What Does a Breathwork Session Look Like?

The third pillar of breathwork, the one I have utilised the most in my deeper healing processes is breathwork journeys. Breathwork journeying is the practice and the use of one breathwork pattern called the conscious connected breath. In these journeys, we breathe this pattern consistently and continuously for 30 - 60 minutes. Through the activation of the breath, we are inviting the body into a different state of consciousness and this allows us to tap into deeper truths that are alive in the body. The invitation to breathe like this, is an invitation to feel. We tap into the conscious and unconscious parts of ourselves and through the engagement of the autonomic nervous system, we are able to process parts of our lives where we have been thrown into survival mode that have been stuck or blocked within our bodies.

Due to the lives that we live, we rarely take the time to really listen or even notice what is happening in our body, and when we do, it can often be very uncomfortable and we reach into our toolbox to soothe, numb or avoid the feeling completely, either with food, alcohol, drugs, tv or whatever it is you may use.

Breathwork in this sense is an invitation to learn how to sit in the discomfort, to be able to cultivate trust and safety in your own body to be able to process some of the most challenging feelings and sensations that may be coming up. It can be really scary at first and it is normal to feel hesitant but the alternative is often scarier.

We know that our bodies hold all of our experiences, and when we dont process the traumas we’ve experienced, our body suffers. Breathwork is an opportunity to deal with these from a somatic and body-centred approach that does not depend on talking, or sharing what happened or is happening to us. It is a powerful practice of deep listening and deep trust that our body knows how to heal, we just need to give it the chance and opportunity to do so.

What does a breathwork session look like?

Typically, a breathwork session is between 90-120 minutes long with a full breathwork journey inside it. We normally lie down when we do this pattern and we can choose whether we breathe through the nose or through the mouth.

When we lie down, we are facilitating comfort, so you can have pillows, blankets and blocks to support you - all ensuring that our airways are open and we can keep our throat and chest open. When we do this pattern, we are bringing the breath deep into our bellies, all the way in and all the way out. It is a conscious, connected breath - meaning there is no pause at the top or the bottom of the breath. The pace and rate is within your full control which means the intensity is within your control.

There are three main messages in breathwork and each breath reminds us of it, the first is the message of acceptance - learning how to accept the inhale, learning to breathe fully. The second is the message of letting go, learning to fully let go of the exhale, and the third is agency, learning that we are in control of our breath, and when we choose to breathe deeply, we choose to feel deeply, and when we choose to change our breath, we change our lives. We have the choice in every breath and these messages are delivered to us 27, 000 times a day.

If you’re interested in trying checking out my events and retreats page or start a 1-2-1 breathwork therapy journey with me.