When it comes to self-care and wellness, beauty treatments have come easy for me—meditation practices, not so much. As part of my #WeeklyWellness2021 challenge this year, I’m looking to go outside of my comfort zone and explore new ways to improve mindfulness and overall well-being. I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz lately surrounding breathwork, and as a Type A over-thinker, over-doer, and busy mama living through a pandemic, I figured this was the best place to start.

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Inward Breathwork

For the last few weeks, I’ve been logging onto Inward Breathwork, an online, on-demand breathwork platform with some truly calming relaxing benefits. For someone intimidated by the idea of starting a meditation or a breathwork practice (like me!), this program makes mindfulness approachable, fun, easy, and bite-sized. The website features structured programs to reduce stress, improve sleep, boost performance, and improve mood with videos ranging from 5 to 60 minutes in length. 

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Co-founders and expert facilitators Amanda and Harry are the epitome of calm and zen, creating Inward after the world shut down last year. Amid COVID-19 restrictions, they were unable to offer in-person sessions and provided 15 weeks of free classes via Zoom during lockdown.

With an overwhelming positive response from a scared, stressed, and anxious clientele, they gathered the best in the business to help create a resource for accessible, at-home breathwork. One of the aspects I like best about Inward is the ability to filter sessions based on length, mood (calm, sleep, energize), or challenges to really kick up your practice.

In addition to a library of on-demand content, live sessions are available weekly for a group vibe, which are experienced virtually. I’ve been able to dip my toes into the breathwork waters, beginning with the platform's 10-day challenge for beginners. Here’s what I’ve learned:

What Exactly is Breathwork? 

As simple as it sounds, breathwork includes various forms of intentional breathing exercises. Breathwork is a conscious act and an active form of meditation. When I think of meditation, my mind immediately begins to wander, but with breathwork there is something active to focus on and to help ground you.

Trained facilitators give guided instruction on a slew of techniques while calming sounds and music play in the background, allowing the ruminating mind to enter a state of calm and focus. Although breathing is something we all do unconsciously, many spend the bulk of their lives taking rapid, shallow, and constricted breaths.

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Breathwork Benefits  

Breathwork includes countless benefits beginning with a feeling of being deeply rooted in the body. When stressed breathing is corrected, blood pressure, heart rate, and energy levels improve, helping with physical, mental, and emotional woes from physical pain, sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety, and more. With time and practice, many people report a deeper connection to spiritual intuition, increased creativity, help with loss and grief, among other things.

My Experience

I feel as though I’ve barely scratched the surface into the world of breathwork. My experience with the platform was all positive, and I learned a lot about myself and my body in a relatively short period of time. Nightly, I would put on my headphones while lying in bed, and drift off into a state of extreme relaxation and calm while listening to Inward on my smartphone. I felt really in tune with myself and aware of my breath with each session. I was surprised to feel physiologically energized through practicing various breathing forms.

Nighttime worked best for me, but I hope to try out sessions in the morning because I think it would be a wonderful start to the day. Admittedly, I am still a total “newbie,” but can absolutely see how sticking with this could be transformative.

Cost: $18 monthly (discounted rates for quarterly or yearly subscription)

Available: inwardbreathwork.com

I’d love to hear how you practiced self-care this week! Have you tried breathwork? Tag me on instagram @SLCBeautyBabe or @SpaandBeautyToday with tips and suggestions for next week.

[Images courtesy of Inward Breathwork]

Alisha Racker’s beauty career has spanned over a decade as she's worked as a master esthetician, skin care PR-pro and freelance writer. She lives in the beautiful mountains of Salt Lake City with her husband and daughter. Follow her on Instagram: @alisharacker