Breath Out
Breath Out
You Don’t Get “The First Few Minutes”
People often say to me, “Oh Louise, I’m fine once I get through the first few minutes.”
Here’s the inconvenient truth: you don’t have that luxury.
On Friday, I had the pleasure of watching Canada’s Player of the Year and WTA Newcomer of the Year, 19-year-old Victoria Mboko, play at the Australian Open. She is an extraordinary talent — raw power, speed, and composure well beyond her years.
Yet early in the match, something was off. She was striking the ball with force, but repeatedly hitting it into the net. Then, partway through, everything changed. Her accuracy returned and she went on to win both the set and the match.
I couldn’t help myself. Even at the tennis, I never turn off my eyes or ears.
What caught my attention was not her swing, but her walk. As Mboko moved into position early in the game, her legs were thrown forward with locked, forcefully straightened knees.
There’s an old principle in performance disciplines: jammed knees mean a jammed diaphragm.
In plain terms, she was likely holding her breath.
Breath-holding under pressure is common — and costly. It destabilises the body, disrupts timing, and sends energy downward. In tennis, that often means balls driven straight into the net. Once her breathing settled, so did her game.
Of course, elite performance is complex, and I could be wrong. But the broader lesson holds whether you are playing tennis, singing opera, or standing in front of your executive team: when things go wrong, we often look in the wrong place for the fix.
James Nestor, in his international bestseller Breath, explores the science behind ancient breathing practices such as Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya and Tummo. His most counter-intuitive finding? In high-stress situations, the key is not breathing in — it’s breathing out.
We breathe roughly 25,000 times a day, yet as a species we have largely forgotten how to breathe well. Nestor devotes half his book to the power of the exhale.
The same principle holds in voice and leadership. Recently, international opera singer Jeffrey Black shared this insight with me about performing under pressure:
“As you know, Lou, it is the exhalation that sets you up for a deep, satisfying breath — not over-tanking, which creates unnecessary tension. Before a big double phrase (or, in corporate terms, an important shareholder-calming address), being brave enough to expel the air allows the body to draw breath naturally and efficiently.”
It is deeply counter-intuitive — and profoundly effective.
I have said this for years, and I will keep saying it: leadership presence does not come from taking more breath. It comes from letting go first.
If this challenges what you have been taught, pause and reflect. As Jeffrey noted, it takes courage to abandon the reassuring habit of “taking” breath. But it may be exactly what unlocks your steadiness, clarity and authority.
I would recommend it for Victoria Mboko.
And I recommend it for you.
Love,
Dr Louise Mahler