How Breathwork Gave Me My Voice

I was introduced to breathwork during one of the heaviest times in my life. My wife and I were teetering on the edge of separation. We'd been together for 13 years, married for almost 10, and found our old patterns and dynamics got in the way of our individual growth.

Ironically, it was my wife who'd introduced me to breathwork, but it was only when things got rocky between us that I started to pick it up. When I began focusing on my breath, much clarity, self-trust, and connection to universal wisdom resulted. I've spent my career as a voice actor, but nothing helped me find my voice the way breathwork has.

What Is Breathwork?

Breathwork is the practice of intentionally changing your regular breathing pattern to improve physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing.

There are many different styles of breathwork practices, all with incredible benefits.

It can take time to reap the benefits of some meditation-related practices, but focusing on the breath comes with swift results. It's not uncommon to feel a profound experience on the first try. Breathwork is great for the overactive mind, as it gives you something to focus on and quickly creates calmness, clarity, and mental space.

Even for those who may still have racing thoughts, just stopping to observe this throughout the session can be very powerful.

Finding My Voice

After my introduction to breathwork, I started to pay more attention to certain circumstances and situations I was experiencing. I found I was acting in ways that I hadn't noticed before. Somewhere along the way, I had lost my voice and stopped standing up for my beliefs.

More and more, I realized that when it came to projects I was developing with others, I'd been trying to compromise at the expense of not sharing my thoughts. When I would try to express my opinions — which I felt were either unheard or minimized — I would become angry and then shut down. This cycle became habituated and hurt my creativity.

Through the practice of breathwork, I've been able to clarify my desires and find the voice to share my beliefs. It's led me to feel much more heard, validated, and confident in my intuition, even though speaking up can sometimes cause discomfort and/or conflict.

If I'm met with resistance, I've learned that clarity and truth create a more fulfilling existence than minimizing my feelings and ideas to keep everyone happy.

Getting Started Now

Discovering how simple and powerful breathwork had been, I felt compelled to share it. I was met with self-limiting beliefs along the way, which I've had to work through in my practice. The more I teach it, though, and hear how it affects people's lives, the more I want to share it with others.

Want to try a simple practice? Just close your eyes and connect to your breath. Try for the next five minutes to breathe at a rate of six breaths per minute — that's about five seconds for the inhale and five seconds for the exhale. This will immediately begin to reduce cortisol levels in the body, improve your emotional state, and boost your immune response.

It's also great to practice before going to bed. 

Try this free class, Short and Easy Breath Meditation, by meditation teacher Dr. David Vago.