Breathwork: A pathway to health and spiritual growth

Breathwork, an ancient practice of consciously controlling the breath, is gaining attention as a powerful tool for both physical and spiritual healing. It's a practice that goes beyond just calming the mind; it is an entryway to a quieter, more expansive state where you can access deeper layers of your being, including your spiritual gifts. Let's explore.

The Science Behind Breathwork: A Look at Body Gases

Breathing isn’t just about filling your lungs with air—it’s about the intricate exchange of gases that happens inside your body. The most important gases involved are oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide (CO2), and nitric oxide (NO). Through controlled breathwork, we influence these gases in a way that can trigger profound changes in our health and mental states.

• Oxygen (O2): This gas is essential for cellular function, energy production, and overall vitality. When we breathe deeply, oxygen is delivered to our cells more efficiently, increasing energy and supporting vital bodily functions

• Carbon Dioxide (CO2): Often seen as a waste product, CO2 plays an essential role in the oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange. Controlled breathwork often involves retaining the breath, allowing CO2 levels to rise temporarily. This triggers the Bohr effect, which increases the oxygen available to cells, thus improving energy and function. While breathing fast might bring oxygen in, it is this increase in CO2 that drives the oxygen into your cells

• Nitric Oxide (NO): NO plays a role in vasodilation, helping to increase blood flow and oxygen distribution throughout the body. Interestingly, our sinuses produce nitric oxide during nasal breathing. Certain breathwork techniques—especially slow, deep, and conscious nasal breathing—can boost nitric oxide production, enhancing blood flow and lowering stress levels

  
  

By manipulating these gases by either changing the pace of breathing, changing whether your breath is in through nose or mouth, or by breath holds, breathwork creates a state of hormetic stress in the body, fostering both physical and emotional healing. When in a breath flow incorporating breath holds and altered ways of breathing, this hormetic stress offers your body the chance for adaptation.

How Breathwork Changes the Brain

The brain is a master of adaptation, and it responds powerfully to the rhythms of our breath. In fact they say your brain is always watching your breath.

Breathwork can alter brain activity in several profound ways:

1. Brainwave Activity: Slow, deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms the body and mind. This shift results in a predominance of alpha and theta brainwaves—states that are associated with relaxation, creativity, and meditation. In these states, the mind becomes quieter, which opens up space for spiritual connection

2. Emotional Regulation: Breathwork can also trigger the release of feel-good neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. This helps to regulate mood and reduce stress, making it easier to step out of habitual thought patterns and into a space of clarity and presence

3. Neuroplasticity: Regular breathwork practice can help the brain form new neural pathways, promoting mental resilience and emotional well-being. By consciously directing your breath, you exercise the brain's ability to switch from survival-based thinking to a more expansive, calm state

   
   

In essence, breathwork has the power to shift brain chemistry in ways that foster both emotional balance and mental clarity. The quieter mind that results from these changes is where you can access deeper spiritual insights.

Ancient Traditions of Breathwork

Breathwork is not a new practice; it has been used for centuries in various spiritual and cultural traditions to facilitate healing and personal transformation. Some examples include:

• Pranayama (India): Rooted in yogic philosophy, pranayama refers to the control of breath as a means of regulating the body and mind. It is seen as a tool for spiritual awakening, helping practitioners reach states of heightened awareness and connection with the divine

• Tummo (Tibet): This practice involves a combination of breathing techniques and visualization to generate internal heat and spiritual power. It is said to awaken the body’s latent energy and increase one’s ability to access altered states of consciousness

• Holotropic Breathwork (Modern): Developed by psychiatrist Stanislav Grof, this method uses deep, accelerated breathing to induce altered states of consciousness, allowing individuals to explore the unconscious and access insights for healing and growth

  
  

In each of these traditions, breathwork is seen as a doorway to something greater—whether that’s physical healing, mental clarity, or spiritual awakening.

Breathwork: The Quiet Mind and Your Spiritual Gifts

The key to unlocking your spiritual gifts lies in the quiet mind (lower thinking, higher frequency). When you engage in breathwork, the physical act of slowing and controlling your breath allows your thoughts to settle. The more you practice, the easier it becomes to step out of the constant chatter of the mind and into a space of stillness. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for logical thinking, problem solving and reason is quietened, while the limbic system relating to emotions is awakened.

It’s in this stillness that you can access deeper insights, intuition, and your inner wisdom. Spiritual gifts—whether they’re intuitive abilities, heightened creativity, Clair senses, mediumship, or a deep sense of purpose—are often clouded or more difficult to access through mental noise. Breathwork helps to clear this fog, allowing you to connect to your higher self.

As you practice breathwork, you train the body and mind to enter a state of relaxation and receptivity. This, in turn, opens up the possibility of spiritual experiences and personal transformation. The more you cultivate this state, the more easily you can tap into the deeper wisdom within.

Breathwork and Brain Changes: Evidence from Science

Research on breathwork, particularly in the context of techniques like Holotropic Breathwork, has shown that it can trigger significant shifts in brain activity that resemble those induced by psychedelic substances. Some key similarities include:

1. Altered States of Consciousness: Just as psychedelics like psilocybin or LSD can induce altered states of consciousness, breathwork can also produce similar effects by changing brainwave patterns and promoting a shift in perception. Breathwork techniques that involve deep, fast, or rhythmic breathing can lead to hypoxic (low oxygen) or hypercapnic (high CO2) states that induce intense emotional and sensory experiences. These experiences often resemble the altered states of awareness seen during a psychedelic journey, such as a sense of timelessness, unity, or connection to something greater than oneself

   • Research by Stanislav Grof, as mentioned, a pioneer of Holotropic Breathwork, suggests that this type of deep breathing can create psychological and physiological changes comparable to those induced by psychedelics. Grof observed that breathwork could lead to altered visual experiences, vivid memories, and a sense of spiritual or mystical connection, similar to those reported by individuals on psychedelics

2. Increased Brain Connectivity: Both psychedelics and breathwork have been found to increase connectivity between different regions of the brain. Brain imaging studies on psychedelics, particularly psilocybin, have shown that psychedelics reduce the activity of the Default Mode Network (DMN)—a network associated with self-referential thinking—and increase connectivity across disparate regions of the brain that don’t normally communicate with each other. This increase in connectivity is thought to enable creative thinking, emotional release, and a broader sense of interconnectedness

   • Research on breathwork, particularly cyclic and holotropic breathing, has shown that these practices can similarly reduce DMN activity and increase connectivity between various brain regions. For example, a 2021 study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology found that Holotropic Breathwork led to a decrease in DMN activity and an increase in connectivity between regions of the brain associated with sensory processing, emotional regulation, and higher-order cognition. This suggests that breathwork can lead to similar brain rewiring as psychedelics, fostering openness, creativity, and emotional insight

3. Neuroplasticity and Emotional Processing: One of the main benefits of psychedelics is their ability to promote neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to form new neural connections and rewire itself. This can lead to lasting changes in behavior, mood, and perception. Breathwork, especially when practiced regularly, has also been shown to promote neuroplasticity and facilitate emotional processing.

   • Studies have shown that deep, conscious breathing can stimulate the vagus nerve, which is involved in emotional regulation and stress reduction. This activation of the parasympathetic nervous system helps calm the brain and body, allowing for emotional release and processing. In a similar way to psychedelics, breathwork can help individuals access repressed emotions or trauma, leading to emotional healing and greater mental clarity

4. Mystical and Transcendent Experiences: Breathwork and psychedelics are both known for inducing mystical or transcendent experiences. During these altered states, individuals may report a sense of unity with the universe, spiritual insight, or a profound connection to a higher power. This is why both breathwork and psychedelics are often used in spiritual contexts or as tools for personal growth.

   • In studies of both psychedelics and breathwork, individuals report experiences of profound interconnectedness and altered perceptions of time and space. For example, a 2019 study on the effects of deep, controlled breathing techniques like Holotropic Breathwork found that participants often described experiences of intense spiritual insight, emotional release, and a sense of merging with the universe. These types of experiences closely resemble the mystical states reported by individuals using psychedelics like psilocybin

     
     

The Mechanism of Change

The connection between breathwork and psychedelics is not just about the outward experiences, but about how they influence brain chemistry and activity. Both can trigger the release of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins, which are involved in mood regulation, pleasure, and emotional well-being. These neurochemical changes may help explain the feelings of openness, insight, and emotional release that individuals often experience during breathwork sessions, which are similar to those reported during psychedelic experiences.

While breathwork is not a psychedelic in the traditional sense, it shares many characteristics with psychedelic experiences, including its ability to shift brain activity, promote emotional release, and facilitate spiritual insight. Both practices induce altered states of consciousness, enhance brain connectivity, and foster neuroplasticity, which can lead to lasting changes in how we think, feel, and perceive the world around us.

Breathwork offers a powerful, natural alternative to psychedelics for those seeking personal transformation and spiritual growth. Through deep, controlled breathing, we can tap into the same regions of the brain and access the same inner wisdom that psychedelics provide, ultimately creating a quieter mind where spiritual gifts and personal insight can emerge.