Meditation or Breathwork: What should I do first?

Should I meditate before doing breathwork, or do breathwork before meditation?

Meditation vs. Breathwork, is there a correct order?

Those are common questions I often get asked. Here is my take on it.

When talking about breathwork and meditation, I feel that it is beneficial to also mention movement. In the context of yoga, or otherwise.

We move so we may open the energy meridians in the body, so we can be more embodied, less in our mind. As we move, we envelop the movement with the breath. No movement, really, should happen without the breath. Actually, on the yoga mat, breath starts slightly before and finishes slightly after the movement. The breath initiates the body movement. Through the breath we receive life force, so by breathing consciously through anything that you do, you allow life force to flow through you. If you don’t, you create resistance, stuckness, tension.

If the breath doesn’t flow freely through the energy meridians, it’s a bit like blood not flowing through the veins – it creates interference in all facets of your being.

So first we move with the breath. That may we drop into the body and feel more present – less in the mind. More grounded. Clearer.

Then we breathe  - we practice pranayama, breathwork, so we may stabilise the energy that we have generated through the movement. Breath then starts to release the mind from impurities and create more coherence in our energy field.

You can see then how the shift really happens from within. We reclaim command over our energy and therefore our thoughts and feelings. And over our capacity to experience feelings and emotions fully, as they are also simply energy wanting to move through us.

If instead of having created that space within; instead of having moved and breathed, we have been stagnant, constricted, disconnected from our body, stuck in our mind – always in the anxiety of the future or worry because of the past; then that lack of space means that we react to our environment, to the people around us. That in turn creates more negative emotions. But because we are completely disconnected from our body and stuck in the mind (or identified with the thoughts), we don’t know what to do with those emotions. Actually we don’t even acknowledge that they are just emotions because we are so in it, that we think this emotional reaction is who we are.

And this drains our energy. And happens day in, day out.

So reclaiming command over your energy through movement and breath is life changing. We have an incredible instrument that is the body. If we learn to master it, and master the breath, we master our mind and our reality, relationships.

Coming back to the subject matter. If we first move consciously with the breath, then sit and practice pranayama and stabilise, harmonise the energy, then the next step is that a meditative state is naturally induced.

Meaning that we can more easily just sit, in the field of energy we have created, notice a certain innate stillness, feel more present, and when the thoughts arise, let them be. Simply because by creating space in the body and mind, we can take the sit of the witness and observe the thoughts.

Of course if you can notice that you have thoughts, then surely it means that you are not the thought.

So in that naturally induced state of presence which is a by-product of you moving and breathing to balance the energy within and around you, to create a field of coherence; you can more easily let the thoughts go, and be in the space between the thoughts.

Resting in that meditative state will in turn create more space. As we access meditative brain waves, we start to clear the subconscious mind.

The verdict.

There is no right or wrong regarding which way to proceed, whether breath, movement or meditation first, but it is worth experimenting with really feeling the effects of each, in your body, your energy, your emotions, your thoughts.

Once you become more sensitive to the changes inside you, then play around and try different combinations. I also love to start a class with breathwork and meditation to calm the fluctuations of the mind, but the optimal sequence, especially for someone who is not a seasoned meditator, tends to be move, breathe, meditate.

Now the best is always to experience this. Intellectual understanding Is great and often necessary too, but every thing that I described can only happen through experience.

So let’s have an experience. Watch the attached video and practice with me.

You will need a yoga mat, comfortable clothing and a cushion or block to sit on.

Enjoy,

Magdalena x

If you would like to experience some transformative yoga, meditation and breath practices to support you on your journey to access your authenticity, head over onto my YOGA TO THRIVE ONLINE STUDIO, where you will find a wealth of classes already available and new content added weekly.