As a breathwork facilitator in Miami, I often get asked—“Is breathwork like meditation? How do the two compare?” Breathwork and meditation are both powerful practices that promote mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being, but they differ in their methods, focus, and effects. Breathwork uses controlled breathing to release tension, balance energy, and enhance emotional and physical well-being, while meditation calms and clears the mind, promoting mental clarity and spiritual connection.
Breathwork involves intentional, controlled breathing patterns that can vary in speed, depth, and rhythm. The focus is on using the breath to help us move through points of tension or energetic blocks in the body, through specific techniques like deep breathing, rapid breathing, or breath retention to alter physical and mental states. Breathwork actively engages the body and can lead to intense physical and emotional experiences, aided by music that helps us tap into different parts of our psyche.
What I love about breathwork is that it often produces quick, noticeable shifts in energy, mood, and consciousness. It can evoke strong emotions, whether or not we’re aware of their presence in our body, release stored tension, and bring deep relaxation or heightened awareness. It is a dynamic practice and even a single session – whether 20 minutes or 2 hours – can be deeply cathartic. When I feel the need to process or release stuck emotions in my body, breathwork is my practice of choice. Anytime I feel wound up, it immediately brings me back to center, and creates a sense of peace and balance within.
From a physiological perspective, it affects the nervous system, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, and heart rate. It can induce a trance-like state, promote detoxification, and stimulate the release of endorphins and other neurochemicals that can lead to profound emotional and energetic shifts. Breath retention increases carbon dioxide levels in the body and is what triggers our urge to breathe (as opposed to a lack of oxygen). Our ability to tolerate carbon dioxide in the body is directly proportional to our ability to tolerate stress.
Meditation, on the other hand, is geared towards quieting the mind, tuning into our higher self, and accessing states of expanded consciousness. Many spiritual traditions view meditation as a bridge between the physical and the divine, helping practitioners cultivate presence, wisdom, and inner peace. The focus is on cultivating a state of mindfulness and awareness, or stillness. It is generally a more passive practice compared to breathwork, is not usually guided, does not entail a musical component, and emphasizes mental observation and non-reactivity. Similar to breathwork, it is scientifically proven to increase productivity, physical well-being, and reduce anxiety.
I have been meditating daily since 2012 and I find that meditation, while incredibly powerful, is a more gradual, learned practice. For most of us, it takes time and practice to learn the art of stilling the mind. Meditation gradually calms the mind over time, reducing stress, increasing focus, and fostering a deep sense of inner peace.
What I love about meditation is that when I feel off balance, energetically speaking, 20 minutes of meditation in the morning will immediately land my energy and allow me to fully ground into the present moment. I’m grateful that I get to meditate in such a beautiful spot in Miami – sitting on my balcony, overlooking the blue and green hues of the ocean. That practice sets the tone for my whole day. More interestingly, heightened awareness allows us to tap into our intuition and communicate with our higher selves. Over the years, I’ve received countless messages during meditation, providing me with instant clarity, insight, and answers to questions that I cannot logically solve in my normal state.
From a physiological perspective, it typically has a calming effect on the body by lowering heart rate, reducing blood pressure, and promoting relaxation through activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. The physiological changes are usually more subtle and focused on achieving a state of rest and balance.
Another interesting thing to note is, when you enter a deeply relaxed state, such as during meditation, your brain shifts from beta waves (associated with active thinking and stress) to alpha waves (associated with relaxation, calmness, and creativity), and sometimes even to theta waves (linked to deep meditation, creativity, and the subconscious). These more coherent brain wave states are generally associated with a reduction in stress, an enhanced capacity for intuition and problem-solving, and the ability to better manifest intentions by aligning your thoughts and actions to bring them into reality. Manifestation is closely linked to principles in physics, namely quantum field theory and vibrational energy—a fascinating topic to explore another time.
Ultimately, there are many similarities between the two practices but breathwork is often more energizing and transformative, while meditation is typically more subtle and introspective. Many practitioners use both together for a balanced practice. In fact, breathwork is used by the yogis in India as a precursor to meditation to drop into a deeper state of consciousness or awareness.