Breathwork has officially entered its loud era.
Big rooms. Bigger feelings. Music turned up. Emotions spilling out. Somewhere along the way intensity became the point and calm became collateral damage.
Which is why Brooke Elliston feels like a corrective rather than a trend.
Elliston is a former lawyer turned breath educator and the author of The Breath Reset Plan, a book written for people who have already done the work and are still wondering why their nervous system did not get the memo. Therapy. Meditation. Yoga. Journaling. Cold plunges. Everything is ticked off, but they’re still wired, tired, and unable to properly switch off.
Her take is blunt in the way that only real expertise allows. The problem is not motivation. The problem is that most people have never been taught how to understand the way they already breathe and how that breathing is continually reinforcing their nervous system state throughout the day.
Why breathwork does not hit the same for everyone
Breathwork is powerful. That is the point and also the problem.
High intensity breathing changes blood chemistry fast. Carbon dioxide drops. Blood vessels constrict. Oxygen delivery shifts. The nervous system reacts. Dizziness, tingling, panic, disorientation, and emotional flooding are not spiritual mysteries. They are predictable physiological responses when breathing effort overshoots what a system can tolerate.
For some people that lands as catharsis. For others it lands as dysregulation. The difference is rarely willpower. It is baseline.
Elliston does not argue against breathwork. She argues against guessing.
Baseline first. Technique second.
Most breathwork starts with a method. Elliston starts with the person.
Before prescribing anything, she looks at how someone breathes when they are not trying to relax; how they breathe while answering emails, lying in bed, or rushing through the day, whether the pattern is chest dominant or nasal, and the presence of subtle overbreathing, air hunger, sleep quality issues, panic sensitivity, and overall recovery capacity.
Breathing is not separate from life. It mirrors how safe the nervous system believes the world is. If someone lives in a constant state of readiness their breathing will quietly reinforce that whether they notice it or not.
Without understanding that starting point any intervention is a gamble.
Brooke’s work
Elliston does not run sessions designed to perform for an audience. She works with people who want their nervous system to stop running the show.
Her work is built around one thing most of the wellness world skips entirely: assessment. Before a single practice is prescribed, she takes a detailed look at how someone actually breathes day to day, not in a calm studio setting, but in real life, under load, at rest, and at night. She examines mechanics, respiratory drive, sleep quality, stress reactivity, recovery capacity, and the subtle patterns that quietly keep a nervous system stuck in high alert.
From there she designs a program that fits the person not the trend. Breath retraining nervous system education and pacing are tailored using a structured framework that considers frequency intensity time and type so the work lands without overwhelming the system.
There’s no chasing altered states, no dramatic releases for the sake of it, and no forcing calm through effort. The goal is a quieter, far more powerful baseline that steadies over time; better sleep, greater resilience, less reactivity, and a nervous system that finally learns it doesn’t need to stay switched on to stay safe.
That’s the difference between a good session and real change.
Clear boundaries, grounded practice
One of the most striking things about Elliston’s work is how clearly she draws boundaries.
Breath retention practices are not self guided for people with cardiovascular disease uncontrolled hypertension significant arrhythmias seizure history pregnancy or suspected sleep apnoea. Anyone with a history of panic trauma dissociation psychosis or bipolar disorder requires careful pacing and guidance. Breath holds are not practised near water. If sleep disordered breathing is suspected assessment comes first.
This is not fear based. It is competence.
Elliston works within scope and alongside other professionals. When mental health support medical assessment or trauma specific care is indicated she refers out and collaborates rather than trying to replace those services.
Inside the launch of The Breath Reset Plan, with Brooke Elliston & Dean Glardstone in conversation and signing copies for guests.
Trauma informed without tiptoeing
Trauma informed does not mean fragile. It means precise.
Elliston does not run high ventilation group sessions where individual needs disappear into the crowd. Her work prioritises consent predictability and choice. Clients know what is coming what they might notice and what options exist if something feels like too much.
For people who find internal sensations overwhelming she does not insist on dropping straight into body awareness. Capacity is built gradually often starting with external anchors before strengthening interoception. The goal is regulation that feels reliable not forced.
The high functioning stress loop
Many of Elliston’s clients are capable successful and exhausted. Their nervous system has learned that mobilisation equals safety. Stillness feels unfamiliar. Unfamiliar feels unsafe.
Breathing patterns reinforce the loop. Subtle overbreathing keeps arousal elevated. When movement stops sensations get louder. Restlessness irritability and the urge to do something appear. So the person moves again and the sensations settle.
Effort becomes regulation.
The work is not to remove drive but to teach the nervous system that it can downshift without danger. That learning happens through repeated tolerable experiences that slowly update the body’s prediction of safety.
Breath sleep gut mood
Sleep is where breathing patterns are exposed. Mouth breathing, inefficient mechanics, or sleep disordered breathing keep the nervous system on watch all night. Micro arousals accumulate even if the person does not remember waking. Resilience drops quietly.
Breathing also affects digestion through state. When the system is organised around survival digestion is deprioritised. Motility shifts sensitivity increases and gut signals feed back into mood and anxiety.
Breathwork does not fix the gut directly. It changes the internal terrain so digestion recovery and regulation are more likely to happen.
Who this is actually for
Elliston’s work suits people who have done the work and are tired of being told to do more. High functioning individuals dealing with burnout chronic stress or sleep disruption. People who tried breathwork and felt overwhelmed rather than calm. Practitioners who want deeper assessment skills rather than another technique.
It is not for those chasing spectacle catharsis or shortcuts. It is for people who want change that sticks.
How to work with Brooke Elliston
Brooke Elliston is based on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and works with clients internationally. She offers individual breath and nervous system mentorship alongside advanced training for yoga Pilates bodywork and health professionals.
You can find her at brookeelliston.com and on Instagram at @brookeellistonbreath. Her debut book The Breath Reset Plan is published by Affirm Press and available through major retailers.
Elliston’s message is clear. Breath is not a hack. It is a constant conversation between body and brain. Learn how to listen properly and the nervous system finally has room to reset not just in a session but in real life.
Related Reads
Pamela Anderson Live Conversation Australia
Cool2BeConscious Breathwork and Ice Bath Events Australia
Gina Chick Women’s Circle Surry Hills
Farmluxe Flower Wellness Retreats
Women’s Wellness Retreat Evolve Sanctuary Pete Evans
Â
