Let Go And Let The Breath Do The Work

Let Go And Let The Breath Do The Work

Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation on I Love Being Sober zooms in on something everyone does 20,000 to 30,000 times a day but rarely thinks about: breathing. Host Tim Westbrook sits down with breathwork guide and Liquid Breathwork co‑founder Ryan McBurney to talk about how changing the way you breathe might change your relationship with anxiety, cravings, and even substances.

Ryan shares how a Wim Hof interview, watched during what he calls an "existential depression", led him to try breathwork on his bedroom floor.

Within a few rounds, he says, “breath work was this way to finally be like, I don't have to reach and try to find something outside of me to give me what's already there inside of me.” For him, breathwork became “in large part a gateway to sobriety”, offering the sense of meaning he’d been chasing through substances.

You’ll hear the difference between everyday breathing practices and more intense, therapeutic breathwork sessions, and why those powerful sessions can sometimes feel similar to psychedelic experiences. Ryan breaks down how most people are over‑breathing, often through the mouth, and living in a chronic fight‑or‑flight state. He explains simple tweaks – like nasal breathing, slowing the exhale, and the “sigh of relief” – that can help calm the nervous system and support early recovery.

The pair also talk about safety, creating emotionally safe spaces for breathwork, and why “meeting yourself where you’re at” matters more than forcing a dramatic breakthrough.

Ryan describes Liquid Breathwork’s emphasis on surrender, internal guidance, and that theatrical sigh that tells the brain, “I’m safe.” If you’ve ever wondered whether there’s a way to feel less triggered, less restless, and less dependent on something outside of you, this conversation might get you asking: what could happen if you just let the breath do the work?