How to Prepare for Your First Breathwork Session

Introduction:

I’m so excited you’ll be trying your first Breathwork session. If it's a Releasing Breathwork session with me, thank you for trusting me to guide and support you on your wellness journey! If you are reading this blog simply to familiarize yourself with what to expect before your first breathwork session, I hope it's helpful!

Here are the most important things you’ll need to know before having your first breathwork experience.

The Space..

Please join the session from a quiet place where you can be undisturbed for about an hour and a half. Be mindful of temperature and make any adjustments to your space before starting. It’s important that you are laying all the way down on the ground on a yoga mat or on your bed, with nothing except a thin pillow under your head if you feel like you need it. You'll want the neck and throat to be unobstructed so you can breathe freely. It can feel supportive to also have a pillow underneath the knees for a restorative posture in the body, have socks on and have a blanket nearby as many people run cold during the session. You’ll want to have everything you need nearby so you don’t need to get up during the session itself. 

Avoiding Distractions..

I encourage you to use the restroom right before starting the session, and avoid a heavy meal or lots of liquids a couple of hours before. You are welcome to eat and hydrate lots after the session as soon as you feel ready for it, but you'll want to avoid a full belly that might constrict how freely you are able to breathe during the hour.

Some additional things I highly recommend are headphones to listen to the session through (synced to your phone or laptop - whichever you will be joining the Zoom call from), an eye shade, and a journal and pen to jot down thoughts after the session is complete. 

Contraindications

Please be mindful that the style of breathwork I will be guiding you through should not be practiced by anyone who: is pregnant, has glaucoma or a detached retina, has any unmanaged, life disrupting mental health disorder such as severe anxiety, has hypertension, high blood pressure or a history of heart disease that is not currently managed or poses any risk to you. As far as blood pressure or heart issues, if you typically practice vigorous exercise without issue practicing breathwork will likely be fine - but please let me know if this is you before beginning. In short, breathwork is a generally safe but very powerful healing exercise that should be approached with caution. When choosing to practice, please treat it as something that can change your life (because it can!).

The experience

During the experience some things that may come up physically are: tingling in the hands, feet, or other parts of the body, tightness followed by a release in different areas of the body such as pelvic floor, jaw or solar plexus, feeling lightheaded (which is why we make sure to practice lying down), as well as a temporary numbness in hands, arms, feet or thighs known as tetany.

Tetany happens in a small percentage of participants so it’s not guaranteed that you will feel this, but if it happens please know that it’s perfectly safe and will be cleared by the body within 10-15 minutes of stopping the vigorous breath practice. As soon as we transition to light, regular breathing, this feeling should begin to subside and leave behind a physical release of tension that may have been stored in those muscles or parts of the body. 

You are always in control!

No matter what happens, please remember that you are always in control of your practice, and slowing down breathing means returning to our normal baseline experience within minutes. That’s the power of the breath - it can elevate us beyond what we thought possible and take us on a journey - but unlike physical substances that we consume that might take a while to wear off - a return to natural breathing will bring us back to baseline within minutes. Your body’s got you, so try to release any tension or resistance to the experience and allow it to unfold in the way it’s meant to be today. Tears, sighs, yawns, stretching, making sounds, or any other ways releasing might present itself in your body are all welcome and encouraged. 

You are safe

This is your practice so please keep that top of mind. A few helpful reminders throughout the experience to keep with you can be - “I am safe in my body”, “It is safe for me to breathe”, and any other gentle reminders that can become helpful as you process your emotional home. 

I’ll be there for you before, during and after the practice with gentle guidance and tips for what to focus on. You’ll have time to share and be heard at the end of the session, so we can be sure to give space to whatever comes up for you during the experience. 

Any questions, concerns, or medical conditions you’d like to discuss before starting - I’m just a message away (marina@sumofallpositive.com)!