Your nervous system is always listening. And the fastest way to talk to it — the most direct line between your conscious mind and your body's stress response — is your breath. No mat required.
I came to breathwork the way most people do: through a moment I couldn't think my way out of. I was overwhelmed, exhausted, and sitting in my car in a parking lot not quite ready to walk into wherever I was supposed to be. A teacher had shared a technique with me years before. I tried it. Within four breaths, something shifted.
That's the thing about breathwork that still amazes me after years of teaching it. It's not mystical. It's physiological. When you slow your exhale, you activate your parasympathetic nervous system — the rest-and-digest state. You literally change your body chemistry in real time, with nothing but air.
Here are the three techniques I come back to most — with myself, with students, and in the moments when life turns the volume up too high.
The Techniques
Box Breathing — For When Your Mind Won't Stop
Inhale for 4 counts. Hold for 4. Exhale for 4. Hold for 4. Repeat for 4–6 rounds.
Box breathing is used by everyone from Navy SEALs to surgeons for a reason — it works quickly to create mental clarity and calm. The equal-sided pattern gives your mind something to focus on, which breaks the loop of anxious thought. It's my go-to when I'm about to step in front of a group and need to feel present and grounded fast.
Best for: Pre-event nerves, racing thoughts, moments before a hard conversation.
Extended Exhale — For When Your Body Is Tense
Inhale naturally for 4 counts. Exhale slowly for 6–8 counts. Repeat for 5–10 rounds.
The exhale is where the nervous system releases. A longer exhale than inhale signals to your vagus nerve that you're safe — that the threat has passed. You don't need to force anything. Just let the exhale be longer than the inhale. Soft, slow, complete.
I teach this one at the start of every class. Even one minute of extended exhale breathing changes the room. You can feel it.
Best for: Physical tension, after conflict, at the end of a hard day, before sleep.
Alternate Nostril Breathing — For When You Feel Fragmented
Close your right nostril with your thumb. Inhale through your left for 4 counts. Close both, hold briefly. Open your right nostril, exhale for 4. Inhale right. Close both. Exhale left. That's one round. Continue for 5–8 rounds.
This one comes from pranayama — ancient yogic breathwork — and it's remarkable for what it does to the whole system. It balances the two hemispheres of the brain, creates a deep sense of equilibrium, and brings you back into your body when anxiety has sent you into your head. It sounds complicated at first. After two rounds, it becomes a kind of moving meditation.
Best for: Feeling scattered or fragmented, decision fatigue, starting your morning with intention.
A Note on Consistency
These techniques work in the moment — but they work even better when your nervous system already knows them. The more you practice breathwork when you're calm, the more accessible it becomes when you're not. It's like any other skill: you build it in the easy moments so it's available in the hard ones.
Even two minutes a day — before you get out of bed, before you open your phone, before you walk into work — is enough to start rewiring how your body responds to stress.
You Already Have Everything You Need
One of the things I love most about breathwork is that it requires nothing. No equipment, no subscription, no perfect conditions. It's available to you in the grocery store queue, at your desk, in the car, in the middle of the night when your mind has other plans.
Your breath has been with you every single moment of your life. It knows how to help you. Let it.
If you want to experience breathwork as part of a guided practice, we integrate it into every class and retreat. There's something powerful about doing it with a room full of women who are all trying to come home to themselves at the same time.