Breath is always with us. It arrives before language, before memory, before identity, and yet in the rush of modern life it is often the last thing we notice.
We gasp for it in moments of fear. We forget it in moments of distraction.
On Breath That Changes Everything, Sean Fargo talks with Anthony Abbagnano, founder of Alchemy of Breath, about conscious connected breathing: the lineage from the Buddhist practice of anapanasati, how Anthony trains breathwork facilitators, and what he says happens in the body and in the inner work that follows.
It is aimed at therapists, coaches, educators, parents, and anyone curious about breathwork, and it includes a few practices to try.
Sponsored by the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification MindfulnessExercises.com/Certification
Episode Overview:
Topics Covered:
- The lineage from Anapanasati to conscious connected breathing
- Nervous system regulation and CO₂ physiology
- Facilitator training and inner work
- Holding space for trauma, grief, and end-of-life
- Breathwork in relationships, classrooms, and leadership
- The billion-breath vision: 10 to the power of nine
Resources:Visit Anthony’s work at Alchemy of Breath
Show Notes:
Breath as a Living Lineage
Long before breathwork studios and wellness trends, there was Anapanasati—the Buddhist practice of mindful breathing. At its core, Anapanasati is about awareness: noticing the breath as it is, without force or control.
Conscious connected breathing grows from this same root but follows a different doorway.
Rather than counting breaths or regulating the inhale and exhale, this practice invites continuity—a gentle, unbroken flow where the inhale rolls naturally into the exhale, and the exhale gives way to the next inhale.
No pauses. No forcing. No striving.
Just presence.
Anthony says the game is to surrender and to allow. He contrasts it with pranayama, which he describes as energy and control: “This is the energy without the control.”
From Control to Surrender: How Connected Breathing Differs
Many traditional breathing practices focus on control: counting, holding, pacing. These methods can be helpful, especially for building awareness and discipline. Anthony distinguishes conscious connected breathing from a pattern such as four counts in and eight out, which he says anyone can do and teach.
His explanation of what happens physiologically:
- Breathing this way increases oxygen flow in the bloodstream and decreases carbon dioxide
- Less oxygen goes to the frontal lobe, which he says interferes with mental processing
- The usual stream of thoughts quiets, and he asks what exists in the space between thought
Anthony says some of what happens can be completely unexpected. He describes a trauma as a moment when “we lost our breath,” and a conscious breath now as a way to make “a conscious choice to take a breath from now back to then.” In his words, “there is a sense of healing.”
Holding Space: Why the Inner Work Matters
One of the most striking parts of this conversation is Anthony’s description of facilitator training at Alchemy of Breath.
Students don’t just learn how to guide sessions. They do an inner journey of their own and are asked to know themselves deeply.
This includes:
- Writing a full autobiography, at least 50 words for every seven years of life, starting with the seven years before birth
- Exploring birth imprints and early conditioning
- Practicing in real-world environments early on
- Learning to sit with grief, trauma, and end-of-life experiences
Why?
Because when a breather goes into very deep spaces, Anthony says, it is imperative that the facilitator can be right alongside them. He adds that one of his facilitators supports people in Canada’s MAID program, which requires someone ready to face their own death.
Speaking From Stillness
Anthony describes a practice he calls Alchemy meditation, which he says is similar to vipassana except that the facilitators speak from a deep state of meditation and stay in conversation with the breather. He says this lets them communicate from a “deep, slow, still space of awareness,” and that it helps people feel safe.
Everyday Miracles: Breath in Real Life
Anthony tells a few short stories from his own life and work:
- Couples: he and his wife, Amy, have an agreement that either of them can say “ten breaths” in the middle of an argument. They sit, look at each other, and take ten breaths.
- Classrooms: his niece, a breathworker, led free sessions after each break and first thing in the morning at a charter school in Oakland, and he says hers was the only class where everybody was on time.
- Practitioners: he says he turned an unhappy, marginalized childhood into an asset, and calls his work a move from survival to service.
The Hero’s Journey of the Breath
Anthony says he leans on Joseph Campbell’s work on the hero’s journey, and his inner journey workshops at Asha are inspired by it.
From it he takes the idea that there is always something waiting to happen, and he asks how life can become effortless rather than a struggle upstream.
A Billion Breaths: A Vision for Collective Regulation
Alchemy of Breath has a motto, 10 to the power of nine. If ten people each get ten more people to breathe, and that happens nine times, it reaches one billion people.
Anthony says that if a billion people took ten breaths at the same time, “everything would change.” Sean says he will play his part in the 10 by 9.
How to Begin: Simple Practices You Can Try Today
You don’t need training or equipment to start exploring this work.
Here are three entry points drawn from the conversation:
1. Try a Short Connected Breathing Sequence
Set aside a few minutes. Breathe in through the mouth or nose. Let the exhale flow into the next inhale. No pauses. No forcing. If emotions arise, stay with the breath.
2. Write Your Life Arc
Try a few pages of your own autobiography, as Anthony’s facilitator students do.
3. The Ten-Breath Reset
The next time tension arises with someone you love, pause and take ten conscious breaths together, looking at each other, as Anthony and his wife do. Notice what changes.
A Final Invitation
Take a moment now. Feel your breath. Let it move without fixing it.
Then, if this practice resonated, share this episode with one person who might enjoy it.
Anthony’s closing message: “you never know when you’ve only got ten breaths left. So make each one count.”
Additional Resources:
- Free Training with Sean Fargo: How to Teach Mindfulness With Confidence & Credibility
- Certification: Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification
- Blog: How to Record a Meditation: The Ultimate Guide Based on Sean Fargo’s Expertise
- Blog: 60+ Self Care Quotes: Inspiration for a Balanced Life


