Breathwork has gone from niche wellness practice to mainstream stress tool in about three years. My inbox is full of ads for breathwork apps. My local community centre has three different breathwork classes on the schedule. Even my GP mentioned diaphragmatic breathing at my last checkup.

The question I keep getting: app or class? I’ve spent six months testing both — popular breathwork apps alongside in-person sessions around Sydney — and the answer is more nuanced than you’d think.

What Breathwork Actually Does (No Mysticism Required)

Structured breathing techniques activate your parasympathetic nervous system — the “rest and digest” mode that counteracts stress. Techniques like box breathing (4-4-4-4), physiological sighing (double inhale, long exhale), and coherence breathing have genuine research support from Stanford for reducing cortisol and lowering heart rate.

What breathwork is NOT — despite some claims — is a cure for trauma, a replacement for therapy, or a consciousness-transforming spiritual experience. I’m focusing on evidence-based techniques because that’s what most people looking for stress management actually need.

Where Apps Win

Convenience is the obvious one. A 5-minute box breathing session at your desk during a stressful workday beats the in-person class you didn’t attend because it was across town at 6pm. The best predictor of whether a wellness practice works is whether you actually do it. Apps remove almost every barrier to consistency.

Structure and guidance. Good apps provide timed visual or audio cues that keep you on pace. Most of us breathe too fast when trying to slow down unguided. The animated breathing circles in apps like Breathwrk and Calm are genuinely helpful.

Privacy. Some people don’t want to do breathwork in a room full of strangers. Especially techniques that might trigger emotional responses. Doing it alone with headphones is more comfortable for many — and that’s completely valid.

Where Apps Fall Short

No real-time feedback. An app can’t see that your shoulders are tensed around your ears or that you’re breathing into your chest instead of your diaphragm. These technique issues can reduce effectiveness significantly, and you might practise incorrectly for months without realising.

Shallow engagement. I found myself multitasking during app sessions far more than I’d like to admit. Half-reading emails while breathing isn’t really breathwork.

Subscription fatigue. Most apps charge $70-120 per year. For what’s essentially a timer with nice graphics, it can feel steep — especially when the most effective techniques can be done with nothing but a clock.

Where In-Person Classes Win

Technique correction. In my first class, the instructor immediately noticed I was using accessory breathing muscles instead of my diaphragm. Two minutes of postural correction transformed the quality of my practice. I’d been doing it wrong with apps for months. This is the single biggest advantage of in-person instruction.

Deeper focus. Without my phone buzzing, without my laptop sitting there — I actually focus. Twenty minutes of fully engaged breathwork in a studio is more effective than twenty distracted minutes at my desk. That’s not mystical. It’s basic attention science.

Instructor adaptability. Good instructors modify techniques based on what they observe. If you’re hyperventilating because you’re trying too hard, they calm things down. If you’ve got a respiratory condition, they adjust. This responsive guidance doesn’t exist in an app.

Where Classes Fall Short

Cost and access. A single class in Sydney or Melbourne runs $25-45. That’s $100-180 monthly for weekly sessions. In regional Australia, finding qualified instructors is genuinely difficult. The Australian Breathwork Association has a directory, but coverage outside major cities is thin.

Quality variation. There’s no standardised accreditation in Australia for breathwork instruction. I attended one session where the instructor claimed breathwork could cure autoimmune conditions. That’s irresponsible. The gap between a clinical practitioner with a health science background and a self-certified weekend-course graduate is enormous.

Life gets in the way. Kids get sick, work runs late, it rains. An inconsistent in-person practice is less effective than a consistent app-based one.

My Honest Recommendation

Start with an app to build the daily habit. Five minutes of guided box breathing every morning is a solid foundation — and Apple Health’s breathwork exercises are free.

Then find a quality in-person instructor, ideally someone with a clinical background in physiotherapy or psychology, and do 3-4 sessions to get your technique checked. After that, return to app-based practice with confidence you’re doing it correctly.

If budget or location makes regular classes impossible, don’t feel bad about being app-only. Imperfect breathwork done consistently beats perfect breathwork done never.

Just please don’t spend $120 a year on a breathwork app when a free timer and a YouTube tutorial on diaphragmatic breathing will get you 80% of the way there. Save the money for an occasional session with a good instructor who can check your form.

Your breath is free. Learning to use it well shouldn’t cost a fortune.