Conscious Connected Breathing is a practice in which the inhale and exhale are intentionally connected without pauses between breaths. The practice emphasizes a continuous rhythm, an active inhale, and a relaxed exhale.

While many conscious connected breathing techniques have unique features and spiritual frameworks, the majority include four primary components:

1. Conscious connected breathing: no pauses between the inhale and the exhale.

2. Diaphragmatic breathing: active inhale into the belly with relaxed expansion of the chest.

3. Relaxed exhale: breathing out is a passive movement (let go).

4. Breathing channel: breathe in and out through the same channel.

During a session, Dr. Shayda guides the experience and supports you in noticing sensations, emotions, and whatever arises. Experiences are individual: some may feel emotionally expressive, while others are quieter or more reflective. There is no particular experience you need to achieve.

Dr. Shayda offers individual breathwork for established women clients as part of their psychotherapy treatment plan.

After the first two to three psychotherapy sessions, you will discuss incorporating breathwork based on your needs and readiness. She will explain the process, what to expect, and how to prepare.

The benefits of Conscious Connected Breathwork (CCB) are extensive and can significantly enhance your quality of life. Here are some of the key advantages you can experience:

1. Stress Reduction

• Regular practice of CCB can lower stress levels by activating the body's relaxation response, reducing cortisol levels, and calming the nervous system.

2. Improved Focus and Mental Clarity

• By promoting oxygen flow to the brain, CCB can enhance cognitive function, improve concentration, and foster clearer thinking.

3. Enhanced Emotional Wellbeing

• CCB allows for the release of suppressed emotions, providing an emotional detox that can lead to greater emotional stability and resilience.

4. Increased Energy Levels

• The deep, rhythmic breathing of CCB increases oxygen intake, boosting energy levels and vitality.

5. Stronger Immune System

• Improved oxygenation and reduced stress from regular CCB practice can bolster your immune response, helping your body to fend off illnesses more effectively.

6. Heightened Self-Awareness

• Engaging deeply with your breath in CCB promotes mindfulness and self-awareness, leading to a better understanding of your inner self and life experiences.

Breathwork is a powerful somatic practice that taps into the body’s natural ability to regulate the nervous system, process emotions, and release trauma held in the body. When done with intention and guidance, conscious breathing patterns—especially circular or connected breath—can create profound psychological shifts and emotional relief.

From a mental health perspective, breathwork supports the regulation of the autonomic nervous system, helping the body move out of chronic states of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. By engaging the vagus nerve through diaphragmatic breathing, we can stimulate the parasympathetic response—which promotes feelings of safety, calm, and emotional clarity (Porges, 2011; van der Kolk, 2014).

Studies show that intentional breathwork improves symptoms of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and emotional dysregulation (Zaccaro et al., 2018; Brown & Gerbarg, 2005). What’s especially unique is that breathwork bypasses the thinking mind and accesses non-verbal, body-stored memories—often linked to unprocessed trauma from childhood, generational wounds, or past experiences we couldn’t emotionally integrate at the time.

This is why people often describe breathwork as “years of therapy in one session.” It allows us to safely meet and move through the emotions, beliefs, and sensations stored deep in the body—without needing to intellectually analyze them. When guided by a trauma-informed practitioner, breathwork becomes a space for emotional release, reconnection, and healing on a cellular level.

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Citations & Research:

    •    Nematollahi, S. (2024). A Heuristic Inquiry into Breathwork as a Healing Modality. Doctoral dissertation, PhD in Mind-Body Medicine.

    •    Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, Self-Regulation.

    •    van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.

    •    Zaccaro, A., et al. (2018). How breath-control can change your life: A systematic review on psychophysiological correlates of slow breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, 353.

    •    Brown, R. P., & Gerbarg, P. L. (2005). Sudarshan Kriya Yogic breathing in the treatment of stress, anxiety, and depression: Part II—Clinical applications and guidelines. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 11(4), 711–717.

• Emotional Blockages

• Trauma

• Stress

• Anxiety

• Self Esteem & Body Image

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

• Grief & Loss

• Mood

• Performance (such as creatives, athletics or public speaking)

• Lack of Creativity, Mental Clarity, Focus, Concentration

• Chronic pain

In her doctoral research, A Heuristic Inquiry into Breathwork as a Healing Modality, using a deeply personal and phenomenological lens Dr. Shayda explored the lived experience of breathwork through personal immersion, reflection, and the experiences of mental health professionals who incorporated breathwork into their practices after discovering it through their own healing.

Through this journey, several key themes emerged: 

• Emotional Release & Catharsis: Breathwork consistently provided a safe space to access and move through long-held emotions—grief, anger, fear—that were previously buried or intellectually inaccessible.

• Reconnection to the Body: The practice offered a profound return to the body as a source of wisdom, helping to reestablish a sense of safety, presence, and embodiment after years of disconnection.

• Access to Insight & Intuition: Many sessions led to moments of deep clarity, symbolic imagery, and intuitive knowing, suggesting that Breathwork opens a doorway to the unconscious and higher self.

• Spiritual Integration: Breathwork was not only therapeutic but often spiritual—offering a sense of something greater, a softening of the ego, and a felt connection to inner truth.

• Nervous System Regulation: Over time, the practice built a more resilient internal baseline—enhancing my ability to regulate stress, tolerate discomfort, and stay grounded in triggering moments.

These findings inform her clinical perspective while honoring that every person’s experience is different.

“For me, breathwork is more than a technique. It is a sacred bridge between the body and psyche—a doorway to embodied healing.” - Dr. Shayda

Psychotherapy + Breathwork

2 hours $500

Breathwork + Mind-Body Therapy Intensive

3 hours - $1,500

4 hours - $1,950

6 hours - $2,950

Intensives provide extended time for individualized therapeutic work. Contact Dr. Shayda to discuss suitability, structure, and availability.