Breathwork is a conscious practice of using your breath to help shift your emotions and create the desired outcome. Breathwork is an ancient practice rooted in Eastern cultures, often referred to as pranayama, which comes from the Hindu sanskrit prana, meaning “life energy”, and yama meaning “control” — so, it’s control of your life energy. You’ll see both immediate and long-term benefits from your breathwork practice.

While there are many types of breathwork, the two I practice are:

Integrative: This type can be used in your everyday life and yields immediate benefits. back to good Integrative breathwork helps you remove or release toxic energy.

Meditative: This is the state of healing where you do deep internal work. Many people feel stuck in certain patterns of emotion or behavior for years — even decades. Meditative breathwork takes more time and creates meaningful internal shifts.

What is breathwork

Why breathwork is transformational

Wear something comfortable. Grab a pillow and a blanket.

Find a place where you can lie down and relax. Do not prop your head with pillows: you want your throat to be relaxed and open. This is important.

Stop eating two hours prior to class to avoid potential nausea.

Find a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted; let anyone in the house know what you are doing. I invite you to ground, and resist over processing the breathwork experience. Be very gentle with yourself and consider participating in self-care activities.

*Breathwork cannot "fix" everything. Consider working with a therapist to support ongoing healing.

Resources:

National Crisis Hotline

Loveland Foundation Therapy Fund- For Black Women

Therapy for Black Girls

Therapy for Black Men

Indigenous Therapy Support

Latinx Therapy

Queer + Trans Therapy

Inclusive Therapists

While I am NOT a medical practitioner and cannot offer medical advice, please take note that if you have any of the following, I recommend completing any breathwork under the guidance of your doctor:

An active addiction

Any person with mental illness who isn’t in treatment or lacks adequate support

Anyone experiencing an emotional or spiritual crisis

Bipolar depression

Cardiovascular problems

Epilepsy or history of seizures

Glaucoma or high or abnormal blood pressure

History of aneurysms

On a heavy medication regimen

Osteoporosis

Recent surgery

Retinal detachment

Severe psychiatric symptoms, particularly psychosis or paranoia

Strokes and neurological conditions

Pregnancy

You can practice breathwork every day if you like; it is a totally safe practice. Breathwork can help your body get back into a rest-and-digest state, which often leads to a feeling of calmness.

Physically

You may experience tingling, vibrating, dry mouth, a change in body temperature, sweating, shivering, a surge of emotion, or something called tetany (spasms or cramps in your hands or feet). All of these physical experiences are the result of your body having a physical reaction to the changing levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your body. They are a common part of the experience for some people, mostly when someone forces their exhale too hard or breathes too quickly.

Emotionally

Emotions can and will come to the surface, and it’s nothing to be afraid of. Common emotions released in sessions are big tears; soft gentle tears; giggling; anger; frenetic energy in the form of kicking, shaking, or howling. It looks different for everyone each time they practice.

**It is possible to feel deep emotions after a session. To some, emotions can be very distressing. Breathwork cannot "fix" everything. Consider working with a therapist to support ongoing healing. Resources: Located on after care tab.

Mentally

Your brain will want to keep doing its job during a breathwork session, which means most people instinctively want to try to “control the show”. It’s similar to why people struggle with meditation because they can’t turn off the endless brain banter, aka, the monkey mind. Just trust your body and keep breathing — the benefits of mental joy, freedom, and peace that come with this practice are life-transforming.