Breathwork for Grounding

Using the breath to feel steady, supported, and present

Written by Larissa

Did you know that slow, intentional breathing activates your rest-and-digest and tend-and-befriend systems? These parasympathetic responses help soothe the body and turn down the dial on stress. And if we had to guess… most of us could probably use a little more of that ❤️‍🩹

You can also use breath to help strengthen your calming systems; this certainly can work in the moment of stress, but with practice, you can actually shift your nervous system to a more balanced alert-to-rest state. The way you breathe allows cohesion for the relationship between your gas pedal (the sympathetic nervous system: fight, flight, freeze, fawn) and your brakes (the parasympathetic nervous system: calming, soothing, stabilizing). We need both to be highly functional! But for many of us who deal with stress regularly (hello, humanity), our “brakes” may need a little extra love.

Grounding breathwork helps strengthen this.

Why Breath Is Such a Powerful Tool

We (obviously) know that breathing is one of the most important things we do in a day, learning how to use your breath with practice, breathwork can:

• Reduce stress and anxiety

• Increase emotional resilience

• Increase lung capacity

• Support immune health

• Create a sense of safety and steadiness

• Improve focus and clarity

 There are many types of breath work that can help calm and ground you like: alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhana), breath retention on the exhale, box breathing, and many more.

We’ll play with many forms and techniques so you can feel which breathwork supports you best. 

Why Start With Breath in Meditation?

• It’s a tool you always have with you

• It keeps attention rooted in the present

• You can shift your mood or state fairly quickly

• It teaches wise balance between

  • effort and ease

  • abundance and generosity

  • giving and receiving,

  • action and rest 

Plus, both modern science and ancient yogic wisdom agree: breath is foundational to mental and emotional well-being (pretty obsessed with breath over here).

We’ll practice these techniques in our morning meditation sessions, plus I’ll share a few more tools for grounding when breath isn’t quite the right fit. 

Try This Right Now

1. Take a slow, deep breath in, letting your belly and ribs fully expand.

2. Exhale slowwww and completely.

3. Repeat once more, then let your exhale be a gentle sigh.

4. Give yourself a little neck roll and see how you feel.

Take a moment to notice any shift; you might notice a shift toward calm with just those 3 breaths. Bonus: Thank your wise body for knowing how to turn each breath into life for you. Nice work, body! 

Our morning sangha (community) is a supportive space for care, connection, and practice.

Join us for 7:30am meditation Monday–Friday via Zoom, or practice anytime on Insight Timer. We’d love to breathe with you.