Regulate to Rise: Breathwork as a Quiet Rebellion in a World That Wasn’t Built for You
“The most powerful thing I’ve done as a woman living in a system built on patriarchy and capitalism? Learn to regulate me.” - Sarah, Founder of Breathe Her.
In a world that constantly asks women to do more, give more, achieve more—while offering very little in return—it’s easy to feel like your nervous system is on a constant spin cycle. The pressure is real. The overwhelm is real. And if you’ve ever found yourself holding your breath through a boardroom meeting, a doctor’s appointment, or while reading another piece of devastating news—you’re not alone.
But here’s what most of us were never taught: Your breath can be your liberation. Your regulation can be your resistance. Your calm clarity is your power.
Why Regulation Is Revolutionary (Especially for Women)
Truth: we live inside systems—patriarchy and capitalism—that were not built for women’s wellness. These systems reward ‘high’-functioning and output, name productivity as power, and contribute to ongoing emotional suppression. They expect you to perform like a machine while penalising you for being too emotional, too tired, too much.
But your body is not a machine. It’s brilliantly cyclical. It’s sensitive. It’s deeply attuned. And that sensitivity? That’s not a flaw—it’s important information and feedback that we need to function well.
Research shows that women’s nervous systems are more sensitive to stress than men’s. Fluctuating hormone levels (especially cortisol and oestrogen) mean we tend to feel the impact of chronic stress more intensely, and we recover more slowly when we’re constantly in fight-or-flight.
When the system wasn’t built with your body in mind, learning to regulate your nervous system becomes a radical act of self-care, and leadership.
What Is Nervous System Regulation (and Why Should You Care)?
To regulate your nervous system means you know how to bring yourself back into balance when the world—or your inner critic—pulls you off center. It’s your ability to come back to a place of calm, presence, and clarity, even in the face of chaos.
Breathwork is one of the fastest and most accessible ways to do this.
Every time you choose to pause, breathe, and shift (or stay) out of stress mode, you’re doing more than ‘relaxing’. You’re literally rewiring your brain to respond rather than react. You’re decreasing cortisol, lowering blood pressure, and increasing access to the part of your brain responsible for decision-making, empathy, and focus.
Regulation helps you show up as the leader, parent, partner, and human you want to be.
Why Women Need Breathwork More Than Ever
Whether you're climbing the corporate ladder, raising a family, or both, regulation isn't a luxury—it’s essential.
Here’s why breathwork-based self-regulation makes a real difference in today’s world:
At work: Instead of going into freeze or fight mode during high-stakes meetings or stressful deadlines, you stay grounded and clear. You make confident decisions. You hold boundaries with more ease.
At home: You become less reactive with your partner and/or children. You model calm under pressure. You recover from frustration quicker—and feel less guilt afterward.
In relationships: You can have hard conversations without spiraling. You become more attuned to your needs, and better at expressing them.
For yourself: You stop internalising every external demand. You soften your self-talk. You make space for rest—and recognise it as ‘productive’ too.
Two Breathwork Practices for Regulating You
Here are two simple ways to begin using breathwork (specifically, a longer exhale) to regulate your nervous system—right now, as you are.
1. Sigh It Out
Take an inhale through your nose (or mouth, if you need to).
Open your mouth and exhale with a long, audible sigh.
Repeat 3–5 times. Use this anytime you feel overwhelmed.
This quickly signals safety to your nervous system. It’s your built-in pressure valve and instantly works to rebalance the gases in your body (oxygen and carbon dioxide) - which when unbalanced, can wreak havoc inside the body.
2. Longer exhale breaths (Visama vritti pranayam)
Through your nose (if you can, mouth if you need) - Inhale for 4. Exhale for 6.
Repeat for 1–2 minutes. You can increase or decrease the counts (while keeping the exhale longer than inhale) to suit your needs.
This pattern soothes your nervous system and steadies your body. Great before meetings or in moments of increasing pace and haste.
Want to give these practices a try with guidance?
The 7-minute Stress-Cleanse Shower Practice combines gentle breathwork, grounding, vagus nerve massage, and mindfulness—all while you wash your body & stand under warm running cleansing water. It’s a nervous system regulation and body-mind reset, disguised as simply just part of your daily routine.
Yes, just 7 minutes. That’s it. No extra time. No fancy tools. Just a shift in how you show up—for yourself and the rest of your day.
PSA: we know that water is scarce right now in many places, so please know that this practice can also be done outside of the shower (laying in bed, standing at the kitchen sink, etc) or in the shower but turning the taps on/off periodically to save water.
Your Power Is Not in Doing More. It’s in Regulating You.
You can’t control the system. You can’t breathe your way out of injustice. But you can come home to yourself, over and over. You can remember your breath. You can soften your jaw. You can unhook from urgency and anchor into presence.
And from that place? You’ll stand strong. You’ll move with intention. You’ll lead well.
Not from stress, but from steadiness. Not from burnout, but from embodied clarity.
This is what real power feels like.
Free Breathwork Practice