Guided Breathwork is an incredibly powerful somatic meditation practice.
Some of the biggest benefits of breathwork include releasing stored tension and emotions, regulating the nervous system, increasing energy, enhancing self-awareness, and creating a deeper connection to yourself.
Open-mouth breathwork, in particular, helps move energy more freely throughout the body. Because there is a fascial connection between the jaw and the hips, connected breathing can help release tension stored in the face, jaw, hips, and pelvic area. As these areas begin to soften, emotions, stress, and patterns that have been held in the body can surface and be processed.
By increasing the volume of breath, open-mouth breathing also brings more oxygen into areas of the body that are often underutilized, enhancing sensation, presence, and vitality. At the same time, connected breathwork activates the nervous system in a way that can support emotional processing, somatic release, and expanded states of awareness, allowing people to access deeper insights, healing, creativity, and their own intuition.
Below are two guided breathwork sessions that you can download and try yourself. The first is themed: Breathwork for Alignment, and is guided to help you connect with your inner truth, clarity and essence. The second is Breathwork for Anxiety, and is a little more themed to help you release anxiety and return to inner equilibrium. For more information on Breathwork, read this article and learn how to start a breathwork practice, discover recommended practitioners below, and explore the best breathwork facilitator trainings we’ve tried and recommend.
In this guided breathwork meditation, breathwork facilitator Monica Krake will guide you through a short 30 minute practice. New to breathwork? The technique is simple: you breath in and out of an open mouth, continuously without pause. Putting more energy into your inhale, and letting the exhale fall. The idea is to connect the breath into a continuous flow. By connecting the breath in this way, the body is able to shift out of the sympathetic nervous system (often referred to as the “fight or flight” mode) into the parasympathetic nervous system (often referred to as the “rest and digest” mode). This shift can help lower cortisol levels, reduce heart rate, and promote a state of calm. It helps us move out of our ‘overthinking’ mind so we can access deeper wisdom of our essential, most aligned, selves. Above, right click to download this free guided breathwork for alignment meditation.
Connected breathwork lets us drop out of our overworked minds and into all of the other ways we have of knowing and accessing information. Because we’re in an overstimulated culture, we need to make the time to release from our bodies all of the excess stimulation and mental energy we take in. This Breathwork for Anxiety guided meditation is a great way to support you to explore this practice as a regular tool, to release the build up of any emotions or energies that you’ve accumulated, that are ready to go. Because breathwork boosts the flow of oxygen to the brain, it’s a great way to become less anxious, and more present, aware, and connected with your innate self. Above, right click to download this Guided Breathwork for Anxiety meditation.
Before you explore the meditations above, be sure to read this article on how to start a breathwork practice. We always recommend doing your first session with a facilitator (live or online), and then exploring a practice at home. Here are the breathwork facilitators and breathwork teacher trainings we recommend. Breathwork is a powerful tool for life and work. Learn how breathwork can support you in business.
