breath work

noun

variants or breathwork

ˈbreth-ˌwərk 

: conscious, controlled breathing done especially for relaxation, meditation, or therapeutic purposes

Yoga is a 5,000-year-old physical and philosophical discipline from India that joins the mind and body together through breath work, or pranayama, and postures, or asanas.

—Hilary E. MacGregor

Some general principles of breathwork are: make your breathing slower, deeper, quieter, and more regular whenever you think about it; deepen the exhalation phase of breathing by squeezing more air out of the lungs at the end of each breath … and keep your attention on the breath more of the time.

—Andrew Weil

Examples of breath work in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The flow through the movements is seamless, requiring concentration, control, and breath work. —Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 13 Aug. 2024

Busta Rhymes, who recently blew the roof off the Grammys’ tribute to hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, took another victory lap with his opening set, a hurricane of gruff breath work and towering stage presence. —August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2024

Tandava Retreats outside Mexico City is known for its four-night bufo retreats with daily breath work and meditation offerings. —Michaela Trimble, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Apr. 2024

Coupling this breath work with mental exercises, such as meditation, visualization, and paying extra attention to our senses, can be an effective way to put a dampener on an overactive nervous system. —Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 27 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

breath work

noun

variants or breathwork

: conscious, controlled breathing done especially for relaxation, meditation, or therapeutic purposes

Western practitioners believe yoga's deeply relaxing breath work allows the body's healing abilities to take over.

—Norine Dworkin, Psychology Today