For many years as a business owner, I had an unhealthy relationship with my to-do list and goals. It started around 2009, when I co-founded a marketing agency in the same year that I had my first baby. I was hell-bent on prioritizing my family AND growing the business, and I did a pretty good job at first… but after a few years, the pressure to do everything better, and the actual list of ‘things to do’ at work and home started to feel insurmountable. I began carrying the crushing weight of all of the things, all of the time.

What I know now is that pretty much all of us feel a lot of pressure to be doing better in life.  And guess what the number one coping mechanism is, to handle all this pressure, guilt, fear, overwhelm?

Self abandonment. 

We end up detaching from our bodies and basically residing in our heads as a way to manage life. When we do this, though, we disconnect from our life force energy, and our innate personal power. This disconnect is why so many people struggle with anxiety and depression and feelings of unworthiness.

Guided breathwork has been the most powerful practice I’ve discovered for curing self-abandonment. It’s been a portal that’s helped me (and millions of other people!) reunite with my body, and reclaim the truth of who I am. More than any other practice I’ve tried her at Head + Heart, Breathwork has been the one that’s most helped me to make that shift from doing to being. 

There are many styles of breathwork and breathing techniques available: In this article, I’m specifically to Active Connected Breathing- which is done in and out of an open mouth, for extended periods of time between 20 to 90 minutes. If you’re new to this concept, this article explains what breathwork is, and how to start a breathwork practice

Why breathwork for business? 

In his book, Just Breathe, author Dan Brule explains that to ‘regain our creativity, we need to relearn how to breathe.” This is echoed by Dr. Judith Kravitz in her book on transformational breathing, in which she explains that shallow breathing is contributing to the epidemic of stress and overwhelm in our society: people aren’t breathing properly (deep enough), and it’s leading to an increase in anxiety, depression, and many other health problems.

As a business owner, we can only achieve what we believe to be possible for our lives. Yes, we all come up against fears, beliefs, and limitations that hold us back AND when we begin understand – and integrate into our embodied experience- the truth that our expectations create our realities, everything changes.

This is why self-care practices like breathwork are not just a ‘nice thing to do’ – they’re actually the key to unlocking greater potential in life and business. In this podcast Mel Robbins references the research findings of Dr. Judy Willis that show when the human nervous system is in overdrive, we don’t ‘perform well’. When we’re stressed out, we loose access to the prefrontal cortex which is our executive functioning and decision making; essentially, we’re cut off from our ability to lead well. So, while the hustle culture continues to be glamorized, business owners who operate from stress and overwhelm, are less likely to succeed.

In this interview, Dr. Joe Dispenza cites his own research that proves meditation (including breathwork) changes our state of being, improving our blood chemistry, and boosting our immune system, brain function and capacity. There’s a growing body of compelling evidence showing that when we learn to regulate our human operating system, through breathwork and meditation, we gain access to a much more powerful state of being and working.

Breathwork for Business

As stated above, breathwork is a powerful tool for helping us reduce fear and anxiety, reconnect with a sense of wholeness, open up to the quantum field of potentials, and tap into our creativity and intuition – which makes it a powerful tool for business. 

Here are five reasons you may want to consider using breathwork for business:

  • Shift from overwhelm to being self-resourced. Active breathwork may not be a calming practice per say (it’s more stimulating in general); however, it’s a powerful tool for reprogramming your innate breathing pattern. For those who tend to breathe more shallowly, in the upper respiratory system, breathwork helps you to become more conscious of bringing the breath more deeply into the body, into the belly, and to places that may be starved for oxygen and nutrients. In this way, breathwork helps to re-train ourselves to breathe more deeply in general. And when we do this, we have a powerful tool that we can use daily to support the health of our bodies, and to create a more energized and regulated nervous system, which is where we need to be to thrive.
  • Access to your inner ‘limitlessness’. In an active breathwork session, we move through stages.The first is giving the mind permission to relax. Our minds want to hold onto to-do lists, fear, stories SO badly so we come to breathwork to intentionally let the mind relax into presence, and into the unknown. Second, we meet what’s alive in our bodies. The energy and emotions swimming around that we haven’t had a chance to acknowledge. Simply by allowing all to be as it is, and giving our attention to (previously unacknowledged) felt sensations, we bring our bodies into somatic rest and release. And third, from here, we gain access to our essential knowing. As we’ve quieted our minds, and met our inner emotional landscape without resistance, we open up access to our vast intuition. This is where people receive clarity in their work about what projects to move ahead, and which to let go. They receive ideas and solutions for their business. They access incredible creative insights on what’s possible, and the people and places they’re meant to collaborate with, and explore. In this way, breathwork is a tool for quantum manifestation because it helps us to rewire old pathways of resistance and plug into the unknown – the gateway to the greater field of possibilities that we all have access to. Once we get a sense of this field, there’s no turning back. 
  • Somatic empowerment. We have incredible potential, as humans. Potential far beyond what we imagine. The problem is most of us will cling to what we know rather that allow ourselves to access the unknown, where we can access the fullness of life. The meditation teachers I’ve studied all say the same thing: Our evolution is essentially a journey in rewiring our human condition into a Divine condition. We get in our own ways, choosing our old habits and patterns – every single day- because our subconscious wants to keep us safe in the known. For those who are ready to take that leap into the unknown, to do the work or rewiring our inner fears… breathwork is a fantastic tool for this, because we can’t just understand these concepts in the mind, we must somatically experience them for real shifts to occur.

Personally, my entire business has been birthed through the visions I’ve received during breathwork. Suddenly, I’ll know exactly what I need to focus on, what I need to let go of, who to team up with, how to navigate past challenges. If you’re curious…

Here are four ways you can work with breathwork in your business: 

  1. Learn how to start a breathwork practice, and begin to explore breathwork intentionally for clarity and inspiration in your work and life. I recommend starting with a live guided session for extra support, and then beginning to do breathwork at home with a guided meditation. Here’s a guided breathwork for alignment meditation you can try. 
  2. Try the Breathwork Mastermind.It’s for entrepreneurs, business owners, and creatives who want to explore their own quantum potentials in business, receive support, and plug into a network of other visionaries who can mirror and affirm the new realities coming to life. I’m offering these groups live in Vancouver but may open up a Zoom version. Get notified about the next series here.
  3. For deeper, ongoing & strategic support, explore the Business Activation + Mastermind. To get to the next level in business requires three things: An irresistible offer, a proven strategy for business & marketing, and a community of support that sees and helps you expand into your highest possibilities. The Business Activation offers support with all of the above, over a luxurious six months of ongoing support. First, we’ll set up two strategy calls so I can get to know your business, and begin mapping out a strategic plan based on your priorities and zone of genius. You’ll receive a strategic plan of action, monthly business guidance calls, a monthly guided breathwork journey & becoming part of a mastermind group, with other high level entrepreneurs. You’ll be supported on all levels, as you grow your business to the next level of success and impact. The next group begins in January, 2025. 
  4. Corporate Breathwork Facilitation. I’ve been hired by organizations including Emily Carr and global agency, Conversion, to facilitate breathwork to support team cohesion, visioning, creativity, and clarity. Breathwork is an incredible facilitation tool, and it’s equally powerful for entrepreneurs as a go-to weekly (or more) practice. Send me a note if you’d like to learn more: Monica @ headplusheart.com