Breathing takes on new meaning and significance in 2021

When looking ahead at the wellness trends for 2021, the Global Wellness Summit highlighted a number of key areas including - wait for it - breathing. Something we all would like to think we do naturally, at the same time, we also know the practical healing power of taking a few deep breaths in times of stress.

Now that health and wellness has us all firmly by the ear like never before, harnessing the power of breathing is being taken far more seriously - even with the arguably less serious sounding rise of the ‘Breath Biohacker’ and ‘Breathvangelist’ amongst the go-to breathing experts and breath parties and festivals are entering the wellness space.

Sandra Ballentine, Beauty and Health Editor at Large, W Magazine, says that the people, places, techniques and tech are all taking centre stage this year. She wrote:

“Breathwork used to sit squarely in the woo-woo side of wellness, but today top medical schools agree that how we breathe has a profound impact on our physical and mental health.”

There’s something rather wonderful about this supremely natural and innate force that we have the ability within ourselves to help ease the sometimes overwhelming challenges of stress and anxiety. At many wellbeing destinations, it’s a philosophy that they have lived by for many years. At leading spa, Grayshott, for example, they practice breathing for many physical and mental health issues ranging from asthma to anxiety, highlighting that the ability to control your breath, in turn has an impact on your capacity to control your emotional reactions. 

Equally, anyone who has ever been to a yoga class, or even a contemporary fitness class, will know that breath work is an inherent part of connecting with the body and enhancing one’s practice. Helping to lower the respiratory rate through controlled breathing exercises means lungs working more efficiently, which can help improve fitness and has also been linked with a stronger immune system.

The message for 2021 then - remember to breathe!