PREPARATION AND INTEGRATION ARE ESSENTIAL ASPECTS OF A BREATHWORK JOURNEY, AND HUGELY INFLUENCE YOUR EXPERIENCE DURING AND AFTER A SESSION.
Every breathwork journey is different, because you are different every day. The more breathwork you experience, the more you’ll find your way with each journey and what works for you. Furthermore, you’ll start to strengthen your discernment muscle and have a feeling for what you need in each journey.
PREPARATION
HOW TO CREATE AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE:
01. PREPARE YOUR BODY
- Avoid heavy meals for 3+ hours beforehand.
- Drink plenty of water throughout the day – but avoid any liquids 1 hour before the session to avoid being distracted by a bathroom break!
- Avoid alcohol and recreational drugs 24 hours before a session.
- If possible, take a short walk outside to connect with the sun, the air and the trees.
02. PREPARE YOUR SPACE (ONLINE)
- Make sure your laptop is charged and/or plugged in.
- Wear headphones to full immerse yourself.
- Ask your family/room mates for space and privacy during your session.
- Create a cosy space that feels safe and calming. Use cushions and blankets.
- Use a meditation cushion, yoga block or cushion to sit on for the breathwork cycles.
- Create a space to lie down for the resting & receiving phase of the journey.
- Use supportive tools like essential oils, palo santo or incense.
03. LEAVE EXPECTATIONS AT THE DOOR
Every journey is different. Every individual is different. As I was told in one of my yoga teacher trainings – expectations are the root of all suffering. Breathwork does not need to look a certain way. You may have seen images or videos where breathers are intensely breathing, facilitators are crying with them or bodies are shaking on the ground. Or you may have heard stories of massive transformations and transcendence.
It’s important to remember that these are not the only types experiences we can have in a breathwork session. Often at times, they are much calmer, softer and internal. With that said, enter into each journey with an open heart and willingness to receive a new experience. Allow whatever happens to happen. Accept whatever experience arises as perfect in its own way. Let go of what’s “supposed” to happen next.
04. PRACTICE NON-JUDGEMENT AND SURRENDER
If the thoughts start racing, taking you to what you’re doing after the session, questioning if you’re doing it right, or analysing everything that’s happening, then take a step back from yourself and settle into the seat of the observer. Let the thoughts take their course, bring yourself back to your breath, and let the noise settle naturally. Trying to resist the thoughts only creates more thoughts and then, self-judgement.
This also goes for self-doubt and wondering if you are breathing correctly, or “doing it right”. Every human has a deep desire to be right – so it makes sense that this might pop up. The best way to work through this is to ask questions if you’re unsure how to breathe, or raise your hand and I will come over to support you (in-person). For the most part, I am guiding the journey and repeating the technique frequently throughout so you can pick it up as we go.
05. YOU ARE IMPORTANT
If you are going through something in your life right now that feels intense, and you are worried about how the journey might go for you, let me know! You can email me before the session (if we are online) or come and speak to me before we begin (if we are in-person) and share what you feel comfortable sharing. This lets me know how you are doing so I can best support you - whether you want to go through the journey in your own space, or if you want additional support from me.
INTEGRATION
Don’t underestimate what your body has just experienced, and how intentionally integrating your experience will support you with a smooth landing back into reality, and to carry the shifts forward into your daily life.
Your entire body has just undergone many powerful and intense processes that have influenced it biochemically. Every breath directly influences the nervous system, glandular functions (hormones and blood chemistry), your emotional state and expression, and your mental wellness. Below, I’m offering practical tips, tools, new perspectives, self-discovery prompts, and habits below to help you manage any big feelings or intensity of contractions or expansions that may arise.
A GUIDE TO INTEGRATION:
YOU MIGHT BE FEELING
After a breathwork journey you might be feeling a number of things (or sometimes, nothing at all!). There is no right or wrong way to feel. The more intimate you become with your breath, the more you can trust and surrender to the process of what shows up and when.
A few things that might transpire after a breathwork journey are:
- A desire to be with yourself and your own company, energy and space. You may not want to say much while you allow the pieces to land. Trust this desire. It’s an invitation to go deeper with yourself while the veil between your conscious and subconscious is still thin.
- A heightened sense of connection and one-ness, unconditional Love, a felt-sense experience of God/the universe/the Divine. You might smile softly, move gently, soften your voice when you speak and feel an overall lightness.
- Clarity and direction for something you’ve been feeling stuck around.
- Heightened sensitivity with sound, touch and light.
- Feeling more emotions. A breathwork journey is like kicking up dust and shining a light in dark corners of our subconscious so that we can see what’s going on, and often at times that means discovering emotions that have been hidden away. If you’re not used to feeling your feelings, this can feel like a lot to begin with! I invite you to lean in just enough to feel it.
- More bodily sensations as you are coming in touch with your own body, you might sense more physical sensations, or a stronger intuition as your subconscious (which includes your nervous system) starts to inform your conscious mind of what has moved.
- Difficulty falling asleep (or sometimes, it might make you want to sleep!). This depends on your personal biochemistry and how your body responds to breathwork.
- Motivation to create, as though creativity is pouring into you and needs to be moved out.
- A new optimism for life, a softness or gentleness in your being.
LISTEN, LEARN AND LOVE IN TO YOURSELF
I always encourage coaching and breathwork clients alike to call in curiosity and compassion to every situation. Curiosity lets you step into the seat of the observer, and compassion softens your internal judgement.
- Listen to your body. Learning the language of your body is the first step to building a beautiful and empowering relationship with it. If you feel called to walk outside, stretch, rest, practice yoga, go running, dance or engage in any activity – follow that calling. Listening and acting is what starts to build safety and trust in your body and nervous system.
- Create space and time for reflection and self-study. This is where you can get extra curious with yourself! Notice your thoughts, explore your feelings and lean in to embrace the parts of you that present themselves – even the parts that you might not yet accept.
- Be kind, loving and accepting of yourself. You are here in earth school, doing your best every day, and that can look different on each day. Your feelings are valid and you matter. When you learn to love yourself exactly as you are, you will learn to love life with a whole new colour palette.
FEEL IT TO HEAL IT
An emotion takes 90 seconds to complete its cycle, but often at times it never completes because we suppress or the body represses the emotion so we cannot fully access it. This is from a pattern that we carry in our subconscious – from a story, belief or experience – that is trying to protect us from feeling the discomfort of the emotion (not necessarily the emotion itself – it’s how the emotion feels in the body that we avoid.) When we don’t fully feel our emotions – or the energy – it becomes trapped within us. This causes future energetic blocks as un-processed emotional energy compounds, and Prana (life force energy) can no longer flow freely through the body.
If you feel that your body is full of energy that you want to move up and out of you, or that your mind is clouded with thoughts and feels a little bit chaotic or overwhelming, there are a few things you can do to help you to feel to heal.
01. WRITE IT OUT
The process of journalling for many people is powerful enough to move the energy up and out. Journalling isn’t about following a specific structure, writing neatly, making it make sense or perfect grammar. It’s about connection and expression. As you answer the questions below, let the pen flow freely – without judgement and with a LOT of compassion.
A powerful opening question to channel is “What does my soul want me to know right now?”
Then you can move on to personify the energy/emotion and start to connect with it.
- Where do you live in my body?
- Start to describe the sensations and what it feels like.
- Ask it – What do you want to say to me?
- Ask it – What do you need right now?
- Ask it – How long have you been here?
02. BREATHE & LISTEN
Come back to your breath. Place your left hand on your belly, your right hand on your heart, and start to breathe in to your belly and heart (in one breath). Feel the expansion of your inner space on the inhale, and the softening on the exhale. Feel your spine get tall and strong, then ask yourself the questions listed above. Or, simply notice what is present in your body. What sensations are here? What thoughts are present? How are you feeling?
03. MAKE NOISE. BE LOUD. TAKE UP SPACE.
Most people I meet have a blockage in their throat chakra, meaning they find it difficult to speak their Truth, say what they mean, or be clear and confident in their communication. This can get irritated after a breathwork session as the throat is a the space where we express ourselves. If you’re feeling a tightness in the throat area, you can use the “voo” breath, or simply take in big, deep inhales, and on your exhale make any noise. Make it raw, edgy, loud, gutsy. You might find that emotions rise up – let them come! The more you do it, you might add in arm movements, or move around the room claiming your space.
04. MOVE, SHAKE & DANCE.
Whether it’s a run, yoga, or a dance in your living room – movement is incredibly supportive to shifting the energy. Put on your favourite song and let it move!
5 MINDFUL HABITS FOR EVERY DAY
01. STAY HYDRATED
Water is so important for us to function optimally across all levels; spiritual, physical, emotional and mental. So drink plenty of water throughout the day – especially after a breathwork session.
02. MIND YOUR ENERGY
Here’ s the thing. Energy cannot be created or destroyed…it can only be transformed. Which means that your energy, and where you guide it, is everything. It determines the quality of your life! Start to become aware of where you are guiding your energy, how it vibrates around different people or situations, and what is lifting you up, or draining your batter.
03. EAT NOURISHING FOODS
If you have a holistic approach to healing, you know that the foods you eat – and what you put in your body – are a huge player in how we feel on a daily basis. After a breathwork session, eat whole, high vibrational foods that are nourishing, satisfying and leave you with more energy, rather than feeling heavy or sluggish.
04. MOVE YOUR BODY
We are made to move! The less we move, the heavier we energetically feel. When we lead a sedentary life, our energy becomes stagnant and stale. Like a room in the basement with no windows or doors – nothing can thrive. When you integrate movement into your daily life, you’ll start to feel lighter, bright and more energised! Whether it’s a walk, a dance party in your living room, 10 minutes of stretching in the morning or a full-out gym session – moving your body is a catalyst for creating more, high vibrational energy.
And if you can prioritise movement outside in nature – that’s a double dose of good feels!
05. REST, RELAX & SLEEP
Make sure that you are investing in your sleep – which means getting enough quality sleep based on your needs. Deep sleep is where our brain and body restore our energy, repair our body and properly recharge us for the next day. If you know you need 8 hours of sleep a day for a great tomorrow, create rituals and routines that support you to have that without compromise.
