Wellbeing: 'How breathwork changed my life'

Cambridge breathwork coach Katie Matthews believes working your breath can transform your life. The former journalist and wedding celebrant talks to Louise Cummings about ‘getting high on your own supply’

Pictures by Tom and Lina Orsino-Allen

“I first discovered the power of breath through hypnobirthing when I had my daughter in 2019. Hypnobirthing is a very soothing style of breathwork, and it made an amazing difference during labour. So, a little seed was planted in the back of my mind.

I didn’t think about using my breath again until 2020, when I was feeling really stressed during the pandemic. I was working as a wedding celebrant at the time and couples were having to cancel and reschedule their weddings, often multiple times - it felt like it would never end!

I remember watching some Wim Hof YouTube videos and practising these powerful breath cycles, where I’d feel absolutely buzzing afterwards. I wanted to know more, so I found a brilliant breathwork teacher in Cambridge called Lisa Sibley, and subsequently went on to qualify as a facilitator with a breathwork school last year.

The style of breathwork that I specialise in is called Conscious Connected Breath, which is a dynamic breathing practice that helps people reconnect to their body, and release stress, tension, and trapped emotions.

The practice is simple enough (although it takes a while to get the hang of it). We take a deep inhale through the mouth, actively filling up the belly, ribs, and chest, and passively exhale through the mouth. And then, we repeat. . . inhale into exhale; no pauses, a continuous cycle of breath.

The breath can bring up a lot of stuff that might have been unknowingly suppressed. So, we always allow time at the end of a breathwork session to be still and allow the energy to settle and be integrated (think Savasana in yoga).

But this isn't a one-and-done. It takes repeated practice with the breath to really build resiliency in the nervous system, and regular breathers will see a huge difference in their physical health and emotional wellbeing.

I've been amazed at the difference breathwork has made to my own life. Each session is so different; sometimes a breathe will leave me feeling quite emotional, or physically very tense. Sometimes I finish a session feeling like I am literally floating on air, ‘high on my own supply’ and it’s lovely when that happens. But it’s in returning to the practice again and again where I can really see the impact personally: two years after discovering conscious connected breath, I'm much more open to life’s ups and downs, and far less reactive when things go wrong.

I’m very excited to now be offering 1:1 sessions and group breathwork sessions at Arbury Community Centre in Cambridge. People never fail to be amazed at the power of breathwork, and it's really interesting, particularly in a group setting, to see how everyone experiences their breath so differently.

Your breath will always take you on a journey that’s unique to you. It will show you where you are resisting life and what you need to let go of, which is why it's very common to get quite tense during a breathwork session or become quite emotional.

So many of us are pushing through and hiding from ourselves, often subconsciously. Breathwork is where we allow ourselves to be fully present to life, even the dark and ugly parts we’ve disowned.

Breathwork sounds simple enough - the comment I get most is ‘I know how to breathe!’ But it’s not always easy or comfortable to stay present with your experience and be open to what your breath brings up for you. Which is why it really helps to practice in a setting where you'll be held and supported in your process.

I've always felt like Cambridge is about five years behind London. So, where breathwork is fairly mainstream there; here it’s still a bit of an unknown entity. I mean, when I tell my friends what I’m now doing they tend to look a bit bemused! But that definitely feels like it’s changing: there are some amazing holistic specialists working here now, and people seem to becoming more open-minded to alternative therapies like breathwork. I think soon it’ll be as mainstream as yoga or meditation.”

Find out more at katiematthewsbreathwork.co.uk

If you fancy trying out breathwork, enjoy 20 per cent off your initial 1:1 booking with code VELVET20