My Breathwork Story
My journey with breathwork so far has three clear stages— a few breaths, consistent short practices (5-15 minutes), and then expansive breathwork sessions (typically 20-35 minutes). I tiptoed my way into breathwork, and for me this gradual build laid a strong foundation over the past three years.
There is no perfect universal path, and I know many people who started with expansive breathwork sessions. For some this works well, but I’m not sure it would have for me. It seems big variations in experience have to do with 1) how well regulated the person’s nervous system was going in, 2) their nervous system’s predispositions, 3) whether they have a habit of overriding their body’s cues, and 4) whether they felt empowered to listen to their body by instructors.
For example, one of the breaths I work with is an oxygenating breath, where we breathe through the mouth. This breath activates the sympathetic nervous system— for someone who is in a shut down freeze/ fawn state, it can be powerful rebalancing. On the other hand, for a person who is predisposed to panic attacks (a state where your sympathetic nervous system is active, part of fight/flight), a long or aggressive session of this oxygenating breath could increase sympathetic activation and lead to a panic attack, especially if an instructor guides the person to “push through.”
Bottom line, I always recommend listening to your body and intuition. Be gentle with yourself especially when trying something new, and listen to your body’s cues.
While each person’s path is unique, one of the best ways we can support each other is to share our stories and foster connection. Here’s my breathwork story (so far), and I would love to hear yours, or any questions you have about breathwork! Email me at nidhi@embodywithnidhi.com
A Few Conscious Breaths (2020)
Of course I was breathing before 2020, but mostly it was automatic. I had paid attention to my breath for over a thousand hours in meditation, but we were specifically taught not to change the breath, to stay with it as is.
Breathing is regulated by the autonomic nervous system, which connects to your brain and most of your internal organs, and regulates many vital functions, including heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion. It’s also responsible for the physical feelings of emotions, such as butterflies in your stomach, hairs standing up, throat tightening, and changes in breath and heart rate.
Breathing is the only vital function of the autonomic nervous system we can switch from automatic to conscious. Breath is a unique tool for influencing the state of the autonomic nervous system, especially when we’re caught in a protection response that is not supportive.
In 2020 I started to fold in a few conscious breaths here and there— especially when feeling anxious energy in my body, I took a few breaths in through my nose with a long exhale through pursed lips. I immediately felt the powerful impact and began doing this so regularly that it became an embodied habit, or self-soothing practice.
For a while this was the extent of my breathwork. A few conscious breaths helped me back off of intense energy and start mending my relationship to my gut. The practice was mainly reactive, and while I felt less helpless, overall I still was at the whim of my system.
Consistent Short Practices (2021)
2021 started off wild, and continued to be wild for me. In January I experienced anxiety in my body to a degree that I never had before. Between the compounded grief, fear and anger from the pandemic, ongoing assault on Black lives, the election and violent aftermath, I was emotionally drained by the end of 2020. January 6th and the period of time until Biden’s inauguration were terrifying for me.
The intensity opened me to trying new practices, and over time I developed a morning breathwork routine that was my secret sauce for a solid year:
7 mins alternate nostril or diaphragm breathing, with crystal singing bowls playing
5 mins oxygenating breath
For me consistent short practices were fundamental to pulling out of a relatively sticky period of depression. Whether I woke up feeling completely drained or just mildly dreading the day, this practice offered transformation. It couldn’t fix everything, but with this reliable anchor I felt more capable of caring for myself than I ever had before.
My baseline stress level reduced, my gut improved significantly, and my sleep improved. The consistency built another layer to my foundation, and prepared me to go into deeper adventures with longer expansive breathwork sessions.
Today breathwork is still part of my daily practice, cultivating steadiness, connection to my body, and ongoing healing. My routine shifts naturally as needed, and now I typically do:
7 minutes pursed lips breath (in nose, out through oo shape mouth) and exhaling sounds to release energy and ground— sighs, yawns, lip trills, hums, “ha” sounds, whatever feels good
5-15 minutes oxygenating breath, and a couple minutes integration time after
The upcoming Nervous System Balancing workshop will emphasize short practices that you can weave into your day, whenever works for you. You’ll experience the impact of slightly longer practices (15 minutes of breathwork at a time), and leave with information to explore short practices on your own.
Expansive Breathwork Sessions (2022)
Expansive breathwork sessions are longer sessions (20-35 minutes), and emphasize an oxygenating breath. I began exploring longer sessions towards the end of 2021, and was enthralled by the generative power.
I have a tendency towards breath holding and shallow breathing, so an oxygenating breath offered change for my nervous system. Before exploring the oxygenating breath, I had an unconscious assumption that the main way to change my energy was a substance— caffeine, alcohol, etc.
Expansive breathwork sessions offered me a new way to temporarily shift my nervous system’s state so I could do the non-conceptual emotional work necessary for lasting change.
I often go into a session feeling a bit heavy and tired, and then while breathing complex emotional energy starts to move. I cry, yell, stretch, shake things out, place hands on my chest or belly for comfort, whatever is needed. Between the energetic release and flush of oxygen, I typically leave the session feeling energized. I often move energy that I wasn’t ready to process conceptually through journaling, or in conversation or therapy.
The experience of longer breathwork sessions can vary greatly, both based on the individual and how the session is held by an instructor. I recommend doing your first longer session with a certified instructor. Since my focus is embodiment, I emphasize connection to the body and following your intuition during breathwork.
Developing practices to stay connected to my body while doing expansive breathwork sessions shifted my experience. I let go of the assumption that breathing harder meant better results, and embraced connection to my body’s cues. I’m basking in the gentle unfolding that happens in a landscape of trust, between me and my body.