Breathwork Basics

All of us reading this (and as I write this) are breathing at a certain pace, either primarily in our chest or belly exchanging a constant stream of carbon and oxygen. We do it every day, in every moment that we are alive. When our breath speeds up, it usually means that we are attempting to respond to a stimuli, taking in more oxygen to feed our muscles and tissues. Unfortunately, the speed and pace of our current culture has led to an overstimulation of this stress response, so many are chronically over-breathing with shallow, restricted breaths higher up in the chest reducing our diaphragmatic capacity. When we are relaxed, our breath tends to slow and move into our belly where the diaphragm is allowed to move more freely and activates the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system is our rest, digest and heal side of the nervous system. It’s meant to be both the brakes and neutral, whereas the sympathetic nervous system is meant to be the accelerator, only to be used when you need it.

Why is how we breathe important? Well, if you are chronically stressed and not managing the stress response through some vehicle of mindfulness, dysfunctions in breathing may contribute to:

Increased heart rate; blood pressure, respiration rate, perspiration rate; blood platelet production; glucose levels; cortisol levels, decreasing or ceasing digestion and decreasing access to the functions of the pre-frontal cortex of the brain.

Signs of over-breathing may include:

Frequent sighing + yawning, breathing discomfort, disturbed sleep, erratic heartbeats, anxiety, pins and needles, gut issues, clammy hands, chest pains, fatigue, achy muscles and joints.

At times, an acute stress response is completely appropriate for your system, but having a body in chronic stress (often via psychological and/or physical stimuli) can lead to abnormal levels of some of these markers and an accumulation of unexpressed stress in the body which can manifest in a number of detrimental ways.

Breathwork is one tool of many that could help us manage this stress response while increasing our diaphragmatic capacity.

Breathwork comes in many variations, but the one we are talking about here is psychedelic breathwork. Psychedelic means ‘mind manifesting’ and as compared to other types of pranayama, this breath can catapult you into other dimensions of consciousness. But before we get into that, let’s continue our focus on the nervous system. This breath also seems to help re-structure the autonomic nervous system through a simulation of a stress response followed by a relaxation response. For those of us that have suffered from autonomic nervous system dysfunction (raises hand), this can be an interesting tool to work with to re-teach the nervous system how to move back into a healthy rhythm.

I credit breathwork with helping me come back from the dire whole system impact of a really severe respiratory illness (can you guess). This was major news to me because up until recently, it was thought that the autonomic nervous system was completely outside of our influence, now we are finding that the breath is the key for the autonomic door.

Also, for those with autoimmune issues, there is preliminary evidence that breathwork may help resolve the immune response. This seems to happen through the release of epinephrine triggered by the intermittent respiratory alkalosis induced by this breath. Respiratory alkalosis is related to hypocapnia where the CO2 levels are reduced causing all sorts of reactions in the body, most of which seem to be beneficial such as CO2 tolerance and improved sleep.

Now, this isn’t to say this breath is for everyone. If you are already chronically over-breathing, I’ve found that this breath can be more intense. This is likely because there is already a low CO2 level in the body (also related to increased anxiety) and you are CO2 sensitive. If this is the case, it’s not necessarily dangerous, it’s just that you can move through the experience faster and more intensely. As long as you have a well attuned guide, they can help you work through this process and come out the other side with a host of improvements. Ultimately, you have to experiment for yourself and see where the balance is with edging yourself into a new paradigm, and listening to your intuition on whether this is right for you.

Now how do we actually do this breath?

We use a 3-part breath that is focused on the belly, chest and gentle exhale. This is deep mouth breathing, which chronically is not a great idea but used very intentionally can open up your system to a host of beneficial shifts. One of those is easier access to the unbounded states of awareness. Oh yes, now we are getting into the spiritual realm.

One hypothesis on how this psychedelic response happens in this breathwork is possibly through the release of DMT (N, N-dimethyltryptamine) which is also involved in psychedelics like ayahuasca. While this has yet to be proven (and there may be other brain chemicals involved) it will not be a surprise when this link, or something similar, is made.

I like to think of a breathwork session as a consciousness reset. It digs in deep into what you’ve been holding yourself back from. It’s an opportunity to move serious energy and to release things that may have been rather sticky in your emotional and energetic system. It’s one of the best tools I know of to do so.

And you also have the opportunity to move outside of yourself into unbounded experiences which are different variations of sensations for everyone. That alone is worth a session, in my opinion. While you may not be able to carry it with you into every single moment from there, once you experience it, your perspective is forever shifted.

With a set intention, a focus on the belly breathing and an open mind, many experience profound experiences usually along the lines of repressed emotions coming to the surface, deep insights into their lives and even a deepening connection to their joy. This has become so valuable (and easy to access) that groups like the Navy Seals are taking breathwork classes to work through their emotional landscapes.

It’s worth trying! If you have any other questions, feel free to message us.

And don’t forget to breathe with intention!