Oct 27, 2026 · 53 min
Breathwork offers recovery a tool beyond willpower
Let Go And Let The Breath Do The Work
The conversation examines how breathing can support sobriety while stressing that intensity, facilitation, and safety must match a person’s needs.
- 1Breathwork helped Ryan McBurney replace substance use as a route to meaning, escape, and emotional relief.
- 2Everyday breathing practices differ from intensive therapeutic breathwork, which can produce powerful emotional and psychedelic-like experiences.
- 3Recovery settings require facilitators who understand intensity, create safety, and avoid overwhelming people with highly activating techniques.
Don't miss
Ryan explains how to meet anxiety or cravings through the breath, creating space to respond rather than automatically act.
The brief
Ryan McBurney traces breathwork’s role in moving away from substance use, framing the breath as an inner resource rather than another external source of relief.
The conversation separates healthier everyday breathing from intensive therapeutic breathwork, covering nasal breathing, overbreathing, carbon dioxide, and nervous-system regulation.
Ryan describes using the breath during anxiety and cravings: center, notice what is happening, create space, and respond instead of acting automatically.
Intense breathwork can resemble psychedelic experiences, but Ryan argues that responsible facilitation requires matching the practice’s intensity to each participant.
The episode closes on breathwork in recovery centers, where experience, safety, and restraint matter more than imposing one technique or rhythm on everyone.
Books & mentions
Weekly email
State of the Pod, every Monday
The week's most-discussed names and stories from podcasts, with the moments behind them. Free, five minutes, unsubscribe in one click.