Examining the effectiveness of Breathwork on increasing resilience and psychological well- being while preventing and attenuating anxiety, depression, insomnia, and stress in emergency responders

For the study, the most appropriate study design is a pragmatic mixed methods single-blinded RCT. The experimental design will use deductive reasoning, intervention, and survey strategies, and be longitudinal spanning 12 weeks. It will use a variety of validated and reliable self-questionnaires to examine the effectiveness of the interventions. This RCT will have 2 groups: a) control group, and b) Breathwork group. The sampling frame will include paramedicine students from a) Victoria University, b) Monash University, c) ACU, and d) La Trobe. 160 subjects in total will be recruited in cooperation with their governing organisations. Informed consent will be obtained from all participating subjects with the ability to withdraw at any time. Inclusion Criteria: subjects (aged 18-99) who can commit and adhere to intervention or control schedule, capable of providing informed consent, can speak and read English, have not performed breathwork before, and are in at least their second year of study. Exclusion Criteria: participants who have a serious psychiatric condition such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder or be taking illicit drugs. An initial pre-intervention questionnaire will be administered at least 2-days prior to interventions commencing. A) For the breathwork group, the subjects will individually watch a one-hour online teaching with a qualified breathwork instructor (Johannes Egberts). This will be a pre-recorded video to be distributed to the intervention participants. Subjects will be informed on the theory of correct breathing practices, a brief history of breathwork, “the why”, and given instructions on how to practice the Little A breathing method (5 seconds in, 5 seconds out, 2 second hold) for 10 minutes twice daily for 12-weeks. They will also be provided with a 10-minute pre-recorded audio track which the participants will listen to when they practice.