Stress, anxiety and trauma can be heavy, unnecessary baggage that we unconsciously carry with us everywhere we go, including the court. That baggage most certainly impacts our ability to perform.

Many studies have been done over the years to determine how breathwork can affect the body’s stress response.

A 1979 study from The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology proved that controlled breathing exercises could be used as an effective coping strategy in stressful situations. 

A more recent 2016 study introduced a diaphragmatic breathing program to participants with anxiety, who demonstrated a reduction in anxiety scores after practicing the technique daily.

A 2014 study found that Pranayama was successful in helping US veterans manage their PTSD symptoms. The results of the study showed that those who’d practiced this form of breathwork saw fewer symptoms and lower rates of distress and anxiety. 

According to Vital Heart & Vein, various blood and heart issues are caused by frequent activation of the sympathetic nervous system (the trigger for fight-or-flight mode). Practicing slow, deep breathing exercises helps activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which will help decrease your heart rate and dilate your blood vessels. This helps to reduce your blood pressure, as your body now knows it can relax.

In a 2017 study, researchers mentioned that breathwork helps fuel brain cells. 

A 2013 study found that breathwork improved executive function — which includes your working memory, cognitive flexibility, and reasoning skills.

If you’re dealing with digestive problems – including constipation, diarrhea, and IBS – breathing exercises can help. ‍

Frequency explains in their 2020 article that breathwork can help with the digestive process, as it increases the blood flow throughout your digestive tract. 

As coaches, we know how contagious energy is on a team.

Even a couple players with negative energy can put the whole team in a slump. 

But a team with positive energy players and coaches can tap into their greatest potential, even if they aren’t as talented.

Breathwork, produced greater improvement in mood compared with mindfulness meditation in this study.

Participants in this study experienced higher positive energy, higher pleasantness, and lower arousal with breathwork.

Practicing breathing techniques when you’re struggling to pay attention can help increase your attention span. It can also calm any emotions that are distracting you the most.‍

A 2018 study by Trinity College Dublin found that mindfulness exercises like breathwork were effective in helping improve the attention spans of those with poor focus.

After exercising, it is important to practice slow, deep breathing to help your body recover and return to a calm state. Slow, deep breathing after exercise can have several benefits, including a reduced heart rate, better recovery, relaxation, and improved posture according to this 2023 study.

A 2018 study determined that self-regulated breathing was successful in helping participants with insomnia relax and fall asleep. It also suggested that breathing exercises proved to be a better method of treating insomnia than other pharmaceutical methods. This helps to suggest that breathwork is a powerful tool for helping users achieve a peaceful night’s sleep.

A 2012 study published with the National Library of Medicine found that participants with chronic pain syndromes that practiced relaxing breathing techniques saw an increased ability to process pain. 

Imagine players improving their endurance in the car, in the trainers office, or on their days off while putting zero stress on their body.

Slow breathing can help lower the heart rate and blood pressure, which can improve cardiovascular fitness and endurance according to this 2023 study on athletes.

A 2016 study found that even heavy smokers were able to improve their lung capacity due to routinely practiced Breathwork. 

Breathwork can also help strengthen your respiratory muscles and improve oxygen intake which is HUGE for athletes who need elite oxygen deliverability!

This 2023 study reports that “Fast-paced breathwork may also offer therapeutic benefit as temporary voluntarily induced stress is also known to be beneficial for health and stress resilience.” 

So, imagine you’re on a win streak and everything is going your way in a game.

Everyone on the team is up, excited, smiling, and confident. Even your bench is playing better than they usually do.

But then you hit the adversity you knew was coming.

Shots that were bouncing in are rolling out. Players that were confident yesterday are noticeably doubtful today.

The energy on the bench, in the locker room, and on the bus is tense, low, and quiet.

Those highs and lows that most teams experience are inconsistencies that separate the good from the great teams.

If our energy is consistent, as individuals and as a team, our performance will be consistent.

The ability to put our minds and bodies into peak performance states is the power of breathwork, and therefore contributes to consistency. 

Another top advantage to regular breathwork is the ability to increase your energy levels and boost your immune system. Your immune system contributes greatly to your overall health (including your energy), and the way you breathe has more of an effect on it than we may realize. Practicing breathwork exercises allows our bodies to bring in more oxygen, which fuels the cells that keep us healthy and energized.

Dr. Jeremy Montrose explains in a 2020 article how improper breathing will lead to a weakened immune system. Shallow breathing can result in the presence of stress, which triggers the sympathetic nervous system and increases our level of systemic inflammation. This all has a negative impact on our immune system.