reducing anxiety.
Watch the short video demonstration below and give a few rounds of cyclic sighing a try the next time you’re at work. First thing in the morning, right after lunch, when you feel that afternoon energy slump, before a big meeting… all great times to work in a little breathwork.
And even better: the more days in a row people did the breathwork practice, the greater their results.
