Breathing Exercises for Pregnancy
Breathing room as the diaphragm gets crowded - and tools for labour.
Before you start
Nothing here uses breath holds or forceful breathing. Stop at any dizziness, and clear new practices with your midwife or doctor - especially with high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia or a high-risk pregnancy.
Techniques that are unsafe for this stage are filtered out of this page entirely, rather than listed with a warning. This is general information, not medical advice.
Daily practice
- Equal Breathing — Simple and balancing. Match your inhale and exhale length.
- Resonance Breathing — 5.5 breaths per minute for heart-brain coherence.
- Bhramari (Humming Bee) — Hum on a long exhale. The vibration quiets a racing mind.
- Wind-Down Ladder — Long exhales with a soft pause - a gentle descent into sleep.
- Three-Part Breath (Dirga) — Fill belly, ribs, then chest. The classic full yogic breath.
- Rib Room Breath — Widen the ribs sideways when there's no room left to breathe down.
- Left-Side Settle — A sleep breath for the third trimester, lying on your left.
In the moment
- Surge Breath — One slow breath per contraction - the rhythm to rehearse before labour.
- J-Breath (Breathing Baby Down) — Short exhale-led breaths for the second stage, instead of held pushing.
Before and between
- Physiological Sigh — Double inhale + long exhale. Fastest way to calm down.
Afterwards
- Calming Breath — Extended exhale activates the parasympathetic nervous system.
- Sitali (Cooling Breath) — Inhale through a curled tongue to cool body and temper.
Other stages
Postpartum Breathing Exercises · Breathing Exercises for PCOS · Breathing Exercises for Period Pain · Breathing Exercises for Menopause and Hot Flushes