Body Techniques of Breathing

Body techniques of breathing are the socioculturally learned ways of using the human body.

Body techniques of breathing are the socioculturally learned ways of using the human body beyond its automated respiratory function.

In social and cultural anthropology, “body techniques” are the trained ways of using the human body—such as walking, sitting, breathing, or eating—that reflect and reinforce societal norms, identities, values, and positions of power or marginalisation. Coined by Marcel Mauss, the concept emphasizes how bodily practices are shaped by historical and sociocultural contexts rather than purely biological functions.

In the so called Global South, in regions like South and South-East Asia, breathing as a body technique used to be situated in the religious and spiritual domain, as disciplined cultivation practice. Breathing was integrated into practices like yoga, meditation, and martial arts to cultivate life energy (known as prana or qi).

In contrast, in the current consumerist capitalist societies across the Global South and North, the focus on breath is often aimed to promote physical health, stress relief, or enhance performance. The neoliberal profit orientation tends to separate breath from its spiritual and philosophical contexts, and disentangle breathing techniques from potentially liberational politics.

While historical and contemporary approaches to breathing techniques differ, there are body techniques of breathing that seem to share common features. My focus in this article will be on these shared dimensions.

Traditional Breathing Techniques

Anthropologists are interested in body techniques related to breathing because they provide insights into how different societies understand and embody the relationship between breath, life, and social interactions. Body techniques reveal to us the diverse meanings and practices associated with lived human experiences of breathing.

Taylor (2025) explores the cultural and spiritual significance of breath across various ancient civilizations, presenting how traditional breathing practices, such as those found in yoga and meditation, are being validated by modern science for their health benefits and integration into contemporary wellness routines.

Agarwal (2025) mentions three types of breathing from Yoga: Natural Breathing, Ujjayi Pranayama (the "victorious breath"), and Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing).

Let’s start with the so-called Natural Breathing. One would sit or lie comfortably, relax the body, and mindfully observe the breath as it flows in and out without forcing it. For Ujjayi Pranayama, one would close the eyes, relax, and constrict the throat slightly while breathing deeply to create a soft snoring sound. The focus is on the breath's movement through the throat. And for Nadi Shodhana, one would use a finger over one side of the nose to block one nostril, then inhale deeply through the unblocked nostril, then switch to block the other nostril and exhale, alternating between nostrils for balance.

Body techniques are important to breathing because they strengthen the effectiveness of breath control, improve lung function, and facilitate relaxation. Therefore, they ultimately contribute to overall well-being. However, collective breathing practices help individuals to move beyond the concept of self-centered and consumerist wellness. Political communities benefit from the effects of breathing techniques to heal historical, societal, and transgenerational trauma in order to continue the neverending struggle for equality and justice in our planet.

Contemporary Breathing Techniques

Contemporary life moves traditional practices to the current societal contexts. Anthropologists are interested in the evolving body techniques of breathing as they reveal how sociocultural practices and beliefs shape lived human experiences of breath contemporary societies. The focus here is on its significance in current social interactions, health, and the embodiment of identity across different societies.

The body techniques to breathing in current times tend to incorporate elements from various disciplines accepted into science today. For example, they include practices such as mindfulness, yoga, and somatic psychology. The focus is on controlled breathing patterns to better emotional regulation, reduce stress, and promote overall mental and physical well-being.

Mindfulness body techniques, for example, have been developed via secularization of ancient religious practices for making them fit the logics and routines of contemporary societies. Johnston (2023), a licensed mental health professional, explains the techniques. Per Johnston, mindful breathing requires finding a quiet and comfortable position, closing the eyes or softening the gaze, taking a few deep breaths, and then focusing on the sensations of the breath as it moves in and out of the body, gently bringing the attention back to the breath whenever the mind wanders.

Contemporary anthropologists note the risks of the overemphasis on scientific validation and excessive secularisation of ancient religious practices. Cassaniti (2021) argues that equating mindfulness in secular Western contexts with Theravāda Buddhist sati risks privileging certain meanings of mindfulness—such as its relationships to temporality, affect, power, ethics, and selfhood (TAPES)—while erasing others, thereby contributing to hegemonic discourses and raising critical implications for global health and Buddhist studies.

Although contemporary body techniques to breathing are attractive to a wider postsecular audience, anthropologists must record the sociopolitical and economical implications of the transnational trajectories across which breathing techniques travel, and make informed recommendations where required.

Breathing Hearts

Breathing is an organizing principle and central aspect of my book, “Breathing Hearts” (Bergahn, 2024). Through my research, I learned that breathing techniques in the Sufi Tradition work by facilitating a deeper connection to the self, community, and the divine.

Dhikr, for example, is a quintessential Sufi practice of heart-centered breathing and reciting the names of Allah and sacred phrases to embody the universal and particular dimensions of the divine.

Another example is hosh dar dam, a Naqshbandi rule of basic awareness of breath, that can be practiced silently in any life situation, paying attention to the present moment and regulating everyday anxiety. The word "dam" refers to both breath and the present moment.

From one observed community to another, I saw how breathing is promoting healing and emotional regulation through intentional breath control and at times the surrendering of the breath to ecstatic dhikr practice. Breath is used as a crucial element for navigating both spiritual and sociopolitical challenges in contemporary contexts.

My research also shows that breathing techniques continue to transfigure in diverse settings, depending on their mobilisation in artistic, spiritual, healing, and political communities, exploring the liberatory potentials of mobilizing breathing in our collective efforts to breathe well in suffocating times.

Dr. Nasima Selim is an interdisciplinary scholar trained in medicine, public health and anthropology. She is a breathworker, writer, researcher, and educator. Her books include “Breathing Hearts” (Berghahn 2024), an open-access ethnography, and "Ways of Breathing and Knowing" (Routledge, forthcoming), a volume of 12 interdisciplinary essays she co-edited with Dr. Judith Albrecht.