Energetic Wellbeing in the Workplace and Cultivating Coherence in the Modern World of Work
Written by Richard Harrison, Founder of Compassionate Breath | Breath, Sound & Meditation Facilitator
Richard Harrison is a Harmonic Resonance Guide and founder of Compassionate Breath. With a rich background in yoga, meditation, and breathwork, he empowers individuals to transform trauma into resilience through his unique blend of breath, sound, and symbolic geometry.
In a world of constant connectivity and competing demands, the workplace can be a source of achievement, but also of stress and depletion. Organisations increasingly recognise the importance of employee wellbeing, yet the pressures of modern working life can leave little room to pause, reflect and reconnect.
What if workplace wellbeing included not only how we think and move, but also how we breathe, listen and experience the environments around us?
I use the term energetic wellbeing to describe our felt sense of vitality, balance and connection, and how this can be influenced by our breathing, surroundings, interactions and opportunities for stillness. It brings together practical wellbeing approaches with a wider interest in awareness, resonance and our relationship with the world around us.
By incorporating breath, sound, stillness and creative exploration into working life, organisations can offer people opportunities to pause and experience a different rhythm within the working day.
Understanding energetic wellbeing
Energetic wellbeing is not a single clinical measure or a formally defined scientific discipline. In this article, it provides a framework for exploring how our sense of energy, attention and connection relates to our internal experience and the environments we inhabit.
Four elements are central to this approach.
Breath: Returning to the present
Breathing is something we do continuously, often without noticing it. Bringing gentle awareness to the breath can create an opportunity to pause and settle. Slow, comfortable breathing has been associated with changes in heart rate variability, a measure of variation in the time between heartbeats.[1]
Sound: Creating space to listen
Sound influences how we experience an environment. Music and gentle acoustic sounds can become part of a relaxing or reflective experience, offering a change of pace from the usual workplace noise. Singing bowls, chimes and other instruments can be incorporated into guided sound sessions, although individual responses will vary and the evidence for specific therapeutic effects is still developing.[2]
Stillness: Making room for awareness
A brief period of quiet, meditation or reflection can interrupt the momentum of a busy day. Stillness is not about emptying the mind or achieving a particular state. It is an invitation to notice what is happening, without immediately needing to respond.
Creative exploration: Seeing things differently
Visual art, reflective prompts and creative practices can offer alternative ways of engaging with an environment or an experience. Thoughtfully chosen artwork and quieter spaces may help create an atmosphere that feels more conducive to reflection. Their value lies in the experience and meaning they offer, rather than any assumed universal effect.
Together, these elements provide a flexible approach to creating moments of pause, awareness and reconnection.
The cost of ignoring wellbeing
When people spend prolonged periods under pressure, the effects can become visible in many ways. Tiredness, irritability, difficulty concentrating and a feeling of disconnection can all make working life more challenging.
These experiences rarely have a single cause. Workload, uncertainty, the physical environment, relationships and the degree of control people have over their work can all play a part.
Individual wellbeing practices cannot resolve every workplace difficulty. A breathing exercise will not compensate for an unmanageable workload, and a relaxing sound session cannot replace supportive leadership or healthy working conditions.
However, creating opportunities to pause can be one part of a wider culture that recognises people as human beings, not simply as units of productivity.
For me, this understanding is personal.
From survival to a different perspective
There was a time when I felt caught in a cycle of stress, anxiety and depletion. I woke up tired, carried tension through the day and measured my experience by how much I endured rather than by what I found meaningful.
Gradually, I began exploring breathing practices and ways of managing stress. Conscious breathing gave me an opportunity to pause, notice my experience and approach difficult moments differently.
Over time, this became part of a wider personal journey involving yoga, meditation, relaxation and sound. These practices did not remove every challenge, but they helped me discover the value of creating space rather than remaining caught in the momentum of everyday life.
That experience helped shape the work I do today through Compassionate Breath, sharing practices that invite others to pause, breathe and reconnect with themselves.
It also influenced my interest in bringing these experiences into the workplace, where the pressures of modern life can make such pauses especially valuable.
Bringing wellbeing into the working day
Energetic wellbeing need not begin with a substantial programme or a complete redesign of the working environment. Small, voluntary practices can provide a starting point.
1. Introduce breathing pauses
Invite employees to take a few minutes to settle before a meeting or at a natural break in the day. Encourage gentle, comfortable breathing rather than demanding a particular rhythm.
For those who find paced breathing comfortable, a simple pattern is to breathe in gently for about five seconds and out for about five seconds, without holding the breath. The timing should be adjusted to the individual, and anyone who feels uncomfortable or light-headed should return to their natural breathing.
A simple practice: The coherence breath
Sit comfortably, with your feet supported and your shoulders relaxed.
Bring your attention to your natural breathing.
If it feels comfortable, gradually allow the breath to become slower and steadier, without forcing it.
Continue for a minute or two, noticing the gentle rhythm of breathing.
If helpful, use a simple reflection on the inhale, such as “I am here”, and on the exhale, “I allow myself to pause”.
There is no need to achieve a particular result. The purpose is simply to create a moment of awareness within the working day.
2. Make space for sound and stillness
Consider offering optional guided relaxation, meditation or sound sessions as part of a wellbeing day or staff programme. Live instruments and gentle sound can provide a distinctive experience, while quiet spaces can offer employees somewhere to pause away from busy environments.
Preferences differ, so participation should be voluntary, with quiet alternatives available for anyone who does not find sound-based practices comfortable.
3. Consider the surrounding environment
Lighting, noise, layout and visual surroundings influence how a space is experienced. Plants, artwork and thoughtfully arranged quiet areas can help make spaces feel more welcoming and provide opportunities for reflection.
Some people also find symbolic imagery or geometric artwork personally meaningful. These can be included as creative or aesthetic choices, without assuming that any particular design has a proven physiological effect.
4. Let leadership set the tone
Wellbeing is influenced by the wider culture of an organisation. Leaders can help by taking breaks themselves, encouraging reasonable boundaries, listening to staff concerns and making time for reflection.
The aim is not to add another obligation to an already busy schedule. It is to make wellbeing part of how work is approached.
Evaluating what works
Workplace wellbeing initiatives should respond to the needs of the people taking part. Simple feedback can help organisations understand whether a session feels useful, accessible and appropriate.
Anonymous feedback, voluntary participation and short follow-up questions can provide insight into how employees experience an initiative and whether they would like similar opportunities in future.
Heart rate variability may be useful in specific research or biofeedback settings, but it is not a simple measure of an individual's wellbeing, resilience or workplace performance. There is usually no need to collect physiological data to evaluate a short relaxation or sound session.
The most useful measure is whether an initiative offers something genuinely valuable to the people involved, while sitting alongside wider efforts to create healthy working conditions.
A more human approach to work
Energetic wellbeing invites us to broaden the way we think about our experience of work. Alongside physical health and mental resilience, there is value in paying attention to our breathing, our surroundings, our interactions and our opportunities to be still.
Breath, sound, reflection and creative exploration are not universal solutions, and they should not be presented as substitutes for addressing the underlying causes of workplace stress. They can, however, offer accessible ways to create moments of pause within the working day.
For me, the principle is simple: when we make room to breathe, listen and reconnect, we create an opportunity to meet the rest of the day with greater awareness.
The future of workplace wellbeing need not be about adding more to the schedule. Sometimes, it begins by making a little space.
Bringing energetic wellbeing into your workplace
Compassionate Breath offers workplace experiences combining guided breathing, live sound, stillness and creative exploration. From shorter workplace resets to immersive sessions and bespoke team retreats, each experience can be shaped around the people, environment and intentions involved.
For organisations interested in exploring a different approach to workplace wellbeing, visit here.
Read more from Richard Harrison
Richard Harrison, Founder of Compassionate Breath | Breath, Sound & Meditation Facilitator
Richard Harrison is a Harmonic Resonance Guide and the founder of Compassionate Breath, where he integrates compassion, stillness, and remembering to help individuals transform trauma into resilience. Through a unique blend of breath, sound, and symbolic geometry, he empowers others to reclaim their sovereignty and live authentically. Richard’s mission is to harmonise the human experience through coherence and compassion, offering transformative practices that resonate deeply with those seeking healing and alignment.
References:
[1] Laborde, S. et al. (2022). “Effects of voluntary slow breathing on heart rate and heart rate variability: A systematic review and a meta-analysis.” Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 138, 104711.
[2] Cai, Y. et al. (2025). “Therapeutic effects of singing bowls: A systematic review of clinical studies.” Integrative Medicine Research, 14(2), 101144.
