What is Breathwork?
How breathwork can help you to regulate your nervous system, release emotions, and heal from trauma.
What is Breathwork?
You've started taking better care of yourself, have taken advantage of therapy offered through your insurance, and maybe even started to establish some habits that work for you - but you’re still feeling like you need something else.
You’re now curious to explore alternative healing modalities but there’s so much out there these days, that it feels a bit overwhelming and like you’re unsure of where or how to start.
You find yourself wondering -
“How can I feel more safe in body?”
“How can I feel more present in my day-to-day?”
or “How can I feel my feelings instead of just thinking about them?”
Unfortunately, many women today are going through exactly what you’re going through. For far too long, the Western Medical System has ignored simple, effective, and accessible modalities because it won’t make them any money.
Finding an alternative healing modality that works for you can challenging, but with a breathwork practice, it doesn’t have to be.
Why Does Breathwork Work?
Its important to note that there are different types of breathwork. I meet many clients who think breathing patterns done in and out of the nose (similar to those in yoga classes) are breathwork. While they are indeed breathing patterns, the type of breathing that I consider to be breathwork is much different. The breathwork technique I am trained in and offer my clients is done in and out of the mouth. Breathing intentionally in out and out of the mouth does what breathing in and out of the nose cannot. Breathing in this way allows you to:
Stimulate your vagus nerve and help you shift from fight or flight into a rest and digest state
Access unconscious parts of your brain and nervous system that you would not otherwise have access to
Increase your Heart Rate Variability (HRV), lowering biomarkers for stress, improving cognitive functioning, heightening physical and psychological resilience, and enhancing the autonomic sympathovagal modulation, which lessens the “fight-or-flight” response.
Activate DMT in the brain which can support deep emotional and spiritual experiences.
Shift the balance between the body’s carbon dioxide and oxygen levels, prompting changes in states of consciousness as well as changes in physiology.
Things to Consider Before Begining Breathwork
For a moderately healthy person, breathwork itself is very safe. Possible physical side effects may include:
Temporary numbing of the mouth and other body parts
Tingling sensations
Muscle contractions or clenched hands
Dizziness or nausea
Acute pain
and emotional experiences like tears or laughter
This practice is not recommended for those:
Pregnant individuals or those with potential pregnancy
Cardiovascular disease history
Seizures
Uncontrolled blood pressure
Glaucoma,
Osteoporosis
Severe mental illness
or recent physical injuries or surgery.
There have been no reported deaths or heart attacks from breathwork. But from what I’ve experienced in my practice, as well as seeing what’s happening in the industry, for this practice to be effective, this work needs to be guided and offered in a trauma-informed way. This practice is very powerful and it can take you into states where you are very vulnerable.
In our society, we tend to push and seek out “peak” or “cathartic” experiences with intense screaming and crying. To minimize the risk of retraumatization, its important that these moments are met in a trauma-informed and emotionally safe way. In addition, I have many women come to me thinking that a single breathwork session can heal years worth of anxiety, depression, and mental health challenges. While it can offer a profoundly healing experience, its not a “quick fix”. Recovering from the painful memories of the past takes a great deal of time, compassion, and care. With the support of a trained professional, for a consistent amount of time, breathwork has the potential to be life-changing.