5 Ways to Deepen Your Breathwork Journey

Conscious connected breathwork is a powerful tool for healing, insight, and transformation. While the core of the practice lies in the simple, continuous rhythm of the breath, there are supportive ways to enrich and deepen your experience. Whether you're new to breathwork or have been practicing for years, these five approaches can help you access more of the breath’s potential and wisdom.

1. Create an Intentional Set and Setting

Both your inner and outer environment shape your breathwork journey. By creating a sense of ritual, you support the shift from the ordinary habits of the day into a more sacred, inward space.

Before beginning, take time to create surroundings that feel safe, supportive, and intentional. This might include putting a “do not disturb” sign on your door, dimming the lights, lighting a candle, setting out meaningful objects, or gathering supportive props like your favorite eye mask, blankets, or a hot water bottle to place on your body during the session.

Equally important is your internal set—the mindset or intention you bring. Take a quiet moment to reflect: What am I breathing for today? What am I ready to meet or receive?

We encourage you to allow for spaciousness before and after your session. Choose a time when you can transition mindfully into and out of the journey, rather than rushing back into daily tasks.

2. Integrate Sighing Exhales

In conscious connected breathwork, we typically engage a steady, active rhythm of breathing throughout the session. However, it can be profoundly beneficial to occasionally take a fuller, more exaggerated inhale, followed by a big, audible sigh on the exhale. Allow sound to accompany the release—letting your body express through the breath.

These sighing exhales can interrupt patterns of over-efforting, helping the body soften, discharge tension, and invite emotional or energetic release. They act as gentle invitations to your nervous system, signaling safety, ease, and permission to let go more deeply into the journey.

3. Make Sound and Explore Vocal Toning

Sound can be a powerful ally in breathwork, offering a direct way for the body to move energy, discharge emotion, and connect with its own vibrational intelligence. Let your voice express freely—whether through gentle toning, vowel sounds (like ahh, ohh, or eee on your exhale), or spontaneous vocalizations that arise in the moment.

There is no need to worry about pitch, tone, or making it “sound good.” This is not about performance—this is about expression. Allow your body to guide the sound: perhaps a low, sustained vibration like a didgeridoo, or a wide-mouthed, powerful AHHH. If the sound wants to morph into a growl or hum or moan, let your animal body explore what feels authentic.

During online Kaisora sessions, all participants are muted—so this can be a beautiful opportunity to experiment and let sound move through you without inhibition. In in-person settings, please refer to your facilitator’s guidelines and the group agreements around sound-making. The intention is to encourage embodied exploration and release, while also honoring the collective container and experience.

4. Explore Body Movement

Breathwork is generally practiced reclined, inviting the body to soften and feel its connection to the Earth as the breath flows expansively through the belly and chest. The stillness can help create a sense of grounding and receptivity. However, stillness is not required—your body is welcome to move!

Gentle or expressive movement can support the integration and release of energy stirred by the breath. This might look like subtle rocking, stretching, shaking, or fluid gestures that arise intuitively. You might try clenching and then releasing different muscle groups, gently rocking your head, opening and relaxing your jaw, or using self-touch or massage to soothe or awaken areas that are calling for attention.

The key is to stay curious and attuned to your body’s natural impulses. Let movement emerge as an organic part of the journey, and follow what feels supportive in the moment.

5. Integrate Breath Holds

When you feel resourced and ready, exploring gentle, intentional pauses at the top of an inhale or bottom of an exhale can add new dimension to your breathwork journey. Breath holds can create a sense of spaciousness, amplify bodily sensation, and invite moments of profound stillness and connection.

If you’re new to this practice, we recommend starting with inhale retentions: pause your circular breath, take a slow, deeply filling inhale through the nose, and gently hold at the top. The intention is not to push limits or bear down on the breath, but to soften and relax into the suspended state. When you feel the natural urge to breathe, simply resume your circular breath rhythm. You may also explore exhale retentions, which can evoke a very different tone and state of experience.w

These holds might last 10 to 30 seconds, or up to 60 seconds* if it feels natural and easeful. There is no need to extend beyond that—what matters is that it feels safe, nourishing, and supportive of your process. Always approach breath holds with gentleness, listening closely to your body, and avoiding any sense of strain.

*As always, please refer to Kaisora’s Safety & Contraindication Guide to ensure you’re informed about physiological shifts with CCB and integrating breath retentions.

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Ultimately, these practices are invitations to deepen your connection with the breath and yourself. Trust your inner wisdom, move at your own pace, and remember that breathwork is not about achieving or striving, but about opening to what’s ready to unfold. May your journeys be spacious, resourced, and guided by the intelligence within.