Breath Holds vs. Circular Breathing: Which Is Deeper?

I often get asked why I don’t use long breath holds in my group sessions.
“Aren’t breath holds more powerful?” or “Don’t you need that ‘push’ to get a breakthrough?”

The short answer: No, not always. ;)

And I’ll be honest — I hesitated to publish this article. It kind of says “I choose depth over drama” — and yes, a part of me has wondered if people will think drama = better. ☺️ But here’s my truth: I aim to create experiences that are both intense and deeply transformative. This post is simply my way of sharing the why behind the approach I love — and why it works.

Breathwork isn’t only about chasing the biggest high or the most dramatic moment. It’s not only about fireworks or forcing the body into extremes. True breathwork - the kind that brings you home to your body, opens your subconscious, and helps you release what’s been stuck. It’s also about integration - creating a safe, sustainable flow where energy can move and transform, not just for a moment but for the long run

That’s why I primarily use circular breathwork (two part breath, conscious connected breathing, breathwork healing) as my main breathing tool. It’s not because I shy away from intensity - quite the opposite. We invite in both the highs and the lows, the shadows and the light.

Even though I am educated in a variety of breathworks, my signature style often begins with activating the sympathetic nervous system, which can feel fiery, emotional, or even overwhelming. But this activation is only the first step. The real magic happens when we guide the body back toward softness, toward parasympathetic release, and into full integration.

When you feel safe, your body feels safe - you can go deep, and travel beyond the visible and conscious energies and realms. 

Over the years of guiding hundreds of sessions, I’ve seen again and again that transformation doesn’t come from force, but from allowing the breath to guide you into presence.

Let’s explore what makes breath holds and circular breathing so different - and why I believe depth doesn’t only come from holding your breath, but also from holding space for yourself.

Breath Holds - What They Do

Breath-holds (or breath retentions) are a common part of many breathwork traditions. Think of techniques like Wim Hof, where you breathe in cycles and then hold your breath after an exhale. In Immune Boosting Breathwork /Resilience/ Focus Breathwork -which some may have done with me - we hold our breath after both after an inhale and an exhale to train the body’s tolerance to CO₂, improve oxygen efficiency, and ignite a soothing relaxation response - benefits that can support immune function, focus, and resilience. These holds can feel electrifying or deeply still, offering either a vibrant high or a gentle grounding. Or yogic pranayama practices like Kapalbhati or Kumbhaka, where we use retention to build focus, heat, and resilience. 

Physiological Effects of Breath-Holds

When you hold your breath, carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels rise in your blood. This triggers a cascade of sensations:

• Tingling or buzzing in your hands and feet.

• Lightheadedness or a sense of floating.

• Euphoria or a brief “high” as your brain reacts to the altered oxygen/CO₂ balance.

It can feel powerful, almost psychedelic. For some, it creates a “wow” effect - a sudden sense that something huge is happening. And yes, physiologically, your body is being pushed into a heightened state.

The truth? Intensity doesn’t always equal deep healing or emotional release.

Sometimes, it’s just a physiological high.  It’s not necessarily deep integration. The body’s focus is on “surviving the hold,” which can override the softer, deeper subconscious layers that want to surface.
For sensitive nervous systems, breath holds can even feel unsafe - triggering anxiety, dissociation, or a fight-or-flight response. When that happens, the opportunity for deep integration is lost. The body simply shifts into self-protection mode. The body is too busy trying to stabilize itself.

Breath-holds often work by inducing mild hypoxia (low oxygen) and hypercapnia (high CO₂), which create sensations like tingling, dizziness, and euphoria. These effects can feel powerful, but they can also be physiological stress responses - not necessarily deep healing. In circular breathwork, we don’t rely on pushing the body into extreme states like hypoxia; instead, we work with activation and release. 

Circular Breathing – Why It’s Different

Circular breathing is the foundation of the style I work with (sometimes called conscious connected breathing, breathwork healing, 2-part breath) where there are no pauses between inhale and exhale. The breath flows in a smooth, continuous loop, creating a steady rhythm that can feel both expansive and grounding. It builds energy gradually, so the “high” often arrives more softly — through waves of warmth, cold, tingling, sometimes tetney/claw hands, colours, images, and a deepening presence in the body. Because there’s no forced hold, the nervous system tends to stay in a safer range, making it easier for deeper emotions and subconscious layers to surface. This can lead to profound releases or subtle shifts that feel just as powerful as the more intense breath-hold highs - it may feel as the transformation often comes wrapped in calm.

But don’t mistake smoothness for softness. 🤗
The way I guide circular breathwork is intentionally activating at first. Through mouth breathing we engage the sympathetic nervous system - the “go” mode, this can feel intense both on the outside as well as on the inside. Then comes the alchemy: we guide the breath and body back into parasympathetic release, where the nervous system resets, tension softens, and clarity lands. Highly powerful. Deeply healing.

Psychedelic moments? Yes, absolutely! They can arise both during the active phase and in the integration.

1. Working With Your Nervous System

Our brain does not always like repetition but our nervous system does, and this is where circular breathing will take you. Circular breathing doesn’t rely on sudden spikes of CO₂ to create an experience. Instead, it builds a steady energetic current that your body can ride, like waves. This helps you:

• Stay present, feel safe, rather than slipping into survival mode.

• Your subconscious layers can open more easily.

• Feel both activation and release — a full cycle, instead of a sudden push.

• You don’t bypass your body; you meet it

• Allow emotions and memories to surface naturally

When we respect the rhythm of the nervous system, we create space for transformation, not just sensation.

2. Emotional Release and Somatic Healing

Breath-holds can sometimes bypass the deeper work, because they’re so intense that your focus stays on the physical experience. Circular breathing, on the other hand, allows emotions, memories, and tension to rise gradually.

This is why I love it.

• Waves of emotion moving through.

• A sense of remembering themselves.

• Feeling both expanded and grounded.

• Insights or clarity that land softly, without being forced.

To me, that’s true transformation - not just only an intense experience, but a meaningful shift that integrates into your life!
And you know what: This is your life! It’s happening now! Live it. 

3. Altered States, Without Abruptness

Circular breathing can create powerful, even psychedelic-like states of consciousness. I’ve seen (and experienced) it bring people into deep journeys beyond the mind - into the body, the heart, and beyond themselves.

The transformation comes through presence, not pressure.

The Bigger Truth

People sometimes assume that “powerful” breathwork means the most intense, dramatic experience possible. But in my world, power is not always about force. 

It’s about alignment.

Depth doesn’t come from holding your breath until you see stars - it comes from holding yourself in a space of trust, where the breath can reveal what’s ready to shift. And the stars may come to you. 

The body is incredibly wise. When it feels safe, it will take you exactly where you need to go - whether that’s an emotional release, a wave of energy, or simply a moment of stillness you didn’t know you needed.

And that’s the thing: breathwork isn’t one-size-fits-all.
Some people thrive with breath-holds. Some don’t.

For me, circular breathing is the most beautiful way to guide someone into their own body and subconscious, without overriding the natural signals of safety and trust. It’s less about “pushing through” and more about coming home.

Circular breathing can feel intense inside - oftentimes more than people expect - but it’s not about pushing for the biggest sensation. It’s about guiding your energy into movement and release, instead of locking it down.

Or sometimes land in the space in between to invite in earlier versions of you, of someone else, of energies that is longing to be cut, released or understood. 

Why I Often Choose Circular Breathing Over Breath Holds - And Why Breathwork Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All

Breath-holds aren’t wrong. I sometimes use them intentionally as they can be powerful when used for focus, clarity, or resilience-building.

But for the deeper work I hold - sessions where we explore emotions, energy, old patterns, shadows, and the subconscious - circular breathing is the tool that allows the softest, safest, and most profound openings and transformation. 

Breath-holds create a sudden, dramatic pause. While that can feel intense, I’ve found it can also cut off the natural flow that allows people to access the deeper subconscious or emotional release.

My style is about keeping the current moving.
Even when the breath feels fiery or overwhelming, the circular pattern ensures that nothing gets stuck or suppressed again - it all has somewhere to go. 

Because when you’re in a state of safety, your nervous system doesn’t fight you. 
You can release, unravel, and transform. 

With circular breathing:

• The current of breath is never interrupted.

• The nervous system stays supported, not shocked.

• You leave with a sense of integration — not just a high, but a grounded shift.

Want to Experience It?

If you’re curious about this work, I invite you to try and experience for yourself

• Group or 1:1 Breathwork Sessions — where we go deeper, combining circular breathwork with energy work and intuitive guidance.

• 1:1 over 12 weeks. Deep transformation through personalized coaching and energy work.

• If you prefer a slower approach with the goal to leave a blurry mind and land in your body and breath, maybe 10 Days of Breath & Meditation is for you. A very gentle guided audio series exploring different meditations, a variety of breath exercises and one Breathwork.

If you’ve ever felt like you need to “control” your breath or that you’re not doing it right, remember: there’s no “perfect” way to breathe. But, there is Your way. And sometimes, all it takes is one conscious breath to change everything.