Breath: ‘If you don’t attest optimally, you won’t feel your feelings optimally’ | Right away

Breathing trolleys are very popular. Breathing differently would make you feel better about your emotions. But from a scientific point of view, there is criticism. “For most people, their breathing has little effect on their state of mind.”

A few times a week Anna Teggelaar (36) takes breathing lessons according to the Wim-Hof method. “Then I breathe very deeply through my mouth so that I get a lot of oxygen, then I breathe out again very slowly and quietly. I repeat this about 30 times.”

She continues: “Then I have so much oxygen in my body that I can easily hold my breathing for one or two minutes. Then I breathe in a deep time and hold it for fifteen seconds and then a new round starts.” According to Teggelaar, she has experienced much less stress since her. “I feel much calmer.”

Wim Hof, better known as Iceman, developed a breathing technique that became very popular worldwide. By breathing intensively, you can hold your breath longer. This would make you more aware of contact with your heart, nervous system and immune system.

But if you want to “improve” your breathing, you can choose from many more options these days than wim hofs. For several years now, the so-called Breathing work Popular. This is not only about improving your immune system, but also about solving certain emotional problems.

“If you don’t breathe optimally, you don’t feel your feelings optimally,” says breath trainer Deepa de Brey. “If you breathe differently, there is room to let go of suppressed emotions and negative beliefs. The space created makes it easier to make the right decisions.”

According to Brey, most people in the Western world breathe superficially and briefly. “A sign of a lot of stress,” she explains. “With more and more people, this leads to physical discomfort or even burnout.”

Professor of lung diseases Joost van den Aardweg criticises the so-called Breathing work“Most people, of course, breathe the right way,” he says. “That means they don’t even notice that they’re breathing.”

In this case, according to Van den Aardweg, our breathing has little effect on our state of mind. “Only if someone regularly sighs deeply or hyperventilates can this be annoying. You will then become very aware of your breathing. This can make you feel like you’re running out of air, and that can make you anxious.’

In such a case, a breathing cart can be a solution. “You can learn to breathe more with your diaphragm instead of your chest.”

Incidentally, van den Aardweg is not surprised that some people say that they benefit from breathing work. “If you keep taking a deep breath, the carbon dioxide content in your body decreases and if you hold your breath, your heart rate also decreases.

“This can lead to unknown sensations,” he explains. “In addition, certain rituals can have an emotional effect, but their effect is usually not permanent.”