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Equine-Assisted Breathwork
Improve your mental and physical health through the power of your breath with immersive Equine-Assisted Breathwork sessions. Guided by Lisa (Equine Assisted Psychotherapist and Master Breathwork Practitioner), intentional, sequenced breathing techniques are combined with the intuitive and reflective presence of our retired racehorses to support relief from a large variety of symptoms associated with mental and physical health challenges. Nervous system assessment, regulation, capacity building and resilience are the core of our breathwork programs. Equine Assisted Breathwork may also relieve physical symptoms of stress including better sleep, relaxation, pain relief, anger management and improved exercise recovery. Every session meets you where you are, allowing you to explore what arises without force or expectation, while intentional exercises with the horses provide a powerful sense of grounding, connection and integration throughout the experience.
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What is Breathwork?
We breathe around 20,000 times every day, yet most of us rarely pay attention to how we breathe. Stress, anxiety, trauma, posture, physical anatomy and the demands of modern life can contribute to habitual over-breathing—breathing faster or taking in more air than the body needs.
Breathwork is the intentional use of breathing patterns to influence how we feel physically, mentally and emotionally. It is used by people from all walks of life—including elite athletes such as Novak Djokovic, Laird Hamilton and Gabrielle Reece, and prominent business leaders such as Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey—to support focus, mental clarity, performance, recovery and stress management.
Different breathing patterns can create different responses in the body.
Slow, gentle breathing—particularly when the exhale is relaxed or slightly longer—helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system, often called the “rest and digest” system. This can slow the heart rate, reduce feelings of stress and signal to the brain and body that it is safe to settle.
Faster, connected breathing can temporarily activate the sympathetic nervous system, associated with the body’s “fight or flight” response. In a safe and professionally guided setting, this controlled activation may help people access and process emotions, become aware of sensations held in the body and release physical tension. Importantly, you are then gradually guided back into slower breathing and a parasympathetic state. Moving safely between activation and relaxation helps the nervous system practise returning to regulation rather than remaining overwhelmed or shut down.
At the end of each session, there is dedicated time for integration. While developing awareness and releasing emotion or physical tension can be important, integration helps you make sense of your experience and bring any insights, shifts or new ways of responding into your everyday life. This is where the experience becomes meaningful beyond the session and longer-term change can begin to take place.
With regular practice, breathwork can help build greater nervous system capacity—the ability to experience stress, emotion and physical activation while remaining present and finding your way back to calm efficiently. Over time, this can support emotional regulation, stress resilience and a stronger sense of safety within your own body and mind.
A 120-minute introductory session combining guided breathwork, horses and nervous system support.
300 Australian dollars
Continue your breathwork practice with a personalised 90-minute horse-supported session.
250 Australian dollars
A personalised 12-session journey combining breathwork, nervous system support and horses.
2,500 Australian dollars
A personalised 120-minute introduction to breathwork, regulation and conscious breathing.
200 Australian dollars
Personalised guided breathwork for returning clients looking to deepen their practice.
150 Australian dollars
Why do we combine Equine Assisted Therapy and Breathwork? – A Model Based on Science
There is a great body of published research on the benefits of Equine Assisted Therapy and Breathwork as standalone modalities. Based on current research available, combining the two looks to fill the gaps in therapeutic outcomes where they each lack.
Documented evidence shows that Breathwork is excellent for:
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autonomic regulation and flexibility - the nervous system’s ability to adjust the body’s level of activation in response to what is happening and then return to a balanced state when the situation has passed.
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emotional release
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reducing hypervigilance
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strengthening flexibility between internal and external awareness
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interoception - linking our physical state with our emotions enabling, healthier responses and self-regulation.
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vagal stimulation - activates the vagus nerve, helping the body shift out of stress and into a calmer “rest and digest” state.
But research shows it lacks a strong consistent external co-regulator - a calm, safe presence (such as a therapist or horse) that helps a person’s nervous system feel safer and return to balance during intense emotional processing - which equine assisted therapy can provide.
With the horse as a co-facilitator, Equine Assisted Therapy is excellent for:
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real-time biofeedback – nervous system co-regulation
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attachment experiences
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non-judgemental relationships
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non-verbal communication
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social engagement
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relational safety
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emotional mirroring
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tactile/touch experiences
These may assist clients to feel safer and more comfortable opening up in a session, reduce the likelihood of overwhelm through resourcing and anchoring and improve the efficacy and efficiency of integration producing lasting change over time. However, research on equine therapy generally shows that minimal physiological changes occur - which is where breathwork can assist.
More specifically, where does Breathwork fill the gaps of Equine Assisted Therapy?
Equine Assisted Therapy is excellent for
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attachment and relationships
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confidence building
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emotional awareness
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social regulation
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safe touch experiences
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expression of boundaries
Breathwork provides
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direct vagal stimulation promoting a calm state
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CO₂ tolerance training - helpful during stressful situations, anxiety or moments of breathlessness including exercise, helping you resist the urge to over breathe and remain calmer, more focused, psychologically and physically efficient.
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autonomic flexibility – nervous systems ability to respond to stress and return to calm efficiently
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strengthen respiratory sinus arrhythmia - the natural variation in heart rate that occurs as it changes during breathing. It reflects communication between the breath, heart and vagus nerve, helping the body adapt to stress and return to a calm, regulated state.
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Heart Rate Variability improvements - Healthy HRV can reflect an adaptable nervous system that can respond to challenges and recover afterward, supporting stress regulation, heart function and managing emotions.
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altered states which can assist with emotional processing
Together they can become complementary in easing a large variety of the symptoms of diagnosed or undiagnosed conditions such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, chronic stress, burnout, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, chronic pain, sleep difficulties, grief, emotional dysregulation, panic, social disconnection, cognitive or emotional blockages and trauma-related dissociation.
These approaches are not intended to replace medical advice, diagnose or cure medical or mental health conditions, but work alongside traditional mainstream therapy to support nervous system regulation, emotional wellbeing and an improved capacity to manage everyday stress.
Therapeutic process | Equine-assisted therapy contributes | Breathwork contributes |
|---|---|---|
Everyday change | Practising new ways of relating to yourself and others | A practical self-regulation tool that can be used almost anytime, anywhere |
Integration | Turning insights into relational and behavioural experiences in every day life | Connecting physical sensations, emotions and insights into personal meaning |
Emotional processing | Relational reflection and immediate nonverbal feedback. Experiencing felt sense. | Accessing and expressing emotions that may sit outside everyday awareness |
Emotional capacity | Staying present and connected while emotions arise | Gradually building tolerance for internal sensation activation |
Agency and boundaries | Practising choice, communication and boundaries in real time. Explore and express what is ok and not ok. | Learning to tolerate and adjust intensity, pause and regulate independently |
Nervous-system regulation | Co-regulation, grounding, present moment awareness. Synching nervous systems with real time feedback | Stronger influence on nervous system physiology, changing the body’s chemistry to support capacity building for stress tolerance |
Safety and trust | Relational safety with another living being | Internal safety through breathing and self-regulation |
Body awareness | Movement, touch, sensory awareness and external feedback | Awareness of breath and internal sensations, linking them to emotions. |
What happens in an Equine Assisted Breathwork Session?
Before your initial appointment, you will be invited to complete a confidential intake and health-screening form. This allows me to understand your current wellbeing, relevant medical considerations, previous breathwork experience and what you would like to receive from the session. We will discuss your intention and what you would like to focus on, the breathing techniques that may be used and any sensations or emotional responses that can occur. You will also learn ways to slow or change your breathing if the experience becomes more intense than you would like. Your participation is always voluntary. You remain in control of your breath throughout the session and can pause, adjust or stop the practice at any time.
Breathwork sessions will take place in a picturesque area outside on the land, surrounded by nature and beautiful trees that are hundreds of years old. The horses will be present throughout the session and are invited to participate in a way that is based on the outcomes we are working towards. This may include observation and subtle engagement or more active hands on activities such as grooming or leading and may take place before or after the breath flow element of the session.
During the breath flow, you will lie comfortably on a mat, massage table or seated in a chair with cushions, blankets and other supports provided to help your body feel settled. You will be guided through a breath flow with breathing sequences chosen to support your individual needs. This may progress from slower, calming breaths into conscious connected breathing or a faster, more activating breath flow. Music, verbal guidance and gentle somatic prompts may be used to support your experience. The horses may also approach you to safely focus on areas of your body that they intuitively connect to. You will be guided back to restorative breathing and nervous system reset, finishing with grounding and supported integration to help you apply your experience to your everyday life.
What you may notice during the breath flow
Everyone responds to breathwork differently. During or following your session, you may experience:
• Changes in body temperature
• Tingling, lightness or changes in sensation
• Muscle tension, trembling, twitching or spontaneous movement
• Temporary tightening in the hands, feet, face or other areas
• Changes in your perception of time or surroundings
• Emotions such as sadness, joy, anger or relief
• Tears, laughter, sighing or spontaneous sounds
• Memories, mental imagery or intuitive insights
• Deep relaxation, stillness or connection
• Greater clarity, energy or emotional spaciousness
• A quiet experience with only subtle changes
There is no right or wrong breathwork experience. A session does not need to feel intense or produce a significant emotional release to be valuable. You will be encouraged to remain curious about what arises without forcing, judging or comparing your experience with somebody else’s.
The Outbreath Method
The Outbreath Method is a twelve-week trauma-informed program individually tailored to your unique therapeutic needs. The program flows through sequential stages that integrate equine-assisted therapeutic activities with progressively structured breathwork. Participants initially develop psychological safety, self-regulation, co-regulation and interoceptive awareness before progressing to increasingly activating breathwork practices designed to expand autonomic capacity and adaptive self-regulation. Each session incorporates structured integration to consolidate learning, support adaptive regulation and application of the clients’ experiences into their everyday lives.
This program can be tailored to help alleviate symptoms associated with:
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Anxiety
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Depression
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PTSD/cPTSD
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ADHD
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Autism Spectrum Disorders
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Burnout
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Emotional dysregulation and blockages
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Grief
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Relationship breakdown
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Sleep difficulties
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Feeling stuck or at a crossroad in life
A typical program may look something like this:
The Outbreath Method Facilitator Training (Coming in 2027)
In 2027, we will offer training to those wishing to deliver The Outbreath Method to their own clients.
This program is an innovative and effective model for facilitating change, making it an essential addition to anyone currently offering Equine Assisted Therapy or other Equine Assisted Services. Because of the specific breathflow design and techniques in this program, this training will only be offered to those who have completed or are enrolled in a Breathwork Facilitator Certification program. And more specifically, only breathwork facilitators who can create their own breathflows, adjust as necessary in real time and do not use headphones due to safety reasons with horses.
If you are interested in offering Equine Assisted Breathwork as part of your services, start now by becoming a Certified Breathwork Facilitator and train in the exact model on which we based our program with Breathless Expeditions.
We are excited to launch this and see you next year!
How to Book
To book your Equine-Assisted Breathwork session, simply click the service above, select your preferred session type, complete the booking form and make your payment securely online. (COMING SOON). If this is your first session with us, we’ll be in touch to confirm your booking and make sure all required intake and health-screening paperwork has been completed before your appointment. If you have any questions, please use our Contact Us page to connect directly.
