So, What is Breathwork?

We get asked this question a lot. Much more than simple deep breathing, conscious connected breathwork is a style of breathwork that leverages faster and deeper inhales to stimulate profound shifts in awareness and emotional release. Developed as Holotropic Breath by Dr. Stanislav Grof and his wife Christina back in 1976 [1], this method accesses non-ordinary states of consciousness with potential healing properties. Let’s explore what’s happening in the brain and body during this process.

How Faster Breathing Shifts the Brain State

Normally our daily brain state resembles ocean waves – alternating cycles of electrical activity that create focus, calmness, alertness, and sleepiness [2]. Breath rate helps modulate these brain waves: Slow breathing shifts brain activity toward the relaxed, introspective wavelength theta. Rapid breathing into hyperventilation can plunge awareness into less familiar realms associated with gamma waves. This state change allows vivid thoughts, emotions, memories, sensations, and visions to rise to the surface [1].

The Bohr Effect on Overdrive

Conscious breathwork, or conscious connected breathwork, revs up the Bohr effect. Through strong, intentional inhales and exhales, practitioners force oxygen saturation and carbon dioxide levels in the bloodstream outside normal ranges. This disrupts homeostasis - our typical physiological equilibrium - so the brain rushes to make sense of all the unusual chemical signals [3]. Pushing past normal limits, cell metabolism accelerates. As tissues release more carbon dioxide, blood pH rises, hemoglobin binds tighter to oxygen, and circulation increases [4]. With this amplified Bohr effect, more oxygen feeds energetic electrical brain activity, while excess carbon dioxide likely stimulates nerve cell connections [1].

Flooding Your System With Two Key Neurochemicals

Faster inhales also draw more oxygen into the lungs where it interacts with the enzyme MAO to produce traces of the psychedelic compound DMT endogenous to our nervous system [1]. At the same time, sped-up breathing depletes blood carbon dioxide levels. Since CO2 helps regulate blood flow, pressure decreases in cerebral arteries while glial cell activity increases. This combination elevates adenosine - a neuromodulator that inhibits synapse activity [3]. The interplay between rising endogenous DMT, increasing adenosine, and a disrupted acid-base balance creates the signature hallmarks of the altered states we experience - senses blend together in synesthesia, the meaning of time shifts, identity expands, vivid visualizations appear, and long-forgotten memories resurface [3].

Activating the Parasympathetic Nervous System

Just as in basic breathwork, stimulating the vagus nerve signals safety to shift brain chemistry. However, as carbon dioxide continues to plummet with prolonged faster breathing rhythms, warning systems eventually tell us to slow down a bit. So as practitioners learn to sustain hyperventilation without passing out, they surf the choppy waves between anxious sympathetic fight-or-flight arousal and chilled-out parasympathetic relaxation bliss [4]. This yields emotional breakthroughs and healing sensations compressed into an intense and often psychedlic journey [1].

Come Back to Baseline

Once breathwork participants have experienced the journey, experienced leaders guide them to gradually normalize their breathing [1]. This stabilizes blood gases, metabolic processes, and electrical brain rhythms until everyone returns to coherent consciousness [4]. Bringing expanded awareness into everyday states after a session offers lasting benefits to mental health, conscious connections, and even addiction recovery [1].

*References: [1] Grof, S. (2010). Holotropic breathwork: a new approach to self-exploration and therapy. [2] Takahashi, T. (2015). Neural mechanisms of sleep control. Neuroscientist, 21(4), 338–352. [3] Mossbridge, J., Grabowecky, M., & Suzuki, S. (2011). Physiological markers for state of consciousness altered by changes in breathing gases. Subtle Energies & Energy Medicine, 20(3). [4] Rhinewine, J. P., & Williams, O. J. (2007). Holotropic Breathwork: the potential role of a prolonged, voluntary hyperventilation procedure as an adjunct to psychotherapy. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 13(7), 771–776.*