Published Article / The aim of the study was to determine the influence of controlled breathing on school principals' stress relief. The research sample consisted of six primary school principals purposefully selected on the basis of years of school principal experience and the voluntary attendance of a stress alleviation workshop. Based on an interpretive paradigm employing a mixed-methods research approach, a structured questionnaire was used to compare participants' levels of stress before and after attendance of a stress alleviation workshop that focused on controlled breathing. By means of in-depth individual interviews the manifestation of the influence of controlled breathing on participants' stress relief was investigated. Data from the structured questionnaires were analysed as frequencies and mean scores. Through qualitative content analysis data from the individual interviews were analysed as emerging categories and themes. It was found that the regular practising of controlled breathing resulted in participants' stress relief with main improvements related to revitalised energy levels, restored clarity of thinking and improved interpersonal relationships. The findings contribute to research on constructive ways of stress relief within the school environment.

Stress is an ongoing and increasing problem at a societal and individual level. This systematic review aims to evaluate which effects breathwork has on stress in a healthy population. A literature search was done on Scopus, and Web of Science for peer-reviewed, published, and original research. In the search process, it was decided to include psychological and physiological assessments due to the narrow topic. Threestudies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. The outcome measurements included were heart-rate variability (HRV) which measures the activity in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and salivary cortisol to measure cortisol as a biomarker of psychological stress, as well as the questionnaires PSS, PANAS, and STAI. There are many different breathwork techniques, in this review the focus is oncontrolled, slow deep breathing techniques e.g. diaphragmatic breathing, resonance breathing, and cyclic sighing. All three studies showed significant improvement in stress in the breathing groups. These findings suggest that breathwork can be valuable in reducing stress in healthy individuals. Furthermore, more research is needed before conclusions on the general population can be drawn.