Top 10 Benefits of Breathwork for Stress, Anxiety & Trauma Recovery
Breathwork is a powerful therapeutic practice that supports emotional healing, nervous system regulation, and deeper self-awareness. As a trauma-informed Breathwork Coach, Counsellor & Psychotherapist, I offer gentle sessions in Huddersfield and online throughout the UK and internationally. Whether you're feeling anxious, disconnected, or overwhelmed, breathwork helps restore balance, presence, and embodied connection. If you're curious about how somatic breathwork supports trauma recovery, you can book a free consultation here.
1. Reduces stress and anxiety
The breath is always accessible to us, and how we breathe often gives some indication of how we are feeling. Shallow, rapid breaths can indicate a sense of feeling unsafe and anxious, whilst slower, deeper belly breaths can help us feel calm, grounded, and energised. Connecting with our breath and mindfully exercising breath awareness or breathwork techniques allows us to tap into our autonomic nervous system and support down-regulation of hyperarousal. Breathwork can help complete the stress cycle, moving us from fight/flight to a state of calm and regulation. This can be especially powerful for those living with chronic stress or anxiety.
2. Improves sleep
Breathwork is one of the most effective natural techniques for insomnia and poor sleep. It supports deep rest by calming the nervous system and improving body-mind awareness. This is particularly helpful for those who carry trauma or tension, or who struggle with night-time anxiety or dissociation. Breathwork helps you access a restorative parasympathetic state - essential for healing and deep sleep.
3. Trauma healing and PTSD release
For those on a journey of trauma recovery, breathwork can be a vital support tool. It helps develop a mindful relationship to emotions, bodily sensations and survival responses. Breathwork gently supports those experiencing dissociation, shutdown, or freeze to come back into the body and feel safe again. Through regular practice, you train the nervous system to experience felt safety - a necessary foundation for processing and releasing trauma. This makes breathwork a powerful companion to trauma-informed therapy or somatic counselling.
4. Improves self-confidence and trust
Developing a consistent breath awareness practice can lead to deeper self-acceptance and inner trust. Simply observing your natural breath, without force or control, invites you into a more compassionate, respectful relationship with your body. This practice becomes the foundation for working with more structured breathwork for emotional healing later on. It supports a gentle reconnection with self - especially important for those who have experienced disconnection, trauma, or low self-worth.
5. Encourages deeper presence
Breathwork teaches us to return to the present moment, again and again. In this altered yet grounded state, we slow down and begin to access a deeper, existential stillness. This can be profoundly healing for those who feel caught in the past or overwhelmed by future fears. With regular practice, mindful breathing cultivates authentic living, helping you reconnect with wholeness, freedom, and a sense of spiritual presence.
6. Explore spirituality & improve creativity
Breathwork opens space for inner exploration, allowing you to move between conscious and subconscious realms. For some, this evokes spiritual awakening; for others, it reconnects them with creativity, flow states, or inspiration. By working with a trauma-informed coach, these moments of insight can be safely grounded, integrated, and expressed. Many creative clients use breathwork for creative blocks, emotional flow, or access to symbolic imagery and intuition.
7. Strengthens lungs & diaphragm
Breathwork supports respiratory health, lung capacity, and diaphragm function. It’s often recommended as a complementary practice for asthma, COPD, or long COVID recovery. Shallow or constricted breathing can lead to neck and back tension, headaches, and fatigue. Regular breathwork helps correct this by strengthening the core breathing muscles, improving oxygenation, and supporting a greater sense of vitality and energy.
8. Improves digestion
For those living with IBS, bloating, or gut sensitivity, breathwork can support the rest and digest function of the body. By reducing cortisol levels, improving vagus nerve activation, and enhancing gut-brain connection, breathwork helps restore digestive balance. Mindful belly-breathing also encourages emotional attunement to the gut—a helpful practice for those healing from trauma, stress, or food-related anxiety.
9. Helps to manage pain
Living with chronic pain can lead to a disconnection from the body and an understandable resistance to feeling. Breathwork gently supports you to rebuild a compassionate relationship with your body. It also encourages the release of endorphins, improves oxygen delivery, and creates an alkaline environment that supports the body’s natural anti-inflammatory and healing responses.
10. Improves focus
Bringing awareness to the breath has a meditative quality that improves concentration and cognitive clarity. In a world full of distractions, breathwork allows you to practice present-moment awareness—a skill that enhances focus across work, relationships, and creative pursuits. For neurodivergent clients, it can also help build regulation pathways for overstimulation.
How to incorporate a daily breathwork practice into your routine:
Schedule a time – mornings or evenings work well, but even a short practice at lunch can be helpful.
Start small – 10 minutes daily is a great place to begin.
Set reminders – especially during stressful periods.
Be kind to yourself – remember: returning to the practice is the practice.
Use variety – mix grounding practices with energising ones depending on your needs.
If you'd like tailored support with your practice, find out more about 1:1 Breathwork Coaching here.
Why work with a Breathwork Coach?
Working with a trained coach offers a safe, trauma-informed container to explore breathwork at your own pace. I bring together breathing practices, somatic therapy, and creative exploration to support a deeper connection to your nervous system and inner world. Whether you're working with trauma, stress, burnout, or simply seeking presence, coaching can help you develop a meaningful relationship with your breath and body.
In sessions, we start with breath awareness and body listening, then choose gentle yet effective practices that align with your needs. You may also be invited to explore symbolic insights using creative materials such as pastels, clay or paint.
💧 Ready to Begin?
Curious about trauma-informed breathwork or want support connecting with your body and breath?
📍 Book here today
Counselling, Psychotherapy & Breathwork in Huddersfield & Online UK
By Melissa Rose Spencer | Somatic Breathwork Coach in Huddersfield & Online UK and internationally