Breathwork vs Meditation: In 2025, a quietly transformative change is quietly happening in the world of mental health. A trend that has taken the meditation world by storm, guided breathwork is beginning to replace seated meditation—considered the gold standard for stress relief and focus—in people’s lives.

Whether in the gym, on mental health apps or in corporate wellness programs, guided breathwork has become one of the hottest trends around. Although breathwork is not entirely new, it is becoming more mainstream and recognized for its natural, faster effects and its personal transformation for people unable to use seated meditation.

What is Breathwork?

Breathwork is the active management of your breathing patterns to impact your mental, emotional, and physical states. Unlike meditation, which often focuses on being calm and observing thoughts, breathwork is an active and purposeful practice. Styles consists of rhythmic breathing, box breathing, diaphragmatic (belly) breathing, as well as more vigorous breathing patterns like holotropic breathwork.

The aim is to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, decrease cortisol levels, and oxygenate the brain. This can all occur in a matter of minutes.

Breathwork is Taking Over from Meditation

Despite all of the benefits of meditation being widely known—from decreased anxiety, to more restful sleep— people are unable to sit still and quiet their mind. Breathwork offers an easier avenue for beginners and doubters to experience.

“People want to feel something immediately,” explains Dr. Mira Patel, a neuropsychologist and wellness consultant. “With breathwork, many people note a shift—calm, clarity or even bliss—right away on their first session.”

In contrast, it often takes meditation weeks of consistent practice to feel a real shift in mindset. Nurturing this kind of patience can be challenging in our fast-moving, hyper-connected lives.

The rise of breathwork is further fueled by the overall biohacking and performance enhancement trend. Well-known figures like Andrew Huberman and Wim Hof have introduced breathwork techniques via widely consumed platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. Collectively, their videos have captured the attention of millions.

Research in 2024 and early 2025 has given them evidence to point to that organized breathing techniques can:

• Reduce anxiety by 45% in only 10 minutes.
• Boost mental function and memory retrieval.
• Increase heart rate variability (HRV) as a biomarker of stress tolerance.
• Wearable technology has enhanced people’s ability to track these physiological benefits in real-time, making the instant impact of breathwork visible compared to practicing meditation.

A Wellness Tool that is More Accessible

The rise in popularity of breathwork is tied to its level of accessibility. Teaching diverse age groups, cultures, and different mental or physical abilities, is much easier. Many people with ADHD, PTSD, or trauma experience sitting in silent meditation as triggering or non-beneficial; however, they will report being able to have a positive experience with guided breathing.

In professional settings, organizations are not only using breathwork as a professional wellness tool to combat stress in the workplace, but many organizations are incorporating short breathwork practices into their meetings or after difficult situations. Schools are including 5 minute breathing exercises to help students release their emotions prior to an exam. Hospitals have been running breathwork trials for pain management and recovery.

Is this the End Of Meditation?

Definitely not. Breathwork is not replacing meditation, it is informing our approach to mindfulness. In fact, many practitioners regard breathwork and meditation as complimentary.

“Breathwork can be a gateway to meditation”, says wellness coach Rina Joshi. “After people feel the change it creates they are more open to exploring traditional practises.”

Even though meditation is part of a bigger framework of spiritual and reflectional practice, breathwork is certainly carving out its own identity as a wellness modality.

What’s Next For Conscious Breathing?

As the wellness industry emerges in 2025, expect to see:

• Classes that incorporate movement, sound therapy, and breathing.
• Apps that use breathing, which advise tailored routines based on biometric response.
• VR breathing sessions that simulate environments and promote breath regulation to stimulate relaxation and immersion.

Breathwork can be found in everything, from fitness studio classes to corporate meetings, not a replacement but an evolution of mindfulness and movement.

Breathwork caters to time-stressed individuals who feel overwhelmed or need instant relief while there are still many benefits of meditation. Breathwork – with its speed and physiological impact, could be the wellness trend of 2025.