12 Stages of Healing Associated with Body-Breath Wellness

There are many pathways that support personal growth and transformation. The following 12 Stages detail a holistic framework of exercises that I have personally used (and still use) in my daily practices related to body-breath wellness to integrate physical, mental, emotional, energetic, and spiritual aspects of my being. Breathwork, movement exercises, and mindfulness practices are central to these stages to facilitate the release tension, create emotional balance, and reconnect individuals with their body-mind-emotion-energetic-spiritual matrix.

I don’t believe that there is any specific ‘way’ to explore this, rather it is about finding your own way. Making a commitment to trying something out for a period of time and noticing how your system (all parts of you) responds to that…

  1. Awareness

Focus: Becoming aware of the body’s sensations and the breath.

  • Exercise: Body Scan Breathwork
    • Lie down or sit comfortably and close your eyes.
    • Begin to breathe deeply, focusing on the natural rhythm of your breath. As you inhale, observe the sensation of the breath entering the body, and as you exhale, notice the release and relaxation, like a tidal ebb and flow.
    • Next, as you continue to breathe, focus your attention on and breathe into each body part, one by one, beginning at the toes and gradually working upwards, noticing any tension, stagnation or discomfort.
    • With each breath, remind each part that it can breathe in all directions, allowing the breath to release any tightness in that area.
    • This exercise develops body awareness and mindfulness of the present moment.
  1. Releasing Tension

Focus: Letting go of accumulated physical and emotional tension and stress in the body.

  • Exercise: Progressive Muscle Relaxation with Deep Breathing
    • Start by breathing deeply and then tense a specific muscle group or area of the body (e.g., fists, shoulders, or legs) as you inhale. I prefer to start at the feet, beginning with fully extending the feet and toes, and gradually travel up the body. Hold for a few seconds, then release the tension slowly as you exhale, allowing the muscles to fully relax.
    • Focus and move through each muscle group or area one by one, e.g., from the feet up to the head, consciously releasing tension with each exhalation, and noticing how each release feels. This combination of breath and body awareness helps loosen physical tension and facilitates emotional release.
  1. Grounding

Focus: Establishing a deep sense of connection with the earth and creating a sense of stability

  • Exercise: Standing Grounding Breathing
    • Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart and feel the connection of your feet to the ground.
    • My preference is to then bring my awareness and breath to my central column (coccyx to crown of head), and with each inhalation, I visualise white light entering through my feet up my legs, filling and expanding my central column in all directions and then, relaxing, releasing and letting go on the exhalation. Breathing in-nose, out-mouth.
    • Once you find your rhythm, expand the white light, so with every in-breath you visualise energy travelling up from the earth through your feet and filling your entire body, filling you with a sense of strength, expansiveness, and stability. As you exhale, imagine grounding your energy further into the earth, releasing excess tension or stress.
    • With each breath, visualise yourself becoming more grounded, centred, and spacious, feeling firmly connected to the present moment.
    • This practice helps root the individual into the present moment and connects them with their body and surroundings.
  1. Healing the Emotional Body

Focus: Releasing stored emotions and trauma from the body, and encouraging emotional balance.

  • Exercise: Sighing Breath
    • Sit comfortably with your back straight. Take a deep, slow breath in through your nose. On the exhale, make a soft sighing sound (like “ahhh”), releasing any tension, frustration, or heaviness. (Breathe) in nose – (breathe) out mouth.
    • As you repeat the sighing breath several times, invite emotions that have been suppressed or blocked to surface and release with each exhale. The sound of the sigh helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting emotional release.
  1. Integrating the Feminine and Masculine

Focus: Balancing the yin (feminine) and yang (masculine) energies within the self.

  • Exercise: Gentle Flowing Movements with Breath
    • Stand with your feet slightly apart, and begin moving your body in slow, fluid motions. Inhale as you extend your arms outward and upward (feminine energy of receptivity), and exhale as you bring them back toward your body (masculine energy of action).
    • This exercise helps integrate both nurturing and assertive energies, allowing for a balanced approach to healing.
  1. Cultivating Compassion

Focus: Developing compassion for yourself and others.

  • Exercise: Loving-Kindness Breathing
    • Sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and breathe deeply.
    • With each inhale, invite in self-love, and with each exhale, release any judgment or self-criticism. Gradually extend this loving-kindness to others by thinking of people you care about, breathing compassion for them.
    • This helps to develop a compassionate mindset and emotional release.
  1. Cleansing the Energy Field

Focus: Clearing negative or stagnant energy from the body and energetic field.

  • Exercise: Breath of Fire
    • Begin in a seated position, spine active and elongated, and imagine a thread attached to the crown of your head, which is gently supporting you skyward.
    • Next, in a rhythmic, rapid breathing pattern (like panting), inhale through the nose, and then exhale quickly and forcefully through the nose with equal measure. The breath should be belly-driven, as though you are pulling the belly to the spine on each out-breath, with a focus on exhaling quickly and powerfully.
    • This exercise helps to clear energy pathways in the body by moving stagnant or blocked energy out of the body. The intensity of the breath increases vitality and clears stagnant emotional energy.
  1. Reclaiming Power

Focus: Reconnecting to personal strength, power, and confidence.

  • Exercise: Warrior Breath
    • Stand in a warrior stance (feet wide apart, knees soft).
    • Interlace fingers in front of you as though you are holding a sword.
    • Inhale deeply, raising both arms overhead to embody strength and power. As you exhale, bring your arms down forcefully, engaging your core and grounding your power into the Earth. As you exhale, you can let out a vocal “Haa” sound.
    • With each inhale, focus on a sense of personal empowerment, and with each exhale, release any feelings of weakness or self-doubt.
    • This breathwork helps you tap into a sense of inner power.
  1. Healing the Inner Child

Focus: Healing past wounds and embracing the joy and innocence of your inner child.

  • Exercise: Breath with Playful Movement
    • Start by taking slow, deep breaths and allow your body to move in a playful, child-like way (such as spinning, jumping, or swaying), tapping into a sense of joy and spontaneity. Move your attention between your breath and your movements/actions, engaging a childlike curiosity, spontaneity, and not giving a care about who might be watching!
    • This exercise releases any emotional blockages related to childhood and fosters self-expression and freedom.
  1. Transformation

Focus: Letting go of limiting beliefs and transforming your identity.

  • Exercise: Transformational Breathwork
    • Begin by taking deep breaths through the mouth into your belly, using a full, deep diaphragmatic breath, then expand these breaths into the chest, and release through the mouth in a sigh. The goal is to breathe more fully into body – full deep breath in, letting go, full deep breath in, letting go. Continue with rhythmic, powerful breathing, allowing any negative beliefs or thoughts to dissipate.
    • Connected Breath: once you find your rhythm, the key is to maintain the connection between the inhale and exhale, avoiding pauses between them. This creates a circular or flowing rhythm that is important for clearing emotional blockages.
    • This exercise facilitates emotional and psychological transformation, supporting you to release old patterns and invite new ways of thinking.
  1. Self-Realization

Focus: Aligning with your true Self and higher purpose.

  • Exercise: Heart-Centred Breathing
    • Sit comfortably (lotus position or chair) with your hands over your heart, and take slow, deep breaths, inhaling into the heart space.
    • As you inhale, envision love, wisdom, clarity, and light entering the heart space and as you exhale, imagine letting go of anything that no longer serves your highest good – burdens or emotional heaviness – from your heart.
    • Over a period of minutes, as you find a comfortable rhythm with the breath, each time you exhale imagine the same (inhaled) light radiating out to the world in all directions.
    • This exercise connects you to your emotional centre, your core essence, helping you align with your deeper truth.
  1. Integration and Embodiment

Focus: Embodying the healing process and integrating it into your life.

  • Exercise: Breath and Body Integration Meditation
    • Sit quietly, breathe deeply, and reflect on your journey from using the above exercises.
    • With each inhalation, become aware of your whole body (all parts of you – psychological, emotional, physical, energetic, spiritual), and visualise oxygen and energy rippling through to every cell in your body.
    • As you breathe, stay present with the sensations in your body, and allow the breath to integrate and anchor the lessons from each stage into your body, mind, and spirit, reinforcing that the changes you’ve made are now part of your physical, emotional, and spiritual makeup.
    • This practice solidifies the healing process and ensures that the lessons learned are embodied in your daily life.

Final Thoughts

The above exercises combine breathwork, movement, and mindfulness practices to offer a comprehensive approach to healing through multiple dimensions of the self.

By working with the breath in each stage, the body is invited and empowered to release, heal, and transform, aligning physical and emotional health with personal growth and spiritual awakening.

The above are simply invitations to explore the edges of your mind-body system, and to find what works for you. Consider creating a map of exercises that you will commit to doing each day for twenty one days (minimum), that is both realistic and achievable, and then keep notes on the changes you notice.