Breathwork for Healing
Incorporating breathwork techniques into your toolbox of healing modalities can have a profound effect on your ability to regulate your nervous system, providing opportunities for emotional catharsis and stress relief, in addition to offering physical benefits to your body's essential functions.
We live in a world where we're constantly confronted with difficult circumstances brought on by systemic, gender and race-based violence, political turmoil, the effects of climate and ecological collapse, and inherited, generational trauma.
It is no surprise then that most of us are carrying significant emotional pain and stress, which may show up in our physical bodies as high blood pressure, chronic illness, anxiety, and depression, among other such symptoms.
Learning how to breathe in a way that supports your nervous system is both a powerful and accessible way to cope with the stress of living through difficult times.
While it's important to remember that breathwork is not in and of itself a "magic pill", there is now plenty of evidence to support that practising a regular breathwork routine can increase your capacity to manage stress and respond to challenging life events with greater awareness and fortitude.
How Does Breathwork Reduce Stress In The Body?
Breathwork can be as simple as re-learning to breathe in a way that supports your body's natural ability to appropriately respond to acute stress and emergencies, as well as how to signal the body-mind that it is "safe" to relax and rest.
Technique: Learning To Breathe Into The Belly - A Daily Practice
Find a supportive position for your body to rest.
You may play gentle music or be in a quiet, neutral space where you can focus on your body and your breath.
Place one hand on your belly and one hand on your chest, between your rib-cage.
Breath naturally, as you always do, without manipulation for as long as you feel is necessary.
Notice where the breath naturally arises on the inhale. Are you breathing into your chest or into your belly?
Breathing into your chest alerts the sympathetic branch of your autonomic nervous system to stay in "fight or flight" mode, while breathing into your belly signals the parasympathetic nervous system to stay centered in "rest and digest" mode, allowing you to stay in the present moment.
As many of us are living under increasingly stressful circumstances, it has become increasingly important to condition both the mind and body to understand what is a "high alert" situation, what is "normal" stress, and when it is appropriate to turn down those mechanisms so that you can repair, find deep relaxation and heal.
Being under consistently high levels of stress can undermine every physical process in your body. When you are under stress, your body releases chemicals - cortisol and adrenaline, specifically, that help you to respond to the situation - but consistent levels of these chemicals can lead to chronic stress, and the various physical and emotional manifestations that come from this state including high blood pressure, muscle tissue damage, anxiety and depression, and chronic pain.
Technique: Diaphragmatic Breathing or Deep Breathing
Begin by lying on your back in a comfortable position. You may wish to prop up your knees by placing a pillow or bolster underneath them for added comfort, and to reduce strain on your lower back. If your environment feels safe enough for you to gently close your eyes, you're welcome to do so here but it is not necessary.
Once you’re settled, place one hand gently on your abdomen. The abdomen is located just below the diaphragm and just above the groin region.
Take a deep breath, inhaling through the nose and observing where your breath is coming from. You may notice that your automatic inhalation comes from the upper chest. However, the point of this exercise is to become conscious of the breath by moving the inhalation into the abdomen, or the belly. In order for the relaxation reflex to kick in, instead of taking short shallow breaths as one might be used to, instead focus on taking long, deep breaths and long, slow exhalations.
Inhale slow and deep, to a count of five, through the nose and into the belly, feeling the belly rise up, with little to no expansion into the upper chest.
Exhale through the nose, to a count of five, feeling the belly sink towards the spine.
Repeat 5 – 10 cycles. Once completed, gently observe the felt sensations in the body, with as little intellectual analysis as possible.
Breathwork and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
People suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder manage a range of debilitating symptoms including anxiety, depression, de-personalisation, fatigue, flash-backs and addictive behaviours/substance use disorders - all signs of a seriously dysregulated nervous system.
Breathwork can support people with PTSD by offering an effective practice that reduces hyper-vigilance, and increases vagal tone.
Breathwork can also support the release of unresolved emotional and physiological trauma held in the bodies tissues.
By engaging in specific breathing patterns, people may enter altered states of consciousness, accessing deeper layers of their psyche and somatic experiences.
This can provide an opportunity to bring awareness to and release of, stored trauma, allowing for emotional processing and healing.
PTSD often involves a disconnection between mind and body, with people dissociating from their physical sensations and emotions.
Breathwork practices can help bridge this gap by directing attention to bodily sensations and fostering a greater mind-body connection. This integration can support people in becoming more present, grounded, and aware of their internal experiences, leading to a reduction in dissociation.
Supported Breathwork Practices for PTSD
While there are many breathwork techniques (including the one's listed above) that may be beneficial for alleviating symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it may be helpful to consider working with a professional, certified breathwork practitioner.
Being held in a safe(r) environment with a trained practitioner can offer deeper integration of the practice and necessary support. Supplementing a personal practice with a supportive community healing space and practice can make a world of difference in the healing journey.
Below are a few recommended spaces and practitioners to consider working with:
BFR offers a low-cost monthly, online breathwork session, in addition to a by-donation/free weekly, online breathwork space for people in recovery.
Chauna offers virtual breathwork circles, and in-person sessions on a sliding scale, in addition to scholarship spots and reduced rates for BIPOC and Disabled folks.
The Breathing Space offers free, online sessions with different, trauma-informed teachers nearly each day of the week.
Jennifer Patterson - Corpus Ritual
Jennifer offers virtual, sliding scale breathwork sessions, as well as a new, upcoming 4-month workshop (begins July 10th, 2023) in collaboration with excellent and trusted teachers across the breathwork space.
