The Slow Inhale

Breath and Branches
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The Slow Inhale is a breathwork and sacred living podcast hosted by Gwen Gillespie Thibeaux, M.A., founder of Breath & Branches (breathandbranches.com). Each episode is an invitation to slow down, come home to your body, and tend to your inner life through breath, ritual, and somatic practice. Rooted in trauma-informed care and the wisdom of nature, this podcast is for women and femme communities ready to stop performing wellness and start living it — from the inside out. Root deep. Breathe wide. Live sacred. New episodes every Sunday.

  1. Aug 9

    Ep. 017 - the ache you call falling behind

    If you have ever asked why do I feel so behind in life, this episode offers a reframe you probably have not heard. We treat the feeling of being behind as a verdict, proof that we failed to keep up. In this episode of The Slow Inhale, Gwen offers a different reading entirely: the ache is not a verdict, it is a compass. It only ever shows up where you have a real, unlived want, because you do not feel behind about things you do not care about. Which means the feeling is not measuring you against anyone. It is your own longing, pointing at something you buried, a creative life, a kind of love, work that means something, a version of yourself you set down. The episode reframes the ache from shame into direction, and reminds you that desire is not a deadline. It closes with a gentle breath for meeting the ache instead of running from it, four counts in and six counts out. In this episode Why 'behind' is the wrong name for the feeling. Why treating it as a verdict traps you in shame or hustle. How to notice what it is actually pointing at. Why the answer is often something you buried on purpose. Why desire is not a deadline.A breath for meeting the ache. 🌿 New here? Start with this free practice:5 Days of Rooted Breath → breathandbranches.com/rooted-breath/ From Breath & Branches:📓 The Rooted Reset journal → breathandbranches.com/product/the-rooted-reset-journal-pdf-only/🌾 The Ritual Market (herbal blends & ritual products) → breathandbranches.com/the-ritual-market/ Get roots & things, our Sunday newsletter with reflections, rituals, and what's new: → breathandbranches.com/roots-things/ Come say hi:Instagram: @breathandbranches You are rooted. You are tended. You are enough.

  2. Aug 5 ·  Bonus

    Reflections No. 1 · I Went to Rest and Let Myself Be Tended

    This one is personal. I went to Colorado for my birthday wanting nothing but rest, and I let myself be tended, maybe for the first time. What began as a quiet week became something I did not plan: my first time camping, a circle of women, and a few days of being poured into instead of always pouring out. In this special reflection episode of The Slow Inhale, I share what nature gave me, the signs I am still not over, and the one word the whole trip kept handing me, trust. And because I cannot help being a guide, I keep turning it back to you, with a few honest questions and one small thing to try this week: letting yourself receive, for once, on purpose. The episode closes with a short shared breath you can receive wherever you are. In this episode Wanting rest with no plan attached. Saying yes to the unfamiliar. Healers healing healers, and who pours into you. Noticing the signs that are already around you. A gentle release, and trusting your season. A small assignment: receive one thing this week. From Breath & Branches 5 Days of Rooted Breath, a free guided breathwork series  · breathandbranches.com/rooted-breath/ The Rooted Reset, a 7-day breathwork and reflection journal  · breathandbranches.com/product/the-rooted-reset-journal-pdf-only/

  3. Aug 2

    Ep. 016 - when everything feels like too much

    If you want to know how to stop feeling so overwhelmed, this episode is for you. Overwhelm has a particular cruelty to it: on top of the flood, we add judgment, why can I not just handle this. In this episode of The Slow Inhale, Gwen reframes the whole thing. Overwhelm is not an emotion or a character flaw. It is a capacity state, a full glass, and it is a nervous system state, which is exactly why you cannot think your way out of it. She walks through what to do instead, coming down through the body first with a long exhale, then dealing with the flood theonly way that works when you are full, one thing at a time. The episode closes with a breath built for the flooded moment, four counts in and eight counts out, that you can do in the middle of the kitchen with the dish towel still in your hand. In this episode Why overwhelm is a capacity problem, not a character flaw. Why you literally cannot think clearly when flooded. How to come down through the body first. The one next thing, and why doing one small thing clears the fog. A breath for the moment it all hits. From Breath & Branches 5 Days of Rooted Breath, a free guided breathwork series  · breathandbranches.com/rooted-breath/ The Rooted Reset, a 7-day breathwork and reflection journal  · breathandbranches.com/the-ritual-market/

  4. Jul 26

    Ep 015 - the morning you actually have

    If you want a realistic morning routine for when you have no time, this episode is for you. Most morning routines fail for one reason: they were built for a life you do not have. In this episode of The Slow Inhale, Gwen lets you off the hook for every routine you have abandoned, and makes the case for something smaller. Apractice sized for your real morning, with the snooze button and the people who need you and the phone already in your hand. She walks through what a ninety-second version looks like, and why it does more for your day than the hour-long routine you never actually did. The episode closes with the anchor breath, four counts in with a small hold and six counts out, the one you take before you reach for your phone. In this episode Why your morning routine keeps failing, and why it is not your discipline. How to find the gap you already have. What small and real actually looks like. Why a morning practice is not about productivity. The anchor breath for the hardest mornings. From Breath & Branches 5 Days of Rooted Breath, a free guided breathwork series  · breathandbranches.com/rooted-breath/ The Rooted Reset, a 7-day breathwork and reflection journal  · breathandbranches.com/the-ritual-market/

  5. Jul 19

    Ep. 014 - releasing what no longer serves you

    If you have ever wondered how to let go of what no longer serves you, this episode is for you. We treat letting go like a single clean decision, and then wonder why it never sticks. In this episode of The Slow Inhale, Gwen offers a different starting place. Before you try to release something, ask whether it was ever yours tohold. Half of what we carry the longest was handed to us, a fear that belonged to someone else, a standard set by a person no longer in our lives, a role we were assigned before we could refuse it. Those we can set down simply by seeingthey were never ours. The rest we loosen slowly, one finger at a time. The episode closes with a simple releasing breath, four counts in and eight counts out with open hands, that you can use anywhere. In this episode Why letting go rarely works as one decision. The question to ask before you try to release anything. How to tell what was handed to you from what is truly yours. Why you are not what you carry. A releasing breath for opening your hands. From Breath & Branches 5 Days of Rooted Breath, a free guided breathwork series  · breathandbranches.com/rooted-breath/ The Rooted Reset, a 7-day breathwork and reflection journal  · breathandbranches.com/the-ritual-market/

  6. Jul 12

    Ep. 013 - the weight of being the strong one

    If you have ever wondered why being the strong one is exhausting, this episode is for you. You are the person everyone calls when things fall apart. You are trusted, steady, and very good at handling it. And somewhere along the way, the better you got at carrying things, the fewer people thought to check on you. In this episode of The Slow Inhale, Gwen explores the quiet cost of being the capable one. How competence teaches the people around you to stop asking. What the body keeps track of while you keep going. And why the permission you have been waiting for is not coming from outside. The episode closes with a simple guided breath practice, four counts in and six counts out, that you can use anywhere. How you became the one who handles it. Why competence looks like wellness from the outside. The resentment you will not let yourself have. What asking can actually look like, and why it does not require you to unravel. A gentle breathpractice for setting something down. FROM BREATH AND BRANCHES: 5 Days of Rooted Breath, a free guided breathwork series  · breathandbranches.com/rooted-breath/ The Rooted Reset, a 7-day breathwork and reflection journal  · breathandbranches.com/the-ritual-market/

  7. Jul 5

    Ep. 012 - you can't turn your mind off

    If you have ever wondered how to quiet a racing mind, thisepisode is for you. You know the feeling. Your body is exhausted, but the moment you lie down, your mind wakes all the way up, replaying the day, rehearsing tomorrow, circling thoughts you cannot seem to switch off. In this episode of The Slow Inhale, Gwen explores why the mind races, why trying harder to stoponly makes it louder, and why the way back is not a better thought but a return to the body. You will learn why the long exhale calms a busy mind, and why the goal was never an empty mind, only the gentle practice of coming home. Thesecond half is a short guided breath you can use the next time you are spinning. Reflection and practice, around 10 minutes. New here? Start with 5 Days of Rooted Breath, a free audioseries to help your nervous system learn it is safe to come down. Find it at breathandbranches.com/rooted-breath/ To learn more about Breath & Branches, visit us at: https://breathandbranches.com/

  8. Jun 28

    Ep. 011 - what grief leaves in the body

    If you have ever wondered where grief lives in the body, thisgentle episode is for you. We tend to treat grief as something that happens in the mind,a sadness to think through and move past. But grief lives in the body, and it holds the losses we never gave ourselves permission to feel, sometimes for years. In this tender episode of The Slow Inhale, Gwen explores what grief leaves behind in the body, the many losses we never name, the difference between grief that needs to be witnessed and grief that needs to be released, and why the long exhale helps grief begin to move. The second half is a gentle guided practice: a hand on the place you feel it, and a breath to let a little of it loosen. Reflection and practice, around 10 minutes. A GENTLE NOTE This episode touches grief and loss. Be gentle with yourselfas you listen, and pause whenever you need to. If you are carrying something heavy, you do not have to carry it alone. Reaching out to someone you trust, or to a professional, is always okay. New here? Start with 5 Days of Rooted Breath, a free audioseries to help your body remember it is safe to soften. Find it at breathandbranches.com/rooted-breath/

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About

The Slow Inhale is a breathwork and sacred living podcast hosted by Gwen Gillespie Thibeaux, M.A., founder of Breath & Branches (breathandbranches.com). Each episode is an invitation to slow down, come home to your body, and tend to your inner life through breath, ritual, and somatic practice. Rooted in trauma-informed care and the wisdom of nature, this podcast is for women and femme communities ready to stop performing wellness and start living it — from the inside out. Root deep. Breathe wide. Live sacred. New episodes every Sunday.

Information

  • Creator
    Breath and Branches
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    19
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Breath and Branches
  • Show Website
    The Slow Inhale