Breathwork
The power of your breath
We take our first breath when we’re born and our last at the end of our lives. In between, most of us barely think about it. Yet it’s one of the few tools we carry everywhere. It’s free, and learning to work with it can change how you feel in the moment.
“Breathe deeply, until sweet air extinguishes the burn of fear in your lungs and every breath is a beautiful refusal to become anything less than infinite.”
— D. Antoinette Foy
A gentle breathing practice can help your nervous system settle when you feel wound up. Following the breath can also give a busy mind something to focus on. There are many ways to practise, from a few quiet minutes on your own to a longer guided session. You’ll find free practices on YouTube and elsewhere online. If it’s within reach, a coach can help you find an approach that suits you and deepen it over time.
If sitting in silence has always felt hard, breathwork gives you another way into meditation. Start with a practice you’re comfortable with and notice how you feel afterwards. That’s the best place to begin.
What's inside
Modalities to Explore
Box Breathing
Four sides, four counts. Box breathing gives a racing mind a simple shape to follow, and it’s a favourite in jobs where staying steady matters.
Coherent Breathing
Around six slow breaths a minute, in and out like a gentle tide. Coherent breathing helps your breath and heart rhythm fall into step.
Conscious connected breathwork
Longer, faster breathing sessions held by a facilitator. Not suitable for everyone.
Nasal Breathing and Breathing Mechanics
How you breathe all day matters as much as any five-minute exercise. This practice is about noticing your everyday breathing habits, and gently coming back to the nose.
Slow Diaphragmatic Breathing
Most of us were never taught how to breathe. Slow belly breathing is the simplest place to start, and it comes with you wherever you go.
The Physiological Sigh
Two breaths in through the nose, one long breath out through the mouth. The physiological sigh is something your body already does to settle itself, and you can use it on purpose in under a minute.
Founder’s Insight
“When my mind won’t sit still, giving it a breath gets me out of my head and back into my body and changes everything.”
I was in my 40s before I learned how to use my breath to settle myself. I started with Wim Hof and other intense practices, and sometimes I came away more anxious than when I’d started. Then I met Joey Hurl. I call her my breathwork fairy because she eased me in so gently. With her, I found a way to practise that felt right for me.
They don’t call it breathwork for nothing. Some days I still have to talk myself into it, just like exercise. Sometimes a few minutes gives me the clarity I couldn’t get from thinking the same thing through for the tenth time. In longer sessions, I’ve been surprised by what comes up. Sometimes it’s tears. Sometimes it’s grief I hadn’t realised I was still carrying. I’m still amazed by how differently I can feel by the end of a session.
I wish we taught this in schools. I think about how many times I was told to calm down growing up, and how much it would have meant for someone to show me something I could actually do. Even now, when my thoughts are racing, following a few breaths gives me a way out of my head and back into my body.
Related Categories
Educational information only. Nothing here is a diagnosis or a recommendation. Speak with a qualified health professional before making decisions about your health.
