Ahead of her Equinox residency, breathwork artist and coach Kira Mae Kazuko discusses the power of breathing deeply.
Breathing seems like the simplest concept in the world. After all, it’s something every person does on autopilot since the moment they’re born. But as it turns out, the act of breathing boasts an array of lesser-known benefits so many aren’t reaping — yet. Enter: breathwork artist and coach, Kira Mae Kazuko.
For Kazuko, whose Equinox residency kicks off on March 10 and ends on March 15, breathwork came into her life in 2022, at a point when she needed it most.
“I stumbled upon breathwork by pure coincidence at a time when I was starting to explore different resources to manage my mental health with my family doctor,” says Kazuko, who has personal experience with PTSD and general anxiety disorder. “It helped to heal a lot of my pain. I had an over-regulated nervous system that was impacting my entire quality of life. Breathwork regulated it.”
At its core, breathwork encourages the body to relax. When you’re stressed, your body activates the fight-or-flight response. In the short-term, your body releases hormones that increase your focus and alertness, helping you escape the stressful situation. But when your stress system is chronically turned “on,” there can be more significant impacts on your overall health. Specifically, it can increase the risk of heart disease and depression, impair the immune system, and have gastrointestinal impacts, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Controlling your breathing and taking deep breaths helps to counter these effects by calming the nervous system. Breathing deeply enables a full oxygen exchange, which helps to slow your heart rate and lower your blood pressure. But it may not be a natural pattern for people who are subconsciously chest breathers. This shallow breathing restricts the diaphragm, limiting the amount of oxygenated air in the lower part of the lungs which, in turn, may lead to increased stress and tension.
Having experienced the benefits of breathwork first-hand, Kazuko was determined to help spread the word. “I knew that if it could help me, it could help so many others too,” she says. “It’s my mission to get breathwork into the hands of the entire world.”
Kazuko is trained in the Wim Hof Method, a famed approach to well-being that focuses on cold exposure therapy and breathing exercises. While this method sees the benefits of short-term stress exposure — in a three-minute ice bath, for example — it also promotes the importance of using breathwork to get out of prolonged periods of flight-or-fight.
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“With the Wim Hof Method, we practice diaphragmatic breathing and breath holds. The breath activates our parasympathetic state, which is that calm state that we all yearn for. It’s incredibly blissful and peaceful,” says Kazuko. “Think of it like relaxing on a hammock on a beautiful beach with no stressors or anxieties or bad thoughts. That’s the state we go to.”
Now, Kazuko is using the Wim Hof Method as the foundation for Breath Culture, a movement she founded that is focused on making breathwork accessible and comfortable for everyone. One way she does this is by speaking for the duration of the class to ensure no one feels lost or confused. The playlist, which Kazuko curates herself, is also an important tool. “It always leaves my first-time clients in a bit of shock or awe, as we assume we can only breathe or meditate to certain music or sounds,” she says of her playlist, which features rap and hip-hop. “It shows my community that there are so many ways we can practice breathwork.”
Bridging breathwork and artistry is at the core of Kazuko's approach to broadening the appeal of this practice. Kazuko regularly shares entrancing videos in which she performs these breathwork exercises. The videos are not only free breathwork tools for anyone with an Instagram account or access to YouTube, but they also serve as striking visual artwork that encourages viewers to slip into a state of calm.
“My aesthetic right now comes from various artists and music that inspire me,” says Kazuko. “And my ideas for each breathwork recording comes from listening to a song over and over until I can make sense of what it means to me. My friends are a huge part in coming up with new ways to showcase Breath Culture, too. We all work together on how we can make breathwork approachable and digestible, yet entertaining and unique.”
Once we find a mindfulness practice that we connect with, it opens up so much curiosity.
Through her one-on-one coaching sessions, Kazuko has witnessed the incredible impact breathwork has had on her clients.
“I have a client that has had OCD her entire life and for the first time ever, during a one-on-one breathwork session together, her thoughts went quiet,” she shares. “Her anxiety is much more manageable now than it was before breathwork. Another client has had hip problems for over 10 years and during the breathwork she felt a physical release and she’s walking without any issues.”
Now, Kazuko is bringing her unique approach to breathwork to Equinox with her upcoming residency.
“We will be hosting curated breathwork experiences to show members the power of the breath, intertwining different modalities and instructors throughout,” she says of the sessions being offered at SoHo, Williamsburg, and Hudson Yards locations. “My classes are not what you think a standard meditation class would be — the music is loud, athleisure isn’t required, you can even come straight from work in your corporate attire. It's a great alternative for people who want to practice mindfulness but haven't yet found something that resonates with them. Once we find a mindfulness practice that we connect with, it opens up so much curiosity.”
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First-timers are, of course, welcome. As Kazuko notes, when it comes to breathwork, the most important thing is to just get started.
“Anytime we try something new, it can feel nerve-wracking,” she says. “We can get into our heads and feel insecure or self-conscious — especially with breathwork, we may even feel freaky or weird. But it’s a practice, like anything else, and it can take time. So just rip the Band-Aid off and feel a little weird for five minutes and then it’ll pass. I promise.”
Curious about breathwork? Click here to Kira Mae Kazuko's class.
Photos Courtesy of Kira Mae Kazuko