How Breathwork Can Reduce Anxiety, Release Trauma, and Transform Your Life
With Kurtis Lee Thomas
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, anxious, stuck, or disconnected from yourself, you’re not broken — you’re probably just breathing wrong.
In this episode of The Midlife Makeover Show, I sat down with Kurtis Lee Thomas, one of the world’s leading breathwork and mindfulness experts, to talk about how deep diaphragmatic breathwork can radically improve mental health, emotional healing, confidence, and overall well-being.
And spoiler alert: this isn’t your average “close your eyes and breathe” conversation.
💫 What You’ll Learn:
- Why most people are breathing incorrectly (and how it fuels anxiety and stress)
- How breathwork detox releases stored emotions and trauma from the body
- The difference between breathwork, meditation, and maintenance breathing
- Why breathwork can create immediate, noticeable results
- Simple breathing techniques you can use anytime, anywhere to calm your nervous system
Meet Kurtis Lee Thomas
Kurtis Lee Thomas is one of the world’s leading corporate mindfulness and breathwork trainers, working with powerhouse organizations like Nike, NASA, and Capital Group. He’s the founder of the Breathwork Detox modality, featured on The Today Show, and named #1 Employee Wellbeing Provider of 2023 by HR Magazine.
He’s also the board chair of the Just Breathe Foundation, helping families, athletes, and celebrities find real solutions to the mental health crisis — and a #1 international bestselling author of The World Is Yours and How to Thrive in the Age of Anxiety.
But Kurtis didn’t discover breathwork through curiosity — he found it through desperation.
When Traditional Medicine Has No Answers
Before becoming a global breathwork leader, Kurtis spent years battling a mysterious and debilitating stomach condition. He tried everything — doctors, prescriptions, plant medicine, alternative healing, certifications, fasting, detoxes.
Nothing worked.
He was so desperate for answers that he admitted he almost hoped for a serious diagnosis — just to have a label.
And then, unexpectedly, a single breathwork technique changed everything.
In one session, his symptoms disappeared. His energy returned. His mind cleared. His body came back online.
That moment became the catalyst for everything he teaches today.
The Body Keeps the Score (and the Breath Unlocks It)
One of the most powerful insights from this conversation is that many of our issues aren’t physical — they’re emotional and energetic.
As Kurtis explains, the body stores unresolved stress, trauma, and emotions. Over time, that stored energy can show up as anxiety, panic attacks, digestive issues, fatigue, or chronic illness.
“The issues are in the tissues.”
Breathwork doesn’t require you to relive your trauma or analyze your past. Instead, it allows the body to release what it’s been holding — without the mind needing to understand it.
And yes, sometimes that release looks like crying, laughing, shaking, or feeling emotional — but often it feels deeply relieving and empowering.
What Makes Breathwork Detox Different?
Breathwork is an umbrella term — just like yoga. Not all breathwork is the same.
Breathwork Detox focuses on:
- Deep diaphragmatic (belly) breathing
- Mouth breathing in specific patterns
- Flooding the body with oxygen
- Activating the parasympathetic nervous system
- Releasing stored emotional energy
Unlike meditation, which can take months to feel effective, breathwork often delivers immediate, undeniable resultsafter just one session.
Think of it like this:
- Breathwork Detox = power washing the system
- Meditation & yoga = maintenance tools
Both matter — but breathwork gets you unstuck fast.
Why Most People Are Breathing Wrong
Here’s a surprising fact:
90% of people don’t breathe into their diaphragm.
Instead, we breathe shallowly into the chest and shoulders — which keeps the body in a constant state of stress.
Your diaphragm is your core engine of vitality. It’s deeply connected to:
- The nervous system
- Emotional regulation
- Digestion
- Immune function
- Serotonin production (yes, happiness!)
When you don’t breathe deeply, you’re cutting yourself off from your own energy source.
Breathwork vs. Psychedelics
Kurtis has extensive experience with plant medicine and psychedelics — used responsibly and legally — and here’s what he shared:
Breathwork can be equally powerful, but with one major advantage:
👉 You’re always in control.
There’s no substance. No trip you can’t exit. No fear of being “stuck.”
You control the pace, the intensity, and the depth. That sense of agency alone is incredibly healing — especially for people with anxiety or trauma.
A Simple Technique You Can Try Today
One of the easiest and most effective tools Kurtis shares is the physiological sigh.
Here’s how to do it:
- Inhale deeply (nose or mouth)
- As soon as you reach the top, exhale loudly through the mouth
- Repeat 2–3 times
- Imagine releasing something that no longer serves you
This simple practice can:
- Instantly calm the nervous system
- Reduce stress and anxiety
- Help you feel lighter and more grounded
And yes — it works even if you’re standing in the grocery store (people may stare, but you’ll feel amazing).
How to Learn More or Try Breathwork Detox
If you’re curious (and I hope you are), you can explore Breathwork Detox sessions, virtual experiences, and certifications at:
Kurtis also hosts live virtual sessions every two weeks, often aligned with the full or new moon, making it easy to experience this powerful modality from anywhere in the world.
👉 Connect with Kurtis!
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