Does breathwork work better than meditating? Not better. Different. The first randomised study to put the two side by side found that one session of intensive, continuous breathing produced much stronger emotional and consciousness shifts than a session of body scan meditation. But on stress, anxiety and low mood the two did equally well. Here is what was measured, what was not, and what you can do with it.
In short
Breathwork moved more. Stronger emotional breakthrough, more mystical experience, and more psychological insight a week later.Fincham et al., 2026 · 24 participants
On stress, anxiety and low mood: a tie. Both groups improved, and the difference between them was not measurable.no group difference over time
One session, and a small study. Ninety minutes of breathing against forty minutes of meditation, in twenty-four experienced practitioners. The researchers call it exploratory themselves.twelve people per group
"Meditation just isn’t for me"
I hear it almost every week. You sit down, close your eyes, let your breath be as the instruction says, and within a few minutes you are mostly wondering whether you are doing it right. Your mind keeps churning, your shoulders stay up, and the calm other people seem to find never quite arrives.
I had to practise it myself in the beginning too. By now it comes fairly easily and I usually settle within a few minutes. But I see this struggle constantly in the people around me, and I understand it completely. What stands out to me: that stuck feeling is not a personal failure. It is often a sign that your system needs something other than quiet observation.
What is the difference between breathwork and meditation?
Short answer: meditation invites you to observe what is already there, breathwork actively changes it. In a body scan, your attention rests on what you notice, without changing anything. In intensive, continuous breathing, called conscious connected breathing in the research, you deliberately change the rhythm and depth of your breath, often in one unbroken pattern with no pause between in and out.
That active intervention turns out to give a different experience than quiet observing. And that difference has now been measured directly for the first time.
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What exactly does the research show?
What the research is
The Airways to Alteration trial, published on 10 June 2026 in Frontiers in Psychology by Fincham and colleagues at the Breathwork Lab of Brighton and Sussex Medical School. As far as the researchers know, it is the first controlled study to put breathwork directly alongside meditation. It was registered in advance.
Who it is about
24 experienced practitioners, twelve per group, all of whom had done this kind of breathing before without any adverse event. Twelve did a ninety-minute session of intensive, continuous breathing with music. Twelve did forty minutes of body scan meditation, lying down, with the same care taken over the room and the setting.
What came out
- Emotional breakthrough: far stronger after breathwork. median 336 against 57.5
Mystical experience: higher after breathwork. median 14 against 8.5, a large effect
Psychological insight a week later: clearly higher. 34 against 6 on a scale of 0 to 100
Sleep trouble: down in the breathing group only. from 54.8 to 39.2, while the meditation group stayed much the same- Stress, anxiety and low mood: both groups improved equally. no measurable difference between the groups
That last one is worth saying out loud: meditation did its job here too.
The researchers call their own study exploratory. They also noticed that the low mood scores already differed between the groups at the start, which may have made the improvement in the meditation group look bigger than it was.
Does this stand on its own?
No, and that is reassuring. A second study, in the same journal and the same year, looked at a much larger group, though in a very different way.
What the research is
An international online study by researchers at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, published in Frontiers in Psychology in 2026. Not a trial: people filled in questionnaires about their most recent breath session.
Who it is about
324 people from 23 countries, in German and English.
What came out
- The intensity of the experience was what mattered. People who had a more intense, more blissful experience during their session felt better afterwards.
- Resistance during the session was not the deciding factor. How much someone struggled during the breathing did not decide how they felt after it.
Because people reported on their own past sessions, this shows a pattern rather than a cause.
What does this mean for your own practice?
The useful part of these studies is not which score went up. It is that the two practices do something different, not something better or worse. Both lowered stress, anxiety and low mood by about the same amount. Only on emotional movement, shifts in consciousness and sleep did breathwork appear to go further.
So if sitting still has never worked for you, that is worth knowing. It may not be that you are bad at meditating. It may be that your system wants to move something first before there is room to observe. What nobody knows yet is whether someone breathing this way for the first time would have the same experience: everyone in the study was already experienced. That is the next question, and the researchers name it themselves.
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When breathwork does not feel relaxing
It is important to be honest here. Intensive, continuous breathing is an activating technique. For a nervous system that overstimulates easily, or a body with a history of trauma, this kind of breathing can bring on unease, dizziness or overwhelm rather than calm.
The participants in the study were all experienced practitioners who had worked with this form of breathwork before without problems. People with cardiovascular issues, respiratory conditions, epilepsy, panic disorder or pregnancy were excluded beforehand. That says something: this is not a practice to experiment with intensively on your own. If in doubt, go smaller, go slower, and find guidance that respects your pace.
This connects to polyvagal theory, developed by researcher Stephen Porges, which describes how your nervous system shifts between states of safety, activation and shutdown. Useful as a model for understanding what is happening in your body, not as a fully proven fact.
Try it yourself: LAND • BREATHE • FEEL, five breaths
LAND • BREATHE • FEEL is the InnerPower Method of Ilse-Marie Sobering: first land in your body, then your breath, then feel what is going on. You do not need ninety minutes of intensive breathing to notice the difference between watching your breath and working with it. Five breaths is enough to feel what that difference is.
LAND
Sit or lie down somewhere you will not be disturbed.
Before anything is asked of you, let the chair or the floor take your weight. Feel where your body makes contact: your feet, your sitting bones, the back of your shoulders. Nothing to do here yet.
BREATHE
Five breaths, a little fuller in, and let the out-breath go.
Breathe in through your nose, a little fuller than usual, without forcing it. Then let the exhale go without controlling it, the way you would allow a sigh. Repeat five times, at your own pace. This is the difference the research is about: you are not watching your breath, you are working with it.
FEEL
Notice what shifted, even if it is almost nothing.
Whatever comes loose does not need to be understood or resolved right away. Maybe your jaw lets go. Maybe something wells up. Feeling is allowed to come first, and understanding can wait.
If five fuller breaths make you light-headed, go back to ordinary breathing and stay with the contact between your body and the floor. Landing on its own is a practice too.
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Stay close to the practice
Would you like to practise together? Upcoming sessions, trainings and retreats are on the agenda page.
This blog shares scientific findings and practical experience. It is not medical or therapeutic advice. If symptoms persist, it is good to have someone qualified look at your situation personally.
Frequently asked questions
Does breathwork work better than meditating?
The first randomised study to compare the two directly found that a single session of intensive, continuous breathing produced significantly stronger emotional and consciousness shifts than a session of body scan meditation. Stress, anxiety and low mood improved by about the same amount in both, so neither is better by definition. They do something different.
What’s the difference between breathwork and meditation?
Meditation invites you to observe what’s already there, without changing it. Breathwork, such as intensive continuous breathing, actively changes the rhythm and depth of your breath, and appears to give a different experience as a result, with more emotional movement.
Is intensive breathwork safe for everyone?
No. Only experienced practitioners took part in the study, and people with cardiovascular issues, respiratory conditions, epilepsy, panic disorder or pregnancy were excluded beforehand. For a nervous system that overstimulates easily, or a body with a trauma history, intensive breathing can bring on unease rather than calm. Build up slowly and find guidance.
Why do I get emotional or start crying during breathwork?
Intensive, continuous breathing can bring stuck emotion to the surface, which is exactly what the study calls an emotional breakthrough. Crying, shaking or a wave of feeling are a normal part of that process, not a sign that something’s going wrong. If it feels like too much, ease off and find guidance that respects your pace.
What if I get dizzy during breathing exercises?
Mild dizziness can happen with intensive, continuous breathing and is usually harmless if you’re practising seated or lying down somewhere safe. Never do it while driving, swimming or in the bath. If you get dizzy, return to calm, normal breathing and it settles on its own. If it persists or feels frightening, stop and seek guidance.
Can you combine breathwork and meditation?
Yes, and it’s often more enjoyable than choosing one. Many people find a meditative state easier to reach after a short breath session, because the body has already settled a little. Breathwork and meditation do something different, but they don’t rule each other out.
Ilse-Marie Sobering is the founder of House of InnerPower and the creator of the InnerPower Method: LAND • ADEM • VOEL (Land, Breathe, Feel), a cyclical practice of returning to yourself again and again. She has studied yoga philosophy and Eastern philosophy for more than 25 years, and has worked professionally since 2015 as an E-RYT 500 yoga and Yoga Nidra teacher, mindfulness and breathwork coach, Ayurveda practitioner and EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) practitioner. In Spain, where she lived for seven years, she taught trainings, teacher trainings and retreats at various locations in the Málaga region, including near Periana, Nerja and Frigiliana. She now works from the Netherlands, teaching trainings and speaking in the Netherlands, in Spain and online. Within the method she works with Yin Yoga, Yoga Nidra, breathwork, meditation, Qigong and somatic work, complemented with elements from her hypnotherapy training. She teaches teacher trainings, continuing education and company training, for people living with long-term stress and for professionals who want to deepen the way they guide others.
