Yes — and breathwork pioneer John Paul Crimi explains exactly how. Circular connected breathing activates the sympathetic nervous system in a safe setting, allowing the body to process decades of stuck emotion, anxiety, and even generational trauma in a single 30-minute session. The results, he says, are immediate and undeniable.
You can also listen to the audio here. Also available on Spotify and Apple
Prefer reading? Get the episode transcript here:
What Is Breathwork — and Why Isn’t It Just Deep Breathing?
Breathwork is an umbrella term — like “fitness” — that covers dozens of modalities. What JP teaches is a specific style called circular connected breathing or conscious connected breathing. It is not a relaxing meditation. It is closer to a workout: 30 minutes of sustained, intentional breath while lying on the floor, guided by music, demonstration, and JP’s distinctly no-nonsense coaching style.
If you’ve tried box breathing, 4-7-8, or a slow yoga breath and walked away unimpressed, this is different. JP describes his approach as science-backed, East Coast direct, and built for people who want results — not ritual.
Why Do Most of Us Breathe Shallow — and What Is That Costing Us?
According to JP, shallow breathing isn’t accidental. It’s a coping mechanism. Deep belly breathing requires you to breathe into the diaphragm, where a lot of unprocessed emotion lives. Most people are unconsciously avoiding exactly that.
The result is a chronic feedback loop:
- You have a specific breathing pattern for stress, anxiety, depression, and grief
- Those patterns reinforce the emotional state — they don’t resolve it
- Unexpressed emotions surface in other ways — overreaction, inflammation, disconnection
JP’s framework: change your breath, change the emotion, change your life.
How Does Breathwork Actually Clear Trauma?
JP points to both evolutionary biology and current science. When an animal survives a threat in the wild, it shakes to discharge the trauma response and return the nervous system to baseline. Humans don’t have that built-in reset.
Circular connected breathing works by deliberately engaging the sympathetic nervous system — fight or flight — in a safe, guided environment. That activation creates the conditions for the body to finally process what it’s been holding.
JP also references science on generational trauma: some of what people are carrying isn’t even theirs. It was passed down. The breathwork doesn’t discriminate.
The most common thing people say after a JP class: “That felt like 20 years of therapy without saying a word.”
What Happens in a JP Crimi Breathwork Class?
Here’s the basic structure:
- First 10 minutes: JP explains the technique, what to expect physically and emotionally, and does two live demonstrations
- Next 30 minutes: You lie on the floor, close your eyes, and breathe. JP turns off his camera — it’s all audio, music, and cueing from here
- Close: Heart moments, integration, and a live Q&A
No pressure to have a specific experience. No performance. JP tells participants at the start: give yourself permission to suck at this. Just breathe.
Classes run live Sunday mornings (9 AM Pacific / 12 PM Eastern) and are available as replays for five days. First class: $19.
Can Breathwork Change Your Relationships?
JP says yes — and not always in the way people expect. He’s seen relationships end after consistent breathwork practice, and he frames it not as a negative but as an honest result:
“The only reason we ever let anyone treat us poorly is that we feel like we deserve it — consciously or unconsciously. When you start doing this work, you start loving yourself. And once you do, you stop tolerating what doesn’t match that.”
What’s the First Step if You’re Ready to Try Something Different?
JP keeps it simple:
- Show up with a sliver of an open mind — you don’t have to believe it will work
- Lie on the floor, breathe the way he shows you, and don’t stop
- Don’t judge the experience while you’re in it
- If you hate it, fine — just go full out anyway
His broader philosophy applies here too: work hard on yourself, but don’t be hard on yourself.
Key Takeaways
- Breathwork is not one thing. Circular connected breathing is a specific, evidence-informed practice distinct from box breathing, yogic breathing, or pranayama
- Shallow breathing is emotional avoidance. Most people breathe in their chest to avoid feeling what’s stored in the body
- The results are immediate. Unlike practices where you’re not sure if something happened, this one delivers undeniable experiences
- You don’t have to be spiritual to benefit. JP’s approach strips the woo and focuses on science, results, and real human experience
- Self-love is an action, not a reward. It’s doing the uncomfortable work — the bubble bath comes after
- Purpose outlasts happiness. JP’s operating principle: happiness comes and goes; fulfilment from helping others is what sustains you
About John Paul Crimi
John Paul Crimi is a breathwork pioneer and the creator of a specific style of circular connected breathing that he has been teaching for 15 years. He got sober at 26, spent years as a sober companion to musicians and actors, and discovered breathwork through a recommendation from his late friend Matthew Perry. He went on to pioneer online breathwork before COVID, has certified over 3,000 facilitators in his method, and has helped hundreds of thousands of people process trauma, anxiety, and grief — without saying a word.
Resources + Connect with JP
- Website: breathewithjp.com
- Sunday live classes: 9 AM Pacific / 12 PM Eastern — first class $19
- Facilitator training: available online and in-person twice a year in California
- Search “John Paul Crimi” for a full library of testimonials, courses, and resources
If this episode landed, subscribe to the Rebellious Wellness Lifestyle Podcast and leave a review — it’s the single best way to help more people find science-backed conversations like this one. And if you’ve been on the fence about breathwork: JP’s Sunday class is $19. That’s a pretty low bar for something that might change how you move through the world.
About the Host
I, Greg Cox, have been working in the wellness space for 20+ years and was a chef for 25 before that, often creating health meals for restaurants and as a private chef. I created the Rebellious Wellness Lifestyle Podcast to empower women to challenge the limitations society places on them as they age.
I believe in science without outsourcing intuition, in prevention over treatment, and in the radical act of remaining visible, engaged, and fully expressed at every age.
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