Building sustainable habits for young girls: the power of breathwork

Photo Credit: Amorphotovideo; @brownwcrew

As a competitive rower for Brown University, the pressure to perform can be overwhelming;  90% of the job is mental strength. It is important to find ways to cope with that stress, and for me, that involves breathwork.

I started rowing in my freshman year of high school during the winter, which meant I was only training on land. Training on ergs (rowing machines) requires incredible lung capacity and control over your breathing, which is difficult considering I am severely asthmatic. Since then, I have been experimenting with different medications to optimize my breathing.

Last year, I added breathwork to the mix, and it has significantly improved not just my breathing, but my mental health, anxiety levels, and even my performance: my numbers started to improve significantly.

While I tried a variety of breathing techniques, I found the Wim Hof method to be the most helpful. This active breathing method doesn’t just increase mental clarity, it’s also a great way to exercise my lungs — which is incredibly important as a rower.

I use Wim Hof’s 11-minute video as a guide:

• Take 30 rapid breaths
• On the 30^th breath, slowly exhale, 60-90 seconds
• Take a recovery breath, and hold for 15 seconds

It is important to note that the Wim Hof method is not for everyone, and it takes a lot of trial and error to find the breathwork method that works best for you. Breathwork is also not the equivalent of waving a magic wand and seeing improvement, but it has played a key role in my successes. On top of strength training and a healthy diet, breathwork opened my eyes to many other recovery techniques, especially cold showers. They help open up my lungs and lower cortisol levels, which helps regulate stress levels in not just an athletic setting, but a school or personal setting.

Overall, I have found breathwork extremely valuable and continue to use it to clear my mind, prepare for competitions, and improve myself as both a rower and a teammate.