Breathwork vs. Meditation

There are so many similarities between breathwork and meditation that it might start to get confusing as to which is right for you and when to practice them.

I started my mindfulness journey with Yoga when I was 18 years old.

Yoga helped with building a commitment to a daily practice, and improved my physical, and mental health in my early 20’s.

All I can say is it turned my life around for the better and I felt balanced for the first time in a long time all while working and going to college!

I began a meditation practice later in adulthood, prior to breathwork. I started meditating when I began learning about metaphysics, and becoming aware of my thoughts and how they affected my reality. I became conscious of my energy and even started manifesting my own reality through my meditation practice. I definitely could tell that meditating regularly was having a positive impact on my physical and mental health. Meditation expanded my intuition and connection to passed loved ones and source energy. Once, when I was getting a reading from a medium, she mentioned that my passed loved ones preferred it when I was meditating regularly.

I was introduced to breathwork when I was going through a really tough time in my life and was battling depression, anxiety, and physical symptoms of stress. I had learned that my symptoms were actually all related to a dysregulated nervous system and I had been searching for ways to become more regulated. Breathwork became a tool for me to relax my mind and connect to my body. After trying breathwork, I felt like it had fed a craving that my body and soul had and that nothing else I had done prior could. Not Yoga, or Meditation. During my first breathwork experiences, I released emotions and traumas that I didn’t realize I had been holding onto. I began thinking more expansively and eventually was able to pull myself out of a rut.

I have learned so much about the impact of breath on the body and was inspired to become a trauma informed breathwork facilitator. I loved the idea of being able to heal through such an ancient and simple technique and sharing that with others. Now I tend to use Yoga, meditation and breathwork throughout my selfcare routine and energy readings.

Breathwork has been used throughout many cultures as a way to heal. Yoga actually originated as a breathwork practice that physical movement was added to. Meditation has been used as well to connect to the divine, and to listen to the body and soul and therefore bringing balance and healing. Some people say that prayer is speaking to the divine and meditation is listening.

Breathwork can slow down and bring coherence between the body’s vital functions and organs. Bringing us to a parasympathetic, rest and digest state so our bodies can heal. It’s not that meditation doesn’t eventually do this, but some people struggle to quiet their minds in order to get to that state through meditation alone, so breathwork can provide a way for people to have this relaxing experience with more depth and efficiency.

People often focus on their breath and do some type of deep breathing in order to quiet the mind, and get into a meditative state. Many people who love breathwork will say they’ve used it as a bridge to meditation. I like to do a 30 minute breathwork first, and then go into a meditation after.

There is no right or wrong way to do breathwork and meditation. Both Meditation and Breathwork have been researched and proven to have positive effects on mental and physical health.

The key is to surrender to the experience and allow yourself to connect to your body and soul on a consistent basis. I recommend that you try out both and experiment with them both separately and together in order to find what works best for you and what your intentions are for your practice.

A live, guided breathwork practice is going to feel a lot different than a recorded one and I recommend that you try one at least one time to be able to really give breathwork a chance.

If you are interested in a live breathwork, I have the perfect experience for you!! ~ The Soul Revival is an energy reading and breathwork combined so we can customize your experience to your body’s unique needs.

Written by Jessica Marie~Your Spiritual Life and Soul Purpose Coach, Trauma-Informed Breathwork Guide, and Energy Reader.