In every moment of your life, your breath exists. From your first cry to this very moment, your breath has been your constant companion, and there to do for you what you do. Yet how often do you pause to consider this remarkable process that bridges your conscious and unconscious being? your physical activity and your physiology? your health and your performance?
How frequently do you recognize that within your breath lies perhaps the most powerful tool for health, transformation and performing well with all activities you do?
The One Thing You Can Control – Your Breath
In a world that feels more and more overwhelming, your breath offers something unique – it’s the one aspect you can consciously influence to change the state you are in. While your heart beats and your digestive system functions without your direct input, the breath stands at the crossroads of automatic and voluntary control. This unique position makes it a powerful gateway to influence your physical, mental and emotional well-being, and the state of your physiological health.
Beyond Just Breathing
Many, I work with initially, think of breathing as a simple in-and-out process, but it’s far more integrated. Your breathing pattern is both a mirror and a modifier of your internal state. When you’re stressed, your breath reflects this through rapid, shallow patterns. When you’re at ease, your breath flows with natural rhythm and depth. And there is a pause as your breathing becomes more healthy and functional to the activities you do. But here’s the fascinating part – this relationship works both ways. By consciously working with your breath, you can actually shift your internal state, and your breathing signals to your brain what is needed in the moment – run or relax.
Three BIG Benefits of the Breath Practice
Understanding breath’s potential begins with recognizing its three core capacities:
Self-Regulation: Your breath is an always-available tool for managing your internal state. Like a skilled sailor adjusting their sails, you can learn to use your breath to navigate life’s challenges, finding your center even in challenging and turbulent times.
Self-Healing: Your body holds innate capacities for recovery, renewal and regeneration. Breathing practices can activate these natural healing mechanisms, supporting everything from better performance, to better sleep, to enhanced immune function.
Resilience: Through awareness and attention to your breathing and the outcomes of your practices, you develop not just momentary calm but lasting adaptability. Adaptability in a broader range. This isn’t about achieving a permanent state of ease – it’s about building the flexibility to move through life’s challenges with greater capacities and confidence.
The Intelligence of Your Body
Your body’s intelligence of integrated systems are intricately connected through breathing. From the core-base stability that grounds you to the intricate dance of your nervous system, from what comes in to what is released, your breath influences it all. The simple act of nasal breathing, for instance, triggers the release of nitric oxide, supporting healthy blood flow and immune function. Your lower belly breathing center (known traditionally as the Lower Dantien) serves as both a physical anchor and an energetic foundation for stable, sustainable breath patterns.
Starting Your Journey

The beauty of training the breath lies in its accessibility. You don’t need special equipment or a particular setting – your breath is always with you. All you need is your attention and a developed felt sense. Begin by simply noticing: Where is your breath moving? What’s its quality? How does it feel is key to knowing if it’s healthy or not. Then feeling how it changes throughout your day with the different demands you face is such an incredible learning tool? This awareness itself is transformative.
As you develop this relationship with your breath, you’ll discover it becomes a reliable companion in:
- Managing stress responses – turning them from negative to positive stressors
- Supporting quality sleep – best recovery bests the previous demands
- Enhancing mental clarity – relaxed focus produces learning and meaningfulness to what you learn to use in your life
- Building physical stamina – to endure life’s known and unknown challenges
- Creating emotional balance – for better relatedness to those that are important in your life, and how to not allow the breath to give you away.
An Invitation
Whether you’re navigating demands that produce stress, recovering from the conditioning of the trauma(s) you’ve faced, or simply seeking greater health capacities, your breath offers a path forward. It’s not about achieving perfect breathing – it’s about developing a relationship with this fundamental life force activity that supports your journey of growth, healing and performing well in your life.
Start simply. Take moments through your day to feel your breath. Notice where it moves in your body. Observe its rhythm and behavior without trying to change anything – this is a HUGE skill. This simple act of attention begins a profound journey of discovery.
Remember, every breath offers a new beginning. Every exhale is an opportunity to let go, and every inhale brings fresh possibility. Your journey with your breath is uniquely yours, but you don’t have to walk it alone. Consider joining me for a deeper exploration of these practices in an upcoming course I am teaching through OLLI@SOU, where I will be guiding curious people like yourself through practical tools for harnessing your breath’s potential through trauma, stress to enhance your resilience and immunity.
Author’s note: Interested in exploring these concepts further? My six-week course “The Breath through Trauma, Stress & Immunity” offers a comprehensive journey into the transformative power of breath work. Contact me to learn more or click here to register for the course.