the science, spirituality and research behind breathwork

“Your Body Holds Your Biography”

In my work as a physical therapist over the last 10 years, this quote has proven itself true time and time again, and not only in terms of physical injuries or scars. In the same way that an injury that wasn’t properly rehabbed may end up causing issues long term, stress and trauma that goes untreated also have a long term impact on our bodies. And while you may have experienced a large trauma or life stressor, there can also be accumulation of small stressors that start to add up in our systems if we don’t take the time to slow down, process them and let them go. This can lead to feelings of anxiety, overwhelm or can manifest in the form of physical pain or illness. Breathwork is a powerful self-healing modality, where you will learn to use your breathe to move, shift and release stored energy (trauma, stress or emotions) from your body, in order to feel lighter and more aligned.

Let’s Get Nerdy

Because I know the above explanation can sound a little bit abstract (and because I am a huge science nerd and LOVE to talk about this kind of stuff) here is a little bit of the science behind breathwork. Our respiratory system is one of the few biological systems that can be under voluntary or involuntary control. Most of the time, our breathing is involuntary. Our body breathes for us, without us having to consciously think about it. In breathwork however, we can “hack” the system by shifting our attention to our breath and making our breathing a conscious or voluntary process. We can change the speed and depth of our breath activating the vagus nerve, which then has a cascading effect on other biological systems. This can result in benefits such as decreased stress, increased immunity, improved energy, focus, and sleep. Click Here for a great research article that goes more into depth on this.

I know, super nerdy, but I just find it so cool that our bodies are literally hard wired to feel good.

Want to go a little bit deeper into the research? Click here for a master list of research on everything from breathwork in the workplace, to breathwork for stress or even breathwork and weight loss. 

Find something cool? Please share! I love to talk about anything related to science, spirituality and breathwork so feel free to reach out to me on IG. “