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Breathwork for Pregnancy: How to Find Calm Through the Four Trimesters
Inhale, exhale, relief. Find calm and release stress during pregnancy with the mindful practice of breathwork and stretching.
The journey to becoming a parent can be one filled with joy and excitement, but also apprehension, anxiety, and overwhelm. In this gentle and empathetic guide, psychotherapist and breathwork teacher Carolyn Cowan will show you how to use conscious breathing to ease stress and worry and relieve physical discomforts like morning sickness, body aches, and insomnia. With step-by-step breathwork exercises and yoga stretches and guidance on creating your own breathwork practice, Breathwork for Pregnancy will help you feel more calm, connected, and comfortable through the four trimesters.
Breathwork for Pregnancy
20+ guided breathwork exercises for every pregnancy symptom. Breaths for anxiety relief, stress release, mental clarity, nausea relief, better sleep, postpartum recovery, and more.Complementary yoga stretches. Enhance your breathwork practice—and relieve aches and pains.Beginner-friendly guidance. From how to start learning breaths to how to build up and maintain your breathwork practice.Practical advice for each trimester. So you know which breaths and stretches will be most helpful at each stage of your pregnancy and postpartum journey.A primer on the stress response. Understanding your vagus nerve and stress system will lead to a better understanding of how breathwork can help.
The journey to becoming a parent can be one filled with joy and excitement, but also apprehension, anxiety, and overwhelm. In this gentle and empathetic guide, psychotherapist and breathwork teacher Carolyn Cowan will show you how to use conscious breathing to ease stress and worry and relieve physical discomforts like morning sickness, body aches, and insomnia. With step-by-step breathwork exercises and yoga stretches and guidance on creating your own breathwork practice, Breathwork for Pregnancy will help you feel more calm, connected, and comfortable through the four trimesters.
Breathwork for Pregnancy
20+ guided breathwork exercises for every pregnancy symptom. Breaths for anxiety relief, stress release, mental clarity, nausea relief, better sleep, postpartum recovery, and more.Complementary yoga stretches. Enhance your breathwork practice—and relieve aches and pains.Beginner-friendly guidance. From how to start learning breaths to how to build up and maintain your breathwork practice.Practical advice for each trimester. So you know which breaths and stretches will be most helpful at each stage of your pregnancy and postpartum journey.A primer on the stress response. Understanding your vagus nerve and stress system will lead to a better understanding of how breathwork can help.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 12, 2024
5 people are currently reading
496 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 11, 2025
"Breathwork for Pregnancy" acknowledges that pregnancy is a physically and emotionally intense experience that can unfold in a myriad of ways unique to each person. Ultimately, this book is a guide that aims to teach you how to begin to mindfully notice your body's breathing patterns and stay in the here-and-now to benefit both pregnancy and birth. I was interested in this book especially because I have done a lot of research and reading into Hypnobirthing and hoped that this guide would add some tools to my Hypnobirthing toolkit; I definitely found that I was able to compile much of Carolyn's knowledge into the concepts of Hypnobirthing. I really appreciated Carolyn's focus of the mind-body connection: how we think has such an important influence on how we feel, and vice versa! Many people are unaware that we can have more control over this mind-body connection, which is where guides such as this one come into play to teach the concepts of stretching and breathwork to give more personal control into one's own relaxation and state of calm and peaceful self-assurance.
Not only does Carolyn's guide include breathwork, but it also includes an entire section on stretches (which are then later associated with the breathwork). I especially appreciated the clear and realistic drawings that are included that show exactly how each stretch should look! Sitting still and sitting in the quiet and practicing breathing techniques can feel odd to many people, and I appreciated the introduction to this practice that Carolyn provides as a guide to sitting down and committing to practicing breathing techniques, and ore specifically, the timeline of this practice as it relates to pregnancy! Once again, I love how this book includes clear drawings that show the breathing techniques! I don't think I've ever seen a guide that offered photos of breathing techniques, and it was actually really beneficial to understanding the written explanation. Finally, Carolyn concludes with an emphasis on the parent's ability to hold agency in pregnancy and in parenthood. I loved this ending, and that this wasn't "just" a guide for breathing techniques, but something a bit more personal.
Overall, I found this guide for breathwork in pregnancy to be very well written and easy to understand, compelling, and personable. I will definitely be referring back to the book and would especially recommend it for mothers who have historically dealt with high levels of stress or anxiety, or are hoping to go a natural route or are interested in techniques like Hypnobirthing or similar. Thank you to Netgalley who provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
Not only does Carolyn's guide include breathwork, but it also includes an entire section on stretches (which are then later associated with the breathwork). I especially appreciated the clear and realistic drawings that are included that show exactly how each stretch should look! Sitting still and sitting in the quiet and practicing breathing techniques can feel odd to many people, and I appreciated the introduction to this practice that Carolyn provides as a guide to sitting down and committing to practicing breathing techniques, and ore specifically, the timeline of this practice as it relates to pregnancy! Once again, I love how this book includes clear drawings that show the breathing techniques! I don't think I've ever seen a guide that offered photos of breathing techniques, and it was actually really beneficial to understanding the written explanation. Finally, Carolyn concludes with an emphasis on the parent's ability to hold agency in pregnancy and in parenthood. I loved this ending, and that this wasn't "just" a guide for breathing techniques, but something a bit more personal.
Overall, I found this guide for breathwork in pregnancy to be very well written and easy to understand, compelling, and personable. I will definitely be referring back to the book and would especially recommend it for mothers who have historically dealt with high levels of stress or anxiety, or are hoping to go a natural route or are interested in techniques like Hypnobirthing or similar. Thank you to Netgalley who provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
February 2, 2025
I'll quote from the book:
"This book is about finding calm in pregnancy through 'conscious breathing'..."
"My writing style is gentle, and each chapter opens with some reflections, written as if I were in the midst of a moment with you."
I disliked the way the chapters opened. I skipped them.
"The menstruating womb is the size of a small pear. The fully formed uterus holds over 24 pounds of child, placenta, fluid, and newly grown muscle. Yes, muscle--your uterus grows in your body to become an extremely powerful muscle, created over the 40 weeks, to facilitate a natural labor, particularly the phases of opening the cervix and pushing."
By the end of the pregnancy, "you will have up to 45% more blood in your body."
"Your lung capacity is reduced by between 10-20% at full term."
Both of these explain why you're breathless.
"Your heart turns on its side and moves into the center of your chest to allow your left lung, which is smaller, to have more breathing space."
Sleeping on your left side is best.
The best position for the baby is "head down with their spine to your left side" to help with labor.
The book several times advises mothers carrying twins.
Cowan is a London-based yoga and breathwork teacher and psychosexual and relationship therapist.
CONCLUSION: I struggled to enjoy this book because I am a man who is skeptical about the power of breathwork. Although I believe deep breathing is extremely healthy, I'm skeptical that the various ways of breathing are all useful or different. Perhaps simple deep breathing gives you 90% of the benefits, but there's that placebo effect....
If you're into breathwork and you're pregnant (or plan to be), then this is a 5-star book.
I gave it 4 stars because it delivers what it promised.
I would have given 5 stars if it made me into a believer.
"This book is about finding calm in pregnancy through 'conscious breathing'..."
"My writing style is gentle, and each chapter opens with some reflections, written as if I were in the midst of a moment with you."
I disliked the way the chapters opened. I skipped them.
"The menstruating womb is the size of a small pear. The fully formed uterus holds over 24 pounds of child, placenta, fluid, and newly grown muscle. Yes, muscle--your uterus grows in your body to become an extremely powerful muscle, created over the 40 weeks, to facilitate a natural labor, particularly the phases of opening the cervix and pushing."
By the end of the pregnancy, "you will have up to 45% more blood in your body."
"Your lung capacity is reduced by between 10-20% at full term."
Both of these explain why you're breathless.
"Your heart turns on its side and moves into the center of your chest to allow your left lung, which is smaller, to have more breathing space."
Sleeping on your left side is best.
The best position for the baby is "head down with their spine to your left side" to help with labor.
The book several times advises mothers carrying twins.
Cowan is a London-based yoga and breathwork teacher and psychosexual and relationship therapist.
CONCLUSION: I struggled to enjoy this book because I am a man who is skeptical about the power of breathwork. Although I believe deep breathing is extremely healthy, I'm skeptical that the various ways of breathing are all useful or different. Perhaps simple deep breathing gives you 90% of the benefits, but there's that placebo effect....
If you're into breathwork and you're pregnant (or plan to be), then this is a 5-star book.
I gave it 4 stars because it delivers what it promised.
I would have given 5 stars if it made me into a believer.
July 22, 2024
Carolyn Cowan’s "Breathwork for Pregnancy" is a remarkable guide that transforms the pregnancy journey into a serene and empowering experience. Cowan masterfully blends practical techniques with empathetic wisdom, offering a calming presence throughout all four trimesters. Her expertise in breathwork shines, making complex concepts accessible and actionable for expectant mothers. This book is a treasure trove of relaxation and empowerment, providing invaluable tools to navigate pregnancy with grace and confidence. A must-read for anyone seeking tranquility and strength during this beautiful journey.
April 17, 2024
Best book I've read for breathing techniques during pregnancy. Bought it for my niece when she became pregnant too
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews