Meditation v/s Breathwork: What's the Difference

Nowadays, people are looking for ways to stay fit and maintain wellness. There are plenty of ways you can adopt for the same, like the traditional way of meditating regularly or the modern technique of practicing breathwork.

Although both contribute to attaining mindfulness and increasing the concentration level, they both have significant differences. This article will focus on the primary difference between meditation and breathwork, along with their unique benefits.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEDITATION AND BREATHWORK

WHAT IS MEDITATION?

Meditation is a process where one practices mindfulness by sitting and letting all thoughts go away. This helps to calm your mind and relieve stress. It also allows you to observe the things that are currently happening in your life without reacting to them. A lot of people meditate to achieve a stable mental state and work on their decisions.

WHAT IS BREATHWORK?

Breathwork refers to an immense variety of breathing exercises and techniques that improves the process of breathing. It helps you to have control over your breathing and improves the overall mental, physical and emotional wellbeing of an individual. Several breathwork exercises are available, starting from the beginner's level to the advanced level.

BENEFITS OF BOTH MEDITATION AND BREATHWORK

MEDITATION

• Reduces memory loss
• Focuses on your attention keeping ability
• Improves health conditions
• Generates kindness

1. Reduces memory loss

Meditation is a highly cognitive process. It helps to reduce memory loss, focuses on memories, and improves quickness. Meditation is such an excellent healing element that it will also helpyou attain peace and remain true to yourself. Dementia patients often meditate to avoid losing their memories.

2. Focuses on your attention keeping ability

Several people have this problem of not being able to concentrate on something particularly.  Well, meditation helps to increase your ability to give attention and focus on something by altering your brain patterns and preventing you from getting distracted. Tasks that need meticulous visuals require attention; hence meditation is important.

3. Improves health conditions

Medical conditions that can be worsened by stress should be treated well. Stress is an inherent property that brings depression and anxiety with it. Other medical conditions include chronicpain, heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure. These problems can be cured by regular meditation. You can feel a lot better after meditating and trying to avoid negative thoughts.

4. Generates kindness

Meditation promotes the feeling of kindness and soft-hearted nature in people. Meditating makes you have positive thoughts and feelings, which further extend to become generous. People who have a habit of being rude and yelling or showing unpleasant actions should practice meditation to change their behavior.

BREATHWORK

• Increases confidence
• Immediate stress relief
• Promotes self love
• Restructures sleep cycle

1. Increases confidence

Breathwork exercises help you to increase your confidence level. Meditation often makes you think if you are doing something right or not, but breathwork doesn't do so. A lot of people have no self-confidence, due to which they are unable to do a lot of tasks. Confidence is the key to success, and having that is essential.

2. Immediate stress relief

Meditation helps you to relax, while breathwork can give you instant stress relief. Breathwork involves changing your breathing patterns, which enables you to get rid of stress and anxiety.  Once you have completed an exercise, you will feel much better and have open-ended thoughts.

3. Promotes self-love

Many of us struggle to do this simple thing. Loving ourselves feels like a difficult task. We end up hating us just because someone backlashes us for no reason. However, breathwork will helpyou to love and understand yourself. You will try to foster a relationship with yourself and pamper yourself with the things you've always dreamt of.

4. Restructures sleep cycle

Social media, stimulants, stress, and anxiety all these factors have grouped up to affect our sleep schedule. We deliberately try to fix our sleep schedule, but something or the other intervenes in the process. The deep breathing included under breathwork, will help you overcome this problem and calm your mind.

Bottom line

Both meditation and breathwork have their unique ways of stimulating your mind. The bottom line is to practice either of them and have a healthy mindful life free from the negative vibes and thoughts associated with the people who are not meant for you.