The Power of Breathwork for Mothers: Breaking Generational Patterns
Motherhood is beautiful, transformative, and, at times, can feel overwhelming. As mothers, we set the emotional tone of our homes, shaping the way our children experience the world.
But what if the patterns we unknowingly repeat aren’t serving us, our children or our wider relationships?
This is where breathwork becomes a transformative tool and can be a total life-line.
How Breathwork Helps Break Generational Cycles
Generational trauma isn’t just about the big, obvious wounds. It shows up in our daily interactions, our reactions, our communication patterns, and the way we handle stress. The good news? We have the power to shift these patterns, starting with something as simple and profound as breathwork.
There are many benefits to intentional breathing, using it as part of your daily routine can have untold benefits such as:
Regulating your nervous systems: teaching our children that calm is possible even in chaos.
Releasing stored emotions and inherited stress patterns: freeing ourselves from repeating past cycles.
Rewiring subconscious beliefs that no longer serve us: allowing us to parent from a place of intention rather than reaction.
One of the misconceptions about breathwork that I absolutely love discrediting is that you need to sit in a quiet room with candles and incense and have hours of your life to dedicate to it. Honestly, sometimes that is the mood I’m in and the time I have, and that’s fine. But most of the time I have to habit stack, which means I do breathing exercises while on a walk, in the school pick-up line, or in the five minutes of peace I have when the kids have just settled into bed before I tackle the post-bedtime jobs.
Three Breathwork Techniques to Use Daily
Belly Breathing – Helps reduce stress and regulate emotions. This is my go-to when I feel overwhelmed or overstimulated. Just a few rounds of deep belly breathing can reset my nervous system, making me more patient, grounded, and present with my children.
Box Breathing – Inhale for four counts, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four. This technique is excellent for regaining focus, especially in moments of high stress. If my to-do list feels unmanageable, I turn to box breathing to reset and prioritize with clarity.
Holotropic Breathwork – A deeper practice for uncovering and healing long-held emotional wounds. This isn’t an everyday practice, but when I need a breakthrough, whether in my personal healing, relationships, or parenting this is the technique I like to use to access deeper layers of stored trauma and release it.
You don’t need hours of meditation to see a shift. It can be as simple as a few intentional breaths a day - and this can transform the way you show up as a mother, partner, and woman.
If you want more support with your breathwork, check out Breathe and Thrive - I run free monthly guided sessions there. It’s an amazing community of women who are so supportive and in addition to the monthly breathwork there are free resources and tools for you to use as you need.