A Personal Account: Beating Monday Blues Through Breathwork

Monday hit me like a truck. Fatigued from a busy weekend and the box of chocolates I ate Sunday night (it was Mother’s Day, after all), my body on Monday morning felt sluggish, and my mind was scattered. I wanted to stay on the couch with my coffee and feel sorry for myself. But I knew better from experience. I got up, went through the motions, which included a gym session, but I still couldn’t shake off the Monday blues. Luckily, I block Mondays from calls, so performance wasn’t required. I moped through the day doing the bare minimum, feeling the weight of the sluggishness, but knowing deep down that I needed to shift it. By the evening, after I put Noah to bed, I made the decision—no distractions, no excuses. It was time for a full-on Breathwork session. Beating Monday Blues Through Breathwork was needed. If you’ve never done breathwork before, words won’t do it justice, but I’ll do my best to take you inside the experience.

Settling In—The Resistance Kicks In

I start by simply relaxing my body in a flat, lying-down position. If I can relax the body, the mind will follow. But my mind isn’t cooperating just yet.

“I could be watching White Lotus right now.”

“I hope Noah doesn’t wake up crying.”

“Ah f$%#, this is going to be hard.”

The thoughts bounce around like a ping-pong match. Normal. Expected. I keep breathing.

The Breathwork Begins—Breaking Through the Noise

The music builds, and I shift into conscious connected breathing—inhaling through the nose, exhaling through the mouth without pauses. Faster than normal, filling my belly and chest fully before letting go. This is where the resistance shows up. My mind tries to negotiate a break. My body wants to slow down.

But I’ve done this enough to know—if I push through, something deeper is waiting. So I keep going. The music intensifies. I switch to mouth breathing to increase airflow, taking it deeper. The chatter in my head fades. My body starts to tingle; energy moves through me. I'm no longer "breathing"—I’m being breathed.

The Shift—When Thinking Stops and Feeling Takes Over

The track changes. A heavy drumbeat. A Viking chant. My body shakes, energy moving freely. No overanalyzing, no judgment—just surrendering.

This is what people don’t understand about breathwork. It’s not just deep breathing—it’s unlocking something buried. Stress, past experiences, emotions you’ve suppressed for years. Sometimes it’s subtle, a tightness in the chest you didn’t notice before. Other times, it hits like a wave—a tension, a memory, an emotion—moving through you, demanding to be felt before it can finally be released. And once it moves, the feeling is unreal.

By this point, I’ve lost track of time. The breath carries me. The music guides me. I’m floating somewhere between deep presence and something I can’t quite explain.

Stillness—The Moment of Peace

The music softens, and I finally exhale completely and hold my breath.

Stillness.

The peace is impossible to describe, like slipping into a vast, silent space where everything makes sense. Years ago, I used to drink a glass of wine or smoke a cigarette searching for this feeling. It was never there. But here, in this breath, it just is.

I inhale deeply, holding at the top. A white light appears behind my eyes. My mind is silent.

Winding Down—A New Perspective

As the session winds down, I open my eyes. The Monday blues? Gone. The scattered mind? Clear. The need to numb out on TV or sugar? Nonexistent. I am reset. I hear my son crying. Normally, I might have felt frustration breaking my downtime, but not now. I walk into his room, pick him up, and hold him close. There’s nothing else I need.

Breathwork Benefits Beyond Beating Monday Blues

I’ve been practicing breathwork for years now, and while it brings phenomenal levels of peace, it hasn’t always been smooth. Some of my earlier sessions cracked open layers of emotional blocks, bringing plenty of tears with them. But that’s part of the process—clearing what needs to be released so you can access more of yourself.

I know firsthand how powerful this work is. I’ve guided myself through resistance, through doubt, through deep emotions I didn’t even realize I was holding. And each time, breathwork brought me back—to clarity, to peace, to a version of myself that felt more whole.

It’s not about being fearless; it’s about facing what’s there and breathing through it. And with time, the noise quietens, the clarity deepens, and life feels lighter. This is why I do breathwork. Not for the science (which is solid). Not for the trendiness. But because it works on any day needed, not just for the Monday blues. It clears the noise, resets the body, and brings you back to what actually matters.

If any of this resonates, you need to try it for yourself—either in a 1:1 session, as a couple, or as part of my weekly group sessions. You can even start with a free trial. This week would be a great time to start—the monthly special is this Saturday, April 5th, at 11 AM (Dublin, Ireland time).

Come experience it for yourself.

www.resetwithrichie.com/groupbreathwork

April's Group Breathwork Session Schedule

(Times listed are Dublin, Ireland)