What is Breathwork? And Why should you exercise breathing?

Breath work is a collective term for various types of breathing practices and techniques. But it really is more than a technique.
It’s a way home—to yourself, your body, your truth.

Wikipedia defines this deep breathing practice as: “a term for various breathing practices in which the conscious control of breathing is said to influence a person's mental, emotional, or physical state, with a therapeutic effect.”

Sounds pretty clinical, right? But breathwork is anything but dry. It’s ancient, alive, and deeply personal.

Many of the breathing techniques are in some way a modernized form of Pranayama, the practice of breath control from India, but also South America, China and more.

And while there are many types of breathwork, the essence is simple: through conscious breathing, we can shift our mental, emotional, physical, and even spiritual state. It’s backed by ancient practices like Pranayama, and modern science now supports what many have always known—that the breath holds deep power.

Some describe it as a way to calm the nervous system.
Some feel it as medicine.
Others say it’s like tasting something for the first time that can’t be explained-only felt and, well - experienced🤗.

To me, breathwork is a space to meet yourself fully. To feel what you’ve pushed aside. To soften. To release.
And to remember what already lives inside you.

Breathwork comes in different forms - the purpose and intention differs

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to breathwork.
Different styles carry different intentions—some energize, others soften, some crack you open in the best possible way.

Most breathwork techniques activate the parasympathetic nervous system—our rest-and-digest mode- which helps us regulate stress and anxiety and brings us back to presence. Other styles intentionally stir the sympathetic nervous system to allow emotional release, clarity, or even a kind of energetic reset.

And here’s the beauty: it feels different for everyone.
Every time you breathe with intention, you’ll meet a new layer of you.

It may not be for everyone as it is a bit of ‘work’. But, I promise that if you are willing to do the work, you will have a truly profound experience. And, worst case scenario - you will get relaxed.

By learning how to work with the flow of your breath, you can create balance in body and mind. And also on an emotional and spiritual level- enhancing your overall well-being and health.

Breathing in the conscious and subconscious rooms

We breathe over 20,000 times a day—most of it without even noticing.
But just like most of our thoughts and emotions, our breath happens in the background… unless we choose to bring it into the foreground.

When we hold back emotions, stress, or unspoken needs, they don’t disappear. They stay stored—in our body, our breath, our nervous system. And in time, they may show up in other areas of our life.
Possibly affect us in a negative way, as stress, anxiety, aggression, sadness, depression, grasping, aversion, numbness, guilt, self-doubt.
Breathwork gives us a safe space to let it move. To let it out.

Because here’s the thing:
An inhale only has room when you’ve let go of the exhale.
Breath teaches us that release is part of receiving. That there’s rhythm in everything. That it’s safe to let go.

Our breath can also act as a bridge between the conscious and the subconscious. And when we breathe with intention, we access more than just oxygen. We access space. Creativity. Intuition. A lighter body, mind, and heart.
A sense of flow that feels like… coming home.

👉 Want to go deeper into this? Read: When it Feels Like Coming Home

Breathing in the Parasympathetic or Sympathetic Nervous System?

Most breathwork techniques activate the parasympathetic nervous system—our rest-and-digest mode—which helps us regulate stress, calm anxiety, and return to presence. Other styles intentionally engage the sympathetic nervous system—the system connected to action, movement, and even emotional release or an energetic reset.

We often label one as “bad” and the other as “good.”
The sympathetic system (fight & flight) gets the bad rep 😈.
The parasympathetic system (rest & digest) gets the halo 😇.

But the truth is—we need both.
Just like driving a car, sometimes you need a lower gear to cruise, and sometimes you need power to move forward. It's not about avoiding one or staying in the other—it's about learning when and how to shift gears with awareness.

We adapt to new surroundings all the time. When we are under threats, that's when our sympathetic system has a fight or a flight response, and this is where the parasympathetic system can show us freeze or even collapse response.

But when these systems are regulated, they support us in beautiful ways.
A safe sympathetic system gives us motivation, healthy aggression, and the energy to rise in the morning.
A balanced parasympathetic system allows us to slow down, digest life, and recover.
We’re not meant to live in just one state—we're meant to move between them. Accelerating and slowing down.

And breathwork is one of the tools that teaches us how.

👉 Want to learn more? Read this post on the nervous system & breathwork

Breathwork will regulate the nervous systems

You can use conscious deep slow breathing to down-regulate your system—especially when you're anxious, scattered, or overwhelmed. These deep, parasympathetic-focused techniques help with focus, sleep, blood pressure, calm and restore.

Or, you can explore more intense breathwork—intentionally activating your sympathetic nervous system to access release. This style brings energy up, sometimes putting the body in intentional stress, before allowing the body to naturally shift into rest and integration. It can stir the subconscious, open up blocked emotional energy, or even bring clarity to something that hasn’t yet found words.

It doesn’t always show up as something dramatic. Sometimes it’s a quiet remembering. A deeper breath. A sense of space.
And sometimes… it’s something you didn’t even know you were ready for.
But I promise you, if something comes to you - you are ready to meet it. Otherwise it would not have shown up. 

The truth is that the majority of our thoughts work subconsciously and your breath can take you there. Tapping into your intuition, freeing creativity and opening your heart to self love, self acceptance, or letting your spiritual door open. And you find yourself in a state of flow.

Breathwork - emotional and trauma releasing

The style I often guide is based on 2 part breath work, breakthrough breathwork, conscious connected breathing, or transformational breath—is a powerful, emotionally liberating active meditation. 
I call it Breathwork for Your Inner Realms. And it is combined with other skills from the quantum physics, Reiki Energy, Astrology, Chinese Medicine, and the elements of nature. 

This isn’t about forcing anything.
It’s about following the breath—and letting the breath lead you back to what wants to move, shift, release, or be felt. 

Through this work, you may:

• Break through energetic or emotional blocks

• Shift your state of consciousness

• Move through limiting beliefs

• Reconnect with a deeper sense of trust, love, and truth
  

It’s not always easy.
But it is deep, honest, and often—life-changing.

Even if you meet resistance (and many do), the breath has a way of softening what needs to soften. And on the other side, people often feel lighter, calmer, clearer… more themselves.

For me personally?
Breathwork and how to shift energies from within changed everything.

Breathwork is very different from the pranayama you may meet in during yoga or meditation where we usually access the parasympathetic nervous system allowing our body to restore and recover, or try out shorter breathing exercises to increase heat or energy. 

But we humans store memories, traumas, stress in our body. This can over time, if not released, create an unhealthy state within. It may show up as anxiety, depression, aggression, fatigue, overwhelm, addiction and sometimes even physical pain. 

Breathwork can help with just that and aims for all our bodies: out physical, emotional, spiritual and mental body.
Breathwork truly is so much more that just relaxation. 

Discover how Breathwork in Stockholm or online can help you reduce stress, create an emotional release and enhance your well-being.

How does a Breathwork session practically work?

You’ll lie down on a mat or a soft surface, supported with cushions and a blanket if needed.
We begin by grounding, then I guide you into the breathing rhythm. You’ll be held throughout—with music, intention, and space to feel.

We’ll close with rest and integration—letting everything land.

Don’t worry if you’ve never done it before.
The breathing technique is fully explained and practiced before we begin. It can be a little unfamiliar at first, but the rhythm becomes intuitive. And I’ll be right there with you the whole time. Online or In Person - I’ve got you. 

Sign up for a free Breathwork Session Here

Breathwork is a powerful, effective active meditation for transformation

This style of breathwork is often described as a kind of active meditation—one that meets you where you are, and takes you to where you’re ready to go.

It can be:

• A release

• A reset

• A reconnect

• A remembering

You don’t have to be a yogi, or a mindfulness expert, or even someone who meditates regularly.
You just need to show up—with breath, body, and curiosity.

"Breathwork comes in many different styles and techniques. All good! It´s the intention and purpose that creates the difference might differ”
- Kia

My intention is always to hold a safe space for release.
To help you soften judgment, let go of old energy, and remember who you are.
To guide you toward self-trust, self-love, and the life that’s already waiting underneath the noise.

To love others, it starts with you. Taking good care of you will enable you to take good care of others.

Because when you change your energy—you change your life.

What you might experience during Breathwork:

One of the reasons I love breathwork- especially when combined with tools like Reiki- is that it helps regulate the nervous system, reconnect you to your body, and create clarity in a way that words sometimes can’t.

It’s a reset. A remembrance.
And while everyone’s experience is different, here are just some of the things that breathwork can gently support:

🌀 Releasing stuck energy
🌧️ Soothing anxiety, grief, and emotional overwhelm
💡 Tapping into intuition and inner knowing
🎨 Awakening creativity and inspiration
😌 Deep rest, improved sleep, and nervous system grounding
🫀 Heart-opening moments that feel like truth
💔 Gentle support in healing trauma and subconscious patterning
💖 Strengthening self-love, self-acceptance, and emotional balance
🧘‍♀️ Relief from physical tension or discomfort
🔥 A sense of wholeness, courage, and reconnection
🌱 Restoring your immune system and natural vitality
💫 Supporting addiction recovery and healing habits that no longer serve
🌸 Opening to more loving relationships—with others, and with yourself
✨ Moments of joy, tears, stillness, insight... all welcome.

You don’t need to experience all of these- or even expect them.
Your breath will take you exactly where you need to go.

👉 Want to explore more?
Read: 17 Benefits of Breathwork

Read more blog posts about Breathwork

✨ Group Breathwork – In Stockholm & Online

Breathwork isn’t just a practice- it’s a way to come back to yourself.
To land. Soften. Feel. And shift what the mind alone can’t reach.

Whether you prefer to breathe in a shared space, or from the comfort of your home, Kia offers breathwork sessions in Stockholm and online. Both are powerful. Both hold space for transformation. It’s not about where you are- it’s about how you show up for yourself.

👉 See upcoming breathwork events

If you’re curious and want to experience breathwork in a deeper way, join a full Breathwork & Reiki session—either in person at Studio Hember, Döbelnsgatan 12a, Stockholm, or online from your own safe space.

What It's Like to Work With Kia

I’m Kia Agerhem—Breathwork Guide, Reiki Master, and intuitive coach.
In every session, I combine somatic practices, energy medicine, and grounded conversation to create a space that is deeply held, transformative, and always safe.

❤️1:1’s with Kia (Breathwork, Coaching & Energy)

• Individual Breathwork sessions (Stockholm or online)

• Duo Breathwork sessions

• Private group sessions

• Reiki and therapeutic dialogue integrated into the breath

If you are curious and would like to try Breathwork out, join in for a full session of Breathwork & Reiki in Stockholm or Online. 
(no open slots? email: kia@shapeyourvibe.com)

🧘‍♀️ Corporate Breathwork with Kia

For teams and companies looking to reduce stress, increase energy, and boost mental clarity—corporate breathwork is a powerful tool. I offer lectures and full breathwork sessions combining neuroscience, nervous system regulation, and simple breathing techniques.
Available in person or online.

👉 Explore Corporate Breathwork

🌿 Breathwork Retreats

Several times a year, I hold Breathwork & Yoga Retreats in Vadstena, where we explore silence, movement, energy, tarot, ancient mysticism, and deep inner rest. These are sacred spaces of transformation and reconnection.

Kia holds her sessions at Studio Hember, at Döbelnsgatan 12 a in Stockholm, and the sessions are integrated with Reiki energy.

I currently don’t offer Breathwork Teacher Trainings, but if you’re drawn to Reiki,
👉 See upcoming Reiki Trainings here

And if you’re curious about what it feels like to come home to yourself through breath-
👉 Read: When It Feels Like Coming Home

”One breath at a time, you can shift your energy—and shape your life.”
-Kia

Breathwork an active meditation to release stress, anxiety or open for an inner journey and shift of energies. Breathwork can enhance your creativity, create clarity and get you in the flow.