Most of us go through the day barely thinking about our breath. We rush, we stress, we overthink—and without realizing it, our breathing becomes shallow and tight. This sends subtle signals to the body that we’re unsafe, keeping us in a constant state of stress and overstimulation.
That’s where breathwork comes in. This is more than just “taking deep breaths.” It’s the intentional practice of using your breath to regulate your nervous system, release stored emotions, and create alignment with your desires. It’s one of the fastest, simplest, and most powerful tools we all have access to—no equipment needed, just our lungs and intention.
What Is Breathwork?
Breathwork is the practice of bringing conscious awareness to the unconscious action of breathing. When you focus on rhythm, depth, and pattern of your breathing, you can create specific physical, emotional, and energetic effects. This practice has been used for centuries in yoga, meditation, and healing practices around the world.
If you experience something stressful, traumatic, or negative in your life, and you “shove it down” and don’t release it, your body will hold onto all of those unprocessed emotions–even if it happened years ago. All of that negative stored energy, doesn’t just sit quietly and still, it turns into physical symptoms like stomach issues, diseases, neck tension, excess weight, fatigue, trigger trembles, etc.
So breathwork is a powerful way to release that. It helps to commutate to your body that we are safe now (we being your conscious self and your body). This really great for healing trauma/survival mode because it helps the body learn that you are no longer trapped in the past (perhaps no longer living in a stressful or traumatic environment). When you do breathwork and find stillness, it helps your body recognize and learn that you are safe now and it can process (release) the energy it has been storing. This release may be things like shaking, twitching, or waves of emotion as the energy finally moves out.
It’s great for manifestation because it helps reduce stress, brings you to the present moment, and helps you align to the frequency of your desires. Breath anchors you to the present moment and shifts you into the energy of what you want to create. When you pair it when visualization or affirmations you are reprogramming your subconscious while regulating your body. It makes your body finally feel safe to experience/become what you desire.
More Breathwork Benefits
- Lowers levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) and blood pressure
- Improves quality of sleep
- Enhances emotional well-being
- Increased oxygenation and circulation in the body
- Boosts the immune system
- Increased relaxation and emotional well-being
- Improves clarity and focus
- Reduced anxiety and depression symptoms
- Improved cardiovascular health
- Spiritual connection and awareness
- Release of emotional and physical tension
- Better digestion and gut health
- Improvement in stress management
- Strengthen respiratory system
- Better lung capacity and breathing efficiency
- Reconnection to the “now” (present moment)
Slightly more in depth from list above:
- Less Anxiety: Your breath is a physical reflection of your mental state. Slower breath stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which reduces heart rate and increases relaxation.
- Better Sleep: Breathing exercise activate the parasympathetic nervous system, enabling us to fall into a deep sleep.
- Health Benefits: This kind of breathing expands the lungs, therefore increasing oxygen absorption, lowering cortisol levels and blood pressure.
- Increased Immunity: Improves the autonomic nervous system, therefore enhancing the immune response.
- Being in the Now: It aids in slowing down, stepping away from stress of your life, and being present with your breath and the present moment.
Very Versatile
Mediation is a similar, deeper practice, but breathwork has its own unique power. The beauty of breathwork is that you can use it anywhere—at home, in middle of the day, even in public. Just 30 seconds of intentional breathing can help reset your nervous sytem and shift your energy.
Some simple routines:
- 4-7-8
- Inhale for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8
- Relaxes the body, lowers anxiety
- Box Breathing
- Inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4
- Helps with focus and calming nerves
- Hand on Heart
- Focusing on breathing into your heart (maybe imagine breathing in a loving, peaceful energy)
- Still with intentional inhales and exhales
- Coherent Breathing
- Inhale for 5, exhale for 5
- Creates heart-brain coherence, balancing the nervous system and promoting emotional stability.
- Kundalini
- More intense practice, paired with mediation or yoga, for chakras or detoxification (I think??)
- I don’t know much about it, but it is really powerful if you want to explore that yourself!
- Imagine breathing in loving energy, exhaling negative energy
- Sighing while exhaling is a great release too!
On the other and, you can also five in deep and do longer sessions (like 20 minutes or even an hour). For guided breathwork I’ve heard great things about @breathewithsandy on YouTube.
Have Fun with It
Another great thing about breathwork is that there are literally no rules with creation and imagination, so have fun with it.
I love pairing breathwork with other practices:
- Affirmations
- Listening to affirmation tracks
- Looking at vision boards/pinterest
- Feeling gratitude
- Mediation
- Sitting in grass (recharges electromnagetic field)
- Talking to your body for healing
- Talking to inner child
- Journaling
- literally anything!
Breathwork is frickin amazing. You can keep it simple, or use it as a foundation for stacking other manifestation and healing tools.
