How to Prepare for Your Breathwork Session

In communities where people enter expanded states of awareness—such as breathwork journeys or plant medicine ceremonies—there is often an emphasis on the importance of Set and Setting.

Set refers to your mindset: the inner attitude, intentions, and emotional state you bring into the experience.
Setting refers to the container: the physical space and energetic environment co-created by both the breather and the facilitator.

Below you’ll find guidance on preparing your Set and Setting so you can fully drop into your breathwork journey and receive benefits from each experience.

Preparing The Set

Here are a couple of important principles to be mindful of when you are preparing your Set for your upcoming breathwork session.

Your Inner Guiding Intelligence (IGI)

The magic of breathwork happens when you stop trying to control the process or “do it right.” Of course, it’s not as simple as just telling yourself to let go. Letting go is its own process. The key lies in connecting with an inner resource our community calls the Inner Guiding Intelligence (IGI). At Luminous Breathwork, we refer to this as your Luminous Mind.

In our sessions, we practice building a trusting relationship with this inner resource. From there, you naturally sense what you are ready to work with, and you develop the capacity to hold your experiences for inquiry, exploration, and resolution.

Once a stable connection is established, letting go becomes possible. You can surrender to the moment without needing to direct the process. What needs to emerge—whether message, insight, or wisdom—has the space to reveal itself.

Two Core Principles: TRUST and SURRENDER

These two principles are the foundation of our Breathwork journeys:

• Trust is a key practice for accessing inner wisdom. Learn to trust that your Inner Guiding Intelligence (IGI) will only bring forward what you have the capacity to hold. This trust makes it possible to fully drop into the experience. When we stay in the analytical mind, trying to figure things out, we block access to deeper layers of consciousness and the insights and resources we most need. The practice is about stepping out of the thinking mind and into the felt sense of the body.

• Surrender in a breathwork journey means allowing the full range of human experience to emerge and to be held by your Luminous Mind—joy, pain, confusion, clarity—without resistance. What we resist often persists. But when we open fully, transformation becomes possible.

What You Might Experience

Every session is unique. In longer sessions, you may experience:

• Physical sensations like temperature shifts, numbness, vibrations, or involuntary movement (these are all signs of energy release).

• Emotional release—tears, laughter, grief, rage, or joy.

• Memories or insights that bring clarity to life issues.

• Transpersonal experiences such as ancestral experiences, oneness, or spiritual imagery.

Keep in mind: Our shorter sessions, like the Reset Hour, are designed to help you pause and drop into a relaxed, peaceful, and clear state—rather than to enter a deep expanded states of consciousness.

Regardless of the length of the session, it's best not to try to analyze or make sense of the experience while it's happening. Let whatever arises during your session be part of the process. Stay with the breath and let it move through you. We'll offer support and guidance afterward to help you integrate what comes up and explore how it informs the shifts you want to make.

Integration begins after the breathwork journey—sometimes within minutes, other times over days, weeks, months, or even years, as the insights continue to unfold in your life. The more awareness you bring to this process, the more you can actively engage with the transformation it offers.

Five Ways to Drop Deeper Into the Process

1. Tune into your body. Follow where it wants to go.

2. Feel your emotions. Let them express without judgment.

3. Move if needed. Shake, sway, stretch. Practice allowing your body to do whatever it wants to do.

4. Use your voice. Sound helps move energy, and vibrations through the larynx can calm the nervous system. Many breathers naturally make sounds along with the music, almost like toning. Others release deep sighs or even shout into a pillow. Let your body guide you. Trust the sounds that want to come through and allow them to support the release of whatever’s being held.

5. Let the music take you on a journey. We carefully design our music sets to take you on a journey. Once the music begins, it's your facilitator and your co-pilot. Whatever comes up for you around the music, work with it.

What Will Happen in a Session

Whether the session is an hour online or an in-person mini retreat, the flow of our breathwork sessions all goes something like this:

1. Begin with a short welcome and orientation. Breathing instructions will be given at this time.

2. You’ll be guided to turn inward with a guided meditation. Music will begin, and the breathwork journey starts. This can last 15 minutes to around an hour. We have a few different types of sessions.

3. We’ll close with a guided integration and silent reflection. In some sessions, we will have expressive art integration exercises.

4. Finally, you’re invited to share in a facilitated and supportive sharing circle (optional but encouraged).

Preparing The Setting

The setting refers to the container of the session, both the physical space and the felt experience. As facilitators, we shape the setting through the music we choose, the guidance we offer, and the inner work required to hold safe space. As participants, there are also things you can do to make your environment comfortable and supportive, especially if you are joining from home for one of our virtual sessions.

The Music

Music is a vital part of the Luminous Breathwork experience. In fact, for every minute of music you hear during your breathwork session, someone has spent almost an hour curating and editing it. That's how important it is.

• The first third is rhythmic and tribal, opening doorways to the ancient and unconscious.

• The middle section is more melodic, supporting inner exploration and emotional movement.

• The final third slows down, guiding you into the heart and preparing for integration.

Don’t stop halfway! The slow music is some of the most important parts of the journey. It helps you come back gently and allows your body to begin integrating the insights that came up.

Setting Up Your Space

Whether you're joining online or in person, here's what we suggest you have for your session:

• Eye mask for ease of turning inward. We've tested lots of masks for comfort, ease of use, price, and re-usability. We currently recommend this mask. (We are not an affiliate.)

• Water bottle. Make sure it's a closed lid one so you can easily reach for it with your eyes closed.

• Tissue.

• Chapstick. Deep, rapid breathing for more than a few minutes can cause dryness on the lips.

• A journal for integration.

• Blankets and pillows for comfort and bodywork.

If you're joining in person:

• You need a yoga mat or soft pad to lie on. We often provide the yoga mat, but we recommend an additional padding for comfort or a breathwork-specific mat like this one for in-person sessions. (There are no affiliate links on this page; everything we recommend here is something we like to use ourselves.)
  

If you're joining online:

• Make sure you are joining us from a private and cozy space where you won’t be disturbed.

• We recommend lying down on the floor, couch, or bed. But you can sit up if necessary.

• A good speaker. Headphones are OK, wireless is better than wired because you might move around during your session.

• Close all other computer windows and keep your Zoom screen open only

Contraindications

Certain styles of Breathwork can bring about strong physiological and emotional effects. For your safety, we have listed contraindications on this page. If any of them apply to you, we recommend that you contact us to schedule a time to discuss them with us before joining a session.

Breathing with Someone You Know

Finally, if you’re breathing with someone else, such as a partner or friend, make sure you both have the space to fully express yourselves without disrupting each other’s process. If you're unsure whether it's a good fit to breathe together, reach out to us. We're happy to help you decide what’s best for your experience.

Final Reminders

Thanks for taking the time to prepare for your breathwork journey. Remember:

• Come with openness and a beginner's mind.

• Everything that happens is grist for the mill. Yes, even discomfort or annoyance.

• The session begins the moment you commit to it, and integration continues well after the music stops.

This is a sacred space for self-discovery, restoration, and connection. Welcome to your journey.