What To Do When Breathwork Makes You Cry
Breathwork
What to do when breathwork makes you cry
Tears during or after a session aren't a sign you broke it. They're usually a sign it worked.
You're doing a breathwork session. Nothing particularly emotional has come up. You're not thinking about anything sad. And then, out of nowhere, your eyes are streaming and you've got that tight feeling in your chest that you only get when you're about to properly cry. Welcome to one of the most common and least-discussed parts of breathwork.
It happens because breath is directly wired into the autonomic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system is where a lot of unprocessed stuff is stored. When you change the rhythm, depth, or pattern of your breathing, you're poking that system with a stick. Sometimes what comes up is calm. Sometimes it's an emotional release you weren't expecting. This is part of why breathwork sits alongside the wider picture of emotional regulation rather than being a separate "relaxation" thing.
Breathwork tears are a nervous system release, not a sign of damage. Keep breathing if you can, stop if it tips into distress, and don't force yourself to explain the feeling.
The technical-ish explanation: many breathwork patterns shift you out of the low-grade sympathetic activation most of us spend the day in and into a different state. In that shift, whatever your body has been holding on tight to loses some of its grip. Tears are often the way that release shows up, especially if you're someone who doesn't cry much in daily life. The body-keeps-the-score angle is relevant here.
What to do in the moment
Keep going if you can. You don't have to stop the breath. Tears and the breath pattern can coexist. Most facilitators will tell you to continue breathing and let the tears do their thing.
Stop if you need to. If it tips from release into genuine distress, slow your breathing right down, open your eyes, and come back to the room. There's no prize for pushing through something that's escalating. Worth knowing why aggressive deep breathing can backfire for some people.
Don't try to work out why you're crying. The instinct is to story it. "I must be crying because of that argument last week." Maybe. Maybe not. You don't always get a reason, and demanding one can short-circuit the release.
Have water nearby. You'll want it after.
What to do after
Give yourself a proper twenty minutes before driving, taking a call, or doing anything that needs your full attention. You'll often feel lighter, sometimes weirdly tired, sometimes a bit raw. All normal.
If the tears came with a memory or a specific feeling, write a few lines down. Not to analyse it, just to park it somewhere.
When to flag it
If it happens every single time and it's always distressing rather than releasing, it's worth slowing the practice down or working with someone who can hold it properly. A guided one-to-one session is safer ground for heavy material than a self-led home practice. Breathwork is powerful precisely because it bypasses the conscious brain.
Crying during breathwork is not a sign you broke it. It's usually a sign it worked.
About Cian. Cian is a certified mindfulness teacher, Buteyko breathing instructor, and complementary therapist based in Wicklow. He writes about the nervous system in plain English and runs Low Tide Calm, offering breathwork, mindfulness coaching, reflexology, Indian head massage, and reiki.
This article is for information only and is not a substitute for medical or psychological advice. If something about your health or mental health is worrying you, speak to your GP or a qualified professional.