Objectives This study examined the effectiveness of an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Breathing Education (MBBE) program on pre-service teachers with self-reported communication difficulties, targeting communication skills, emotional regulation, and perceived professional preparedness, addressing a critical gap in teacher preparation programs.Methods A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was employed with 50 pre-service teachers from two Turkish universities who scored below the median on a preliminary communication assessment. Participants were randomly assigned to an MBBE intervention group (n = 25) or a wait-list control group (n = 25), receiving one 75-minute session weekly for 8 weeks. Validated scales assessed mindfulness, communication skills, and emotional regulation pre- and post-intervention and at 3-month follow-up; perceived professional preparedness was assessed through semi-structured interviews, analyzed thematically with member checking and triangulation.Results The intervention group showed significant improvements relative to controls in communication skills (d = 1.12, p < .001), mindfulness (d = 0.94, p < .001), and emotional regulation (d = 0.88, p < .01). Thematic analysis revealed four themes: enhanced emotional self-regulation, improved interpersonal communication, increased perceived professional confidence, and practice sustainability challenges. Most participants (97.8%) reported meaningful communication gains, while 24% experienced difficulty maintaining regular practice afterward.Conclusions MBBE shows significant promise for enhancing communication skills and emotional regulation among pre-service teachers with communication difficulties. Combining mindfulness principles with breathing techniques offers a practical approach for teacher preparation. Findings support integrating mindfulness-based interventions into teacher education, though generalizability to all pre-service teachers warrants caution given the targeted sample.