Alright, let’s see where this goes. This is something I share all the time, but a recent podcast with Eden Sanchez really got me fired up.
Let’s start with this, there isn’t a human respiratory system. Yeah, I know, “but that’s what they taught us in school!” In reality, there is a female and a male respiratory system, and they are built and function differently.
I’d love to share with you what those differences are and how they might be affecting you or someone you know. But before we dive in, let’s get one thing straight, research is only just catching up. While there’s some great information out there on women’s breathing, your personal experience trumps all of it. Science is playing catch-up, and let’s not forget that research studies didn’t even have to include women until 1993. Yep, even studies on women’s health (gggggrrrrrrrr).
So let’s talk about it, how our breath is shaped by our bodies, our hormones, and (of course) the lovely societal conditioning that tells us to “suck it in
The physical differences
Women’s bodies are designed differently from men’s, and that includes our respiratory system. From birth, estrogen helps our lungs develop faster than those in male bodies, making female newborns less likely to experience respiratory distress. But as we grow, our breathing patterns evolve in ways that aren’t often acknowledged in mainstream breathwork teachings.
On average, women have a lung capacity of around 4 liters, compared to 6 liters in men. Our airways are smaller, which means we naturally have to work a little harder to move air in and out. Additionally, our rib cages tend to be more pyramidal in shape, rather than the broader, barrel-like structure seen in male bodies. These differences don’t make our breathing inferior, just different.
One key difference is that women naturally breathe higher in the body compared to men. This isn’t a flaw, it’s an adaptation. If a woman chooses to grow a baby, her diaphragm moves up, making abdominal breathing less accessible. So, over time, our bodies have evolved to prioritize more lateral ribcage expansion rather than deep belly breathing.
However, if that natural high breathing gets exaggerated—because of stress, poor posture, or cultural conditioning (more on that later), we start relying on secondary muscles like the shoulders and neck to help us breathe, which can create tension and discomfort. This is where breath retraining can be so powerful. Learning to move our breath freely through our body, not forcing it into a pattern that doesn’t work for us—is key to feeling energised and balanced.
The hormone shifts
Breathing isn’t static; it changes throughout a woman’s cycle. Every month, just before menstruation, progesterone levels rise, making the breath faster and shallower, what I like to call the “progesterone pant.” This isn’t a dysfunction; it’s our body doing exactly what it’s designed to do. But because medical research and breathwork practices are often based on male physiology, these natural shifts in female breathing patterns are often mislabeled as “problems.”
The hormonal impact on breathing continues throughout a woman’s life. During puberty, asthma rates rise in girls as estrogen and progesterone fluctuate. Then, during perimenopause, breathing changes again. Estrogen keeps our airways open and our lungs moist, but as levels drop, we start to see an increase in snoring and even sleep apnea. Many women who never had asthma in their youth suddenly experience it at this stage. And post-menopause, as estrogen declines further, we see an even greater increase in breathing-related challenges, including disrupted sleep.
Instead of treating these changes as dysfunctions, we need to work with them. Understanding how hormones influence breathing allows us to use breathwork as a tool—to support our bodies rather than fight against them.
The cultural ties
Beyond physiology and hormones, culture plays a massive role in shaping how women breathe. From a young age, we are told to “suck in our bellies” to appear smaller. That means many women subconsciously hold their breath, restrict their diaphragm, and develop dysfunctional breathing patterns without even realizing it.
This cultural conditioning leads to what’s known as “paradoxical breathing”, where the belly moves in on the inhale instead of expanding outward. Over time, this can create chronic shallow breathing, keeping the body stuck in a low-level stress response. It’s no surprise that so many women find themselves constantly in fight-or-flight mode, feeling anxious and exhausted without knowing why.
Retraining the breath isn’t just about learning new techniques, it’s about unlearning decades of conditioning. We need to give ourselves permission to breathe fully, deeply, and in a way that supports our bodies rather than conforms to societal expectations.
So where do we go from here?
So where does that leave us? The key to breathing for women isn’t about mimicking male breathing patterns, it’s about understanding our own bodies. My work focuses on two main areas: helping women regulate their daily breath to prevent chronic tension and stress and providing them with a personalised toolkit of breathwork practices that support them through different stages of their cycle and life.
There’s no “one size fits all” approach. Some breathwork practices will feel amazing for one woman and completely wrong for another. That’s why it’s crucial to listen to your body rather than follow rigid rules. Whether it’s slowing down your breath before your period, strengthening your diaphragm post-menopause, or simply allowing yourself to breathe without restriction, the most important thing is that your breath works for you, not against you.
Breathing is power. And when we learn to breathe in a way that honours our female bodies, we unlock an incredible tool for energy, relaxation, and badassery.
