How We breathe is How we Feel, and how we feel is How we Live

When people ask what breathwork can really do for them, my answer is simple and direct ... how we breathe is how we feel, and how we feel is how we live! Breathwork has the power to change how we feel and how we live. Recently, MysticMag asked me to elaborate a little more on that. Here is my response:

“How we breathe is how we feel, and how we feel is how we live! The breath connects and regulates every aspect of our being, including our nervous system, cardiopulmonary system, metabolism, and immune system – and in turn, it directly reflects all of those systems.


As a trauma and recovery coach, I have spent the last thirty years watching people breathe, and I have witnessed firsthand the powerful relationship between breathing, emotions, and physical vitality. It’s not possible to shut down any of our emotions without shutting down our very experience of being alive. Every time we encounter an uncomfortable emotion, we go into a neurophysiological threat response, triggering agitation, aggression, freezing, or collapse, all of which are immediately reflected in the breath; we begin breathing rapidly or forcefully, or we begin to breathe in a shallow, constricted, or lethargic manner.


These patterns become chronic, and we wonder why our sense of aliveness and vitality are so diminished. Over time, these patterns give rise to stress-related illnesses, chronic pain, and autoimmune responses. Fortunately, we aren’t doomed to live out these patterns! Conscious Breathing can help us to become aware of our dysfunctional breathing patterns, understand the underlying emotional motivations for those patterns, unwind those coping responses in our nervous systems, develop new and more effective strategies, and reclaim our capacity to meet our lives with an open, healthy breath, an open heart, and a profound sense of curiosity, joy, and vitality.”

If you'd like to read a few other breathworkers offering their perspectives on the same question, check it out at  https://www.mysticmag.com/psychic-reading/experts-breathwork-2/