Marilyn Immoos Langlois

University of Vienna, Switzerland

Title: Mindful Breathing With Music: From Clinical Roots To an Accessible Wellness Practice

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Biography

Marilyn Immoos-Langlois, Ph.D. is a psychologist, composer, and developer of Mindful Breathing with Music (MBM), an evidence-informed wellness approach integrating diaphragmatic breathing, grounded attention, and original music to support emotional regulation and well-being. She earned a Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of Innsbruck and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Vienna, complemented by advanced musical studies at the New England Conservatory and the Mozarteum University Salzburg. During an analytical music therapy internship at the Psychiatric University Hospital Basel in the mid-1980s, she began developing resonance-based methods integrating breath, voice, imagery, and embodied attention. These concepts were presented internationally and further refined through the Center for the Psychology of Voice in Zurich (1991–2003). After relocating to the United States, she completed postdoctoral training at California State University, Sacramento, and spent two decades with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation as a Senior Psychologist Specialist, where she spearheaded statewide online mental health training and founded the APA-accredited Statewide Psychology Internship Program. All music used in MBM is composed by Dr. Immoos-Langlois to support the method's regulatory objectives.

Abstract

Objective: This presentation introduces Mindful Breathing with Music (MBM), a secular wellness approach intended to support relaxation, physiological settling, and steady attention. It examines how regulatory practices first used in therapeutic settings were adapted into a resource for everyday use, and considers MBM’s potential place within mental health promotion.

Approach: MBM developed through several decades of practice, beginning with work in psychiatric and therapeutic settings in the late 1980s. Early work, referred to as Resonance Therapy, brought together breath, voice, resonance, and guided imagery to support grounding and a sense of emotional safety. Subsequent applications in education, performance, leadership development, and wellness informed a progressive refinement of the approach. The current format begins with brief spoken guidance in natural diaphragmatic breathing and grounded awareness, followed by original piano music without narration. Listeners are invited to follow their own breathing rhythm; no counting, musical ability, or meditation experience is required.

Outcome: This developmental process produced a structured, accessible format that retains the use of breath, attention, and sound while reducing demands on the listener. MBM is offered as an evidence-informed wellness resource, not as psychotherapy or a treatment for mental disorders. Its proposed regulatory benefits have not yet been established through a formal outcome study.

Conclusion: MBM illustrates one way that practices informed by clinical experience can be translated into a non-pathologizing resource for daily life. The presentation will discuss its conceptual foundations, practical use, and questions for future evaluation, including accessibility, listener experience, and its possible contribution to preventive well-being initiatives.