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What Happens in a Conscious Connected Breathing Session?

By Alan Dolan, Founder of Breathguru® • 23 years of breathwork experience

If you’ve been curious about conscious connected breathing but aren’t quite sure what you’d be letting yourself in for, you’re not alone. It’s one of the questions I hear most often from people who are new to breathwork. So let me walk you through it — honestly and practically, from the moment you arrive to the moment you leave.

First things first: what is conscious connected breathing?

Conscious connected breathing is a specific breathing technique in which the inhale and exhale are joined in a continuous, circular rhythm — no pause between the two. That’s it at its most simple. But the effects of breathing this way, consistently and with guidance, can be profound. Over more than 23 years of practice, I’ve seen it help people with anxiety, stress, insomnia, emotional blocks, and a great deal more besides.

Before the session

If we’re working together for the first time, we’ll begin with a conversation. I want to understand what’s brought you to breathwork, what you’re hoping to experience or work through, and whether there are any health considerations I should be aware of. Conscious connected breathing is very safe, but there are a small number of contraindications — certain heart conditions, epilepsy, first-trimester pregnancy — and it’s important we cover these before we begin.

There’s nothing to prepare in advance. You don’t need any prior experience of breathwork, meditation, or yoga. All I ask is that you arrive in comfortable, loose clothing — and that you haven’t eaten a large meal in the hour or two beforehand.

During the session

You’ll lie down — on a mat, a futon, or a treatment table — and I’ll guide you into the breathing pattern. The breath itself is diaphragmatic: deep, full, and continuous. I’ll be with you throughout, offering guidance, reassurance, and occasionally light touch to help you release tension held in the body.

Sessions typically last between 60 and 90 minutes, though the active breathing portion is usually around 45 minutes to an hour.

What you experience during that time is entirely individual. Some people feel a deep physical release — tingling in the hands, warmth spreading through the body, a sense of the chest opening. Some experience emotional release: tears, laughter, or simply a wave of feeling that passes through and leaves them calmer. Some simply feel very, very relaxed. There is no right or wrong experience — whatever arises is what your body and mind needed to process.

What I consistently aim for is a session that is safe, grounded, and free from unnecessary intensity. Breathwork does not need to be dramatic to be effective. My approach is to guide you gently into the depth that is right for you, not to push you towards catharsis for its own sake.

After the session

We’ll always allow time at the end for integration — lying quietly, letting the experience settle. This is not a time to rush. I’ll check in with you before we move into a brief conversation about what came up and what you noticed.

Most people leave feeling lighter, clearer, and more at ease than when they arrived. Some feel tired in a pleasant, deeply-rested way. Occasionally people feel a little emotional for a day or two afterwards — this is normal and usually passes quickly. I’m always available by email for questions in the days following a session.

How many sessions do I need?

A single session can be genuinely transformative — I’ve seen it many times. But like any practice, conscious connected breathing deepens with repetition. Most people find that three to five sessions gives them a strong foundation and a sense of how to work with the breath independently. The longer retreats I offer in Lanzarote compress this process significantly, with twice-daily sessions over four to five days.

If you’d like to explore what conscious connected breathing could do for you, I offer 1-1 sessions in London and online via Zoom.