In an overstimulated, non-stop modern world, creating time for yourself can feel like a luxury — even a radical act. Prioritising self-practices that regulate your nervous system, heart rate, blood pressure and mental health often requires you to sit with yourself in a more conscious way. And let’s be honest, that’s not always comfortable, convenient or deemed “important enough.”
Stress, whether mental, emotional or physical — accumulates in the body. It creates tension and contraction right down to the tissue, muscles and fascia. If we don’t support the movement and release of this tension, it continues to build, like steam in a pressure cooker with nowhere to go.
The good news? You have a built-in tool to release it: your breath!
Why Breath? Why Now?
Breathwork is a simple, accessible and powerful way to reset your Nervous System. You can do it anywhere, anytime and it costs nothing. It’s an in-the-moment antidote and a long-term resolution to stress and anxiety.
You might already feel that accumulation of tension in your body — in your shoulders, neck or back. Perhaps it’s already affecting your energy and behaviour, showing up in your patience, motivation or perspective. Or maybe you notice it in your quality of sleep.
Here’s 5 Tips to Build a Breath Practice That Sticks
These tips are designed to help you create a consistent 5-minute practice, one that can support you in feeling more grounded, present and connected to yourself. Once you’ve anchored it, you can begin noticing how your breath shows up in other parts of your day.
As Red Hawk wisely said:
“It’s self-observation (and breath) that is the radical, revolutionary, evolutionary and fundamental change in the inner world of the human biological instrument.”
One: Get Your Brain On Board
We brush our teeth twice a day because we were taught that if we don’t, our teeth will decay. This became and now is a non-negotiable.
Imagine if we’d also been taught that breathing consciously for 5 minutes a day could lower our anxiety, stress, support our immune system and help us reconnect to our bodies?
Just because we weren’t conditioned this way doesn’t mean we can’t shift now. Start to get curious. Start following people sharing their breathwork journey. Let your logic join your intuition. Engage your prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for decision-making, planning and conscious choice and get it on side in forming this new habit.
Two: Name Your Resistance
Breathing generally isn’t the hard part — it’s creating the habit that is the barrier for most. It’s putting yourself and your well-being on that ever-growing to-do list.
Even after 10 years of breathwork, I still notice when my mind tries to wriggle out of it. That’s not failure — it’s an invitation for inquiry.
Ask yourself:
What’s actually holding me back from committing to 5 minutes?
Is it a belief, a fear or a feeling? Where does that live in my body?
Give yourself space to meet the resistance. And then remind yourself — it’s just 5 minutes. That’s less time than it takes to make a cup of tea, in fact why don’t you do it while the kettle is boiling!
Three: Find Your Time
Choose a moment in your day that you can anchor this practice to. Visualise it. Is it in the morning after brushing your teeth? While that kettle boils? Before bed?
Close your eyes and picture it. Are you alone? Is there noise in the house? Where will you sit?
Create the conditions for consistency. That could mean locking the bathroom door for 5 minutes or setting up a little breath nook with a cushion and candle.
Busy at work? Put it in your calendar like any other meeting.
These 5 minutes aren’t about perfection — they’re about prioritisation and practice.
Four: Choose Your Practice
If you’re new to breathwork, I recommend starting with Heart Coherence Breathing. It’s simple, effective and grounding.
It involves breathing around five breaths per minute — a pace that naturally helps bring the heart, brain and body into coherence.
Here’s how to begin:
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Inhale for 5 counts
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Exhale for 5 counts
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Focus your attention on the heart space
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Imagine the breath flowing in and out of your heart
📺 Watch this guided video
(Breathing begins at 1:40)
🎧 Once you’re ready to practise on your own, you can use this Spotify track with 5-second chimes to help pace your breath.
Five: Share Your Experience
Once you’ve tried it, share your experience with a friend, in your journal or even on social media.
Why? Because reflection helps integrate the practice. You might be surprised by what arises in just 5 minutes, especially when done consistently. Over time, it opens space for insight, clarity and connection.
Let it be simple. Let it be yours.
And may the breath be with you.
