When you’re anxious, your breathing becomes shallow and fast. When you’re calm, it becomes slow and deep. Your breath is always connected to your emotions.
Dr. Liz Ray, a certified somatic educator, understands this profound connection. She helps clients use conscious breathing as a tool for deep emotional healing and transformation.
This isn’t coincidence. Your breath is a powerful bridge between your mind and body. By learning to control your breathing, you can actually control your emotional state.
Why Your Breath Matters for Healing
Your nervous system controls two modes: fight-or-flight (when you’re stressed) and rest-and-digest (when you’re calm).
When you experience trauma or chronic stress, your nervous system gets stuck in fight-or-flight mode. Your body stays tense. Your breath stays shallow. This creates anxiety, panic, and emotional numbness.
Unlike your heartbeat or digestion, you can consciously control your breath. This makes breathing one of the most direct tools for emotional healing.
Dr. Liz Ray incorporates conscious breathing techniques into her somatic coaching and intimacy work, helping clients shift out of stress and reconnect with their bodies and emotions.
How Breathing Releases Stored Emotions
Emotional trauma gets stored in your body. It lives in your muscles, your chest, your gut, and your nervous system.
When you practice conscious breathing, something shifts. Your body feels safe. As it relaxes, stored emotions come to the surface.
Many people experience emotional release during breathwork—crying, laughing, or feeling anger moving through them. This is healing happening. Your body is releasing what it’s been holding onto.
The Science Behind Breathing and Emotions
Your vagus nerve runs from your brain all the way down to your belly. It controls your heart rate, digestion, and breathing.
When you practice deep breathing, you activate your vagus nerve. This signals your nervous system that you’re safe. Your body shifts from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest mode.
This happens instantly. One deep breath can calm your entire nervous system.
Research shows that when anxiety arises, conscious breathing patterns help regulate emotions and create a deeper connection with yourself.
Simple Breathing Techniques for Emotional Healing
Deep Belly Breathing
Place your hand on your belly. Breathe in slowly through your nose, feeling your belly expand. Exhale slowly through your mouth. Do this for 5-10 breaths.
This calms your nervous system immediately.
Box Breathing
Inhale for 4 seconds. Hold for 4 seconds. Exhale for 4 seconds. Pause for 4 seconds. Repeat 5-10 times.
This is powerful for anxiety and panic.
The 4-7-8 Method
Inhale for 4 seconds. Hold for 7 seconds. Exhale for 8 seconds. The longer exhale activates your parasympathetic nervous system. Repeat 4-8 times.
Mindful Breathing
Stop what you’re doing. Notice your natural breath for 2-3 minutes. Don’t change it. Just observe. This builds awareness of your emotional state.
Using Breathing to Process Difficult Emotions
Emotions like anger, grief, and shame often get stuck in your body. Your shoulders tense. Your chest tightens. Your breathing becomes shallow.
When you practice conscious breathing, you create space for these emotions to move and release.
Through breathwork, you can unlock the healing power of your breath to process and release emotions, allowing you to feel lighter and more balanced.
You don’t have to push emotions away. Instead, you can breathe into them, feel them fully, and let them go.
Breathwork for Better Sleep
Stress and unprocessed emotions show up at night. You have trouble sleeping, nightmares, or racing thoughts.
A simple breathing practice before bed helps. Your nervous system calms down. Your mind quiets. Sleep comes easier.
Many people use the 4-7-8 breathing technique or deep belly breathing to wind down at night.
Working With a Professional
While you can practice breathing techniques on your own, working with a trained somatic professional deepens your healing.
A somatic breathwork facilitator can help you access deeper emotions, create a safe container for release, develop personalized practices, and guide you through the healing process.
Dr. Liz Ray combines decades of somatic work with conscious breathing practices to help clients reconnect with their bodies and heal from within.
Start Your Breathing Practice Today
You don’t need anything special to begin. Your breath is always with you.
Start with one simple technique. Practice for just 5 minutes daily. Notice how you feel. Over time, your nervous system recalibrates. Anxiety decreases. Calm increases.
Your breath is your greatest healing tool. It’s time to use it.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How often should I practice breathing exercises?
Daily practice works best. Even 5-10 minutes per day creates noticeable changes within 1-2 weeks. Many people practice multiple times throughout their day, especially during stressful moments. Consistency matters more than duration.
2. Can breathing exercises help with panic attacks?
Yes. Box breathing and deep belly breathing can stop panic attacks quickly. When panic starts, pause and practice box breathing for 2-3 minutes. Your nervous system will calm down. Over time, regular breathing practice prevents panic attacks from happening as often.
3. What if breathing exercises make me feel uncomfortable?
This is normal, especially if you’re processing stored emotions. Start with shorter sessions—just 2-3 minutes. Work with a trained somatic professional who can guide you safely. Your body knows its own pace for healing.
