In a time where even rest has become performative and silence feels like a luxury, Ankita Konwar has carved out a quiet revolution, one breath at a time. As a guided breathwork practitioner and yoga expert, she doesn't promise instant transformation or spiritual shortcuts. Instead, she invites people to return to what's been with them all along, their breath. “To help someone feel better, even briefly, is a blessing,” she says, reflecting on the deeply personal responsibility of guiding others through a practice as intimate as breathing.
On this World Yoga Day, Konwar's voice cuts through the noise with a gentle reminder: the breath is not just biological, it's sacred. While many confuse breathwork with meditation, she sees no real division. “Everything is connected. The universe breathes, the earth breathes, and so do we,” she explains. From box breathing to belly breathing, Konwar offers techniques not as rituals of discipline, but as doorways back to self.
Edited excerpts:
1. You lead people through something as intimate and powerful as breath. What does that responsibility mean to you?
I feel really blessed to be able to guide people through this. To have the opportunity to help someone understand how to feel better, even for a brief period, is a true blessing.
2. How is breathwork different from meditation for those who confuse the two?
It really isn’t. Everything we do is correlated. The universe breathes, the earth breathes and as humans we connect to everything with our breathing. Conscious breathing is getting the awareness back to your body and meditation is that blissful state where we are just one with our breath.
3. In an age of hyper-productivity, how do you convince people to just breathe?
We can’t. It’s a feeling that needs to come from within. The moment you realise everything is temporary and volatile except the relationship of your soul, body and mind, you understand that the only way to a better life is connecting all three with your breath.
4. We often say ‘take a deep breath’ during stress. But are we even doing it right?
Of course we are, because when someone prompts you to do something at a point where you see no hope, you tend to hold on to that prompt. Because as human beings we are resilient and we have a tendency to keep going. So even through that small prompt of ‘take a deep breath’ we instantly see a little hope of some positive change and we connect to our body.
5. What are some common misconceptions about breathing techniques that you often have to correct?
That you need to be seated in a particular posture or lying down. People even believe that they need to be in a quiet place to practice this. One just needs to connect to their breath and they can do it anywhere.
6. Can you explain how different types of breathing (such as box breathing, alternate nostril, kapalabhati) affect the body and mind?
Our prana flows through us through our breathing. And when we regulate it in certain patterns, the prana that flows also changes, bends to our intentions. Kapalbhati will instantly generate heat in the body, and an alternate nostril will make sure that our Nadis are open for the prana to flow. Box breathing will help you regulate your focus and calm your mind to sync with your breath.
7. Is there a specific breathing technique you recommend for people with anxiety or sleep issues?
For anxiety, Belly Breathing really works. Place the left hand on your stomach and the right on your chest. Almost like a hug to yourself. Breathe deeply into your abdomen, once it’s filled, fill up your chest and then your neck. You will see that your shoulders have come up a little and that’s okay. Feel how your abdomen rises and falls, while keeping your chest relatively still. Exhale slowly from your neck, then chest and finally from your abdomen.
For insomnia, 4-7-8 Breathing is quite helpful. This technique involves inhaling through the nose for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 7 seconds, and exhaling through the nose for 8 seconds. Keep repeating it, till you absolutely connect with your body and mind and feel a sense of calmness.
8. What role does guided breathing play in trauma release or emotional healing?
A huge one. Especially yoga Nidra can take you to places you have thought you had moved on from but actually haven’t. It helps you observe your life from a different point of view, where there’s enough time and space for you to heal.
9. How do you blend ancient breathwork traditions with modern science or neuroscience, if at all?
Our ancestors individually were way too smart than where we stand collectively today. Modern science and neuroscience have only proven what they practiced thousands of years ago to be correct. Our ancestors were the first ones to perform surgery, that should give you an idea of how advanced they were when it came to knowledge of the body.
10. If you had to name one everyday habit that sabotages our breath without us realising, what would it be?
Trying to live in the future or still living in the past. Mistakes were made for a reason, move on from them. And the future is way too fragile to be planning too much or to be stressing about. Realising that however good or bad, this moment is the ultimate truth and no amount of mouth breathing or junk eating or screen time is going to make you escape this. Be grateful for the smallest little blessing and that is the only way forward.