Breathwork and Meditation: What's the Difference and Where Do You Start?

If you've found yourself curious about breathwork or meditation, perhaps a friend mentioned one of them, or you stumbled across something online, you're not alone. These two practices have moved from the fringes into the mainstream, and with that has come a lot of confusion about what they actually are, how they differ, and which one might be right for you.

I've been working with both for many years. What I can tell you is that they are not the same thing - but they are deeply complementary. Understanding the difference can save you a lot of confusion and help you find your way in much more quickly.

What is breathwork?

Breathwork is the conscious use of the breath to create change in the body, the nervous system, and the deeper layers of who we are. It is an active practice. You are not sitting quietly observing the breath; you are working with it deliberately, often in specific patterns, to shift something.

That shift might be emotional, releasing something that has been held in the body for a long time. It might be physical, a deep unwinding of tension or stress. Or it might take you into something subtler: a sense of expanded awareness, of coming home to yourself in a way that ordinary life rarely allows.

If you'd like to understand more about what breathwork really is and what it can do, this video goes deeper into the meaning and benefits of the practice: watch here

Breathwork is particularly powerful for healing. It can reach places that talking alone cannot.

What is meditation?

Meditation, at its heart, is the practice of learning to be present. Where breathwork moves energy, meditation steadies it. You are training the inner monkey of our mind to settle.  It is not by forcing it into silence, but by consciously returning, again and again, to a point of focus of attention.

The breath is often used as that point of focus to still our inner agitations, which is one reason the two practices are so easily confused.

The focus on the process of breathing is a tool to achieve inner stillness, but in meditation that does not involve changing the pattern of the breath.  Whereas with breathwork we must change the pattern of breathing to induce different states and an inner purification.

The fruits of a genuine meditation practice, clarity, inner stillness, a growing sense of perspective, tend to arrive gradually, through consistency over time. It is less dramatic than breathwork, and actually more difficult, but the rewards are to awaken our inner joy.

If you are looking for a place to begin, we hold free meditation classes every Wednesday from 5-5:30pm UK time inside our Skool community. No experience needed - just come as you are.

So are they the same thing?

No, though they work beautifully together. A simple way to hold the distinction: breathwork tends to be the medicine, and meditation tends to be the daily nourishment. One works with what needs to move; the other builds the inner steadiness to receive it.

In my experience, people who only do breathwork without any meditative practice can find themselves opening up more than they are able to integrate. And people who only meditate, without ever working more actively with the body and breath, can find their practice stays very much in the head.

Together, they create something more whole.

Which one should I try first?

Honestly, there is no wrong answer. If you are carrying something heavy, grief, anger, anxiety that lives in the body, use of breathwork may be the more direct route. If you are looking for more clarity, a steadier mind, a way to come back to yourself in the middle of a busy life, meditation is a wonderful place to begin.

If you are brand new to both, I would suggest starting slowly. A guided relaxation or a simple breath awareness practice is enough to begin. You do not need to dive into anything intense to feel the benefit.

What matters most is that you begin.

Where to start

If you'd like to explore, we offer a free weekly guided relaxation as an introduction, no experience needed, just 45 minutes and a willingness to slow down.

You're also welcome to book a free discovery call if you'd like to find out which of our courses or programmes might be a good fit for where you are right now.

There is no pressure and no rush. The fact that you're here, asking these questions, already says something.