Breathwork is the deliberate use of breathing patterns to shift the state of your nervous system. Slow, paced breathing engages the parasympathetic system — the body’s brake — and is one of the most reliable ways to bring down the physical arousal that fuels anxiety, panic, anger, and stress. Research on slow-paced and resonance-frequency breathing shows measurable reductions in anxiety and stress reactivity, and the skills carry directly into everyday life.
At Crown Counseling, breathwork is offered by clinicians who integrate it with psychotherapy rather than as a standalone class. In some sessions that means a few minutes of regulated breathing to steady you before or after difficult material; in others, a longer guided practice used to access emotions, memories, or body sensations that are hard to reach through conversation. Your therapist will match the intensity to what your body can comfortably tolerate and will talk with you first about any medical considerations — pregnancy, cardiovascular or respiratory conditions, or a history of panic — before using more intensive techniques.
This may be a good fit if…
- ✓Your body stays switched on long after the stressful thing has passed
- ✓Panic arrives physically before you have a thought about it
- ✓You are articulate about your feelings and still cannot settle
- ✓Talking about the trauma has not reached where you feel it
- ✓You want something you can use on your own, between sessions
Key benefits
It works on the system underneath the thinking
Slow, extended exhalation engages the parasympathetic branch directly. That is a physiological lever rather than a cognitive one, which is why it can work when reasoning with yourself has not.
You can use it without a therapist present
Once you have learned a pattern you can use it on the subway, before a meeting, at three in the morning. Few interventions are that portable.
It opens up what talking cannot reach
Trauma often lives as a held pattern in the body. Changing the breath changes that pattern, and material frequently surfaces that conversation had not touched.
It pairs well with other work
Breathwork is rarely the whole treatment. It is a strong companion to EMDR, IFS, and trauma-focused therapy, often as the regulation skill that makes the deeper work possible.
How Breathwork works
The Breath as a Lever on the Nervous System
A slow, extended exhale signals safety to the body. Breathwork trains that signal on purpose.
Inhale
Activates: heart rate rises slightly.
Long exhale
Engages the vagus nerve: heart rate slows, the body reads safety.
Practice
In session and between sessions, so the calm response becomes available under stress.
The Polyvagal Ladder
Trauma can lock the nervous system on a lower rung. Therapy teaches it the way back up.
Ventral Vagal
Safe & social
Sympathetic
Fight or flight, mobilized
Dorsal Vagal
Shutdown, freeze, collapse
How we use breathwork at Crown Counseling
Most often as a component rather than a standalone treatment: a regulation skill built early so you have somewhere to go when the harder work raises distress. Sessions start with slow, gentle patterns and only move to more activating techniques if that is appropriate for you.
- Assessment first, including cardiac, respiratory, and pregnancy considerations
- Slow, down-regulating patterns before anything activating
- Practice you take away and use between sessions
- Integrated with EMDR, IFS, or trauma therapy rather than replacing it
Where we are careful
More intense breathwork can raise anxiety before it lowers it, and it is not appropriate for everyone. Cardiovascular conditions, uncontrolled hypertension, epilepsy, pregnancy, glaucoma, and a history of psychosis all change what is safe. We ask about these before starting, and some people should do the gentle end only or skip it entirely.
What to expect
Sessions begin with a conversation about what you’re working on and how your body tends to respond to stress. Your therapist then guides you through a breathing practice — seated or lying down, eyes closed if you prefer — and stays with you throughout, checking in and adjusting the pace. Afterward you talk through what came up and how to use the practice between sessions. Most people leave with one or two short techniques they can use in the moment, at work or before sleep.
- 1
A health screen covering cardiac, respiratory, neurological, and pregnancy history
- 2
An explanation of what the breath is doing to the nervous system, rather than being told to just breathe
- 3
Starting with slow, extended-exhale patterns
- 4
Short practice in session, with your therapist watching how you respond
- 5
A pattern to take away and use daily, not only in crisis
- 6
Integration into the wider therapy rather than being the entire treatment
Ready to start?
Tell us a little about yourself and we will match you with a clinician trained in Breathwork.
Get matched →Therapists trained in Breathwork
