Breathwork isn't just a buzzword tossed around in yoga classes or therapy. Breathing well is essential to musicking.
I cannot stress this enough!
If you are serious about your growth as a musician, you have to incorporate breathwork into your daily practice. It helps you stay loose and relaxed - which leads to awareness that in turn leads to mindful presence. In other words, breathing helps you feel.
People mistake feeling for an excess of emotion. Believe it or not, excessive emotions get in the way of music making. Through dedicated breathwork practice, I have instead come to see that feeling is a measured coolness that naturally arises as we get more familiar with ourselves as well as the piece we are trying to play. Even if you practice a music tradition that focuses on aggressive expressions of feeling, breathwork will help you channel them fully, while maintaining an almost stoic awareness that helps prevent damage to your body, instrument, or your psyche.
Music is a powerful psychoactive substance, and breathwork helps shield you from its negative consequences. The best part is that you can do breathwork almost anytime and anywhere.
In fact, I encourage doing it that way.
Breathing mindfully every time you come to a traffic light, or on the train, or waiting for your latte, a few minutes at a time, is infinitely more useful than trying to set aside 20 to 30 minutes, light incense and sit down in your favorite yoga pose. At least for me, that has never worked. Only the practices I have been able to turn into habits are the ones that have stuck and continue to provide benefits. Everything else simply vanishes into thin air.
Intermittent breath exercises have helped me to unlock body tensions, quiet the mind, and bring about a more compassionate state. We need to learn to forgive ourselves a lot if we're going to be a musician, because most of what we do is mess up. No other way to get better, right?
Personally, I have found square breathing and anulom-vilom (single nostril) breathing to be particularly useful in a pinch. I also find a lot of benefit in a short Wim Hof breathing session before bed or a dedicated practice session. I highly encourage you to give breathwork a chance and see what you can fit into your daily life.
Does this make you want to breathe easy? Let me know in the comments below!