Black Girls Breathing
Rooted in her own experiences navigating the corporate world and witnessing the physical toll of stress, Jasmine Marie turned to breathwork — conscious, controlled breathing that functions as a mindfulness technique to calm the mind and body. She spent 6 years practicing and deepening her understanding before founding her company, Black Girls Breathing, in 2019. been helping Black women breathe easier through this work for six years.
Now, she’s made the practice even more accessible with her book, also called Black Girls Breathing. In it, she’s written a love letter and a soft guide to Black women on how to take care of ourselves with something as simple as our own breath.
Black Girls Breathing/Instagram
“We have the power to reset our nervous system,” Marie tells ESSENCE. At the heart of Black Girls breathing is the radical simplicity and power of breathwork. She emphasizes how something as fundamental as deep, intentional breathing can be life-changing. “Breathwork activates our biggest nerve, the main nerve in our parasympathetic nervous system.”
In this book, Marie takes readers on a journey through the lived experiences of Black women, offering a practical guide to healing — beginning with recognizing how trauma manifests in the body. “When it comes to Black people and the generational trauma that we’ve been through, our nervous systems are in constant fight-or-flight. That’s our baseline,” she explains. “So this natural thing in our bodies, our parasympathetic nervous system, that’s supposed to help us combat stress, anxiety and fatigue doesn’t even turn on with us because we’re chronically stressed. We can use breathwork to heal our nervous system and create a new baseline.”
Breathwork expert Jasmine Marie encourages Black women to redefine success, embrace growth and heal—one breath at a time.
Chronic stress disproportionately impacts Black women and is a major contributor to the onset of serious health conditions. For Black women, who continue to face health disparities as access to public health resources have become more in jeopardy, preventative healthcare, like breathwork, is especially crucial. “A lot of us don’t have health insurance or can’t afford traditional talk therapy, so something as accessible as the scientific and therapeutic act of inhaling and exhaling is revolutionary,” says the breathwork expert and debut author.
Beyond its physiological benefits, Marie views this practice as a pathway to reclaiming our lives with intention and joy. “I’m not neglecting our position in the world, but equipping us with the tools to face it,” said Marie. In the Finding Freedom Despite Oppression chapter, she explores how Black women can cultivate moments of internal liberation even when external conditions remain unchanged.
This is especially relevant in today’s political climate, where Black women are often at the forefront of social movements while navigating policies that threaten our well-being. Marie addresses the weight of this duality, emphasizing the importance of practices like breathwork to preserve, sustain and thrive in the face of relentless demands.
Black Girls Breathing/ Instagram.
Marie says that Black Girls Breathing encourages Black women to find freedom despite systemic oppression, challenge perfectionism by reframing failure as an opportunity for growth, and redefine success on your own terms. Ultimately, this book is an invitation to heal.
Her work challenges the pervasive narrative that Black women must constantly perform strength without pause. Instead, she offers a pathway to softness, self-care and liberation. Her book reminds readers that healing is not only possible, it’s essential. It highlights how, by embracing breathwork, Black women can reclaim our health and overall wellness — empowering us to live fuller, freer lives.
In a world that demands so much of Black women, Marie’s message is clear: healing and wellness begin with something as simple — and as profound — as a single breath.
No More Waiting To Exhale: New Book
