Science to Support that Breathwork Regulates the Nervous System
Breathwork has become an increasingly popular tool for mental health and emotional wellness. It involves intentionally controlling your breathing patterns to improve your mental, physical, and emotional health.
A recent study published in BMC Psychiatry explores how breathwork can support emotion regulation in a clinical population, specifically among US veterans undergoing PTSD treatment. This study is significant because it is the first to compare the effectiveness of breathing-based therapy and cognitive-based therapy in improving symptoms of emotional regulation among a population with PTSD. While this study focuses on a specific population, its findings have implications for anyone interested in using breathwork to regulate their nervous system and release past traumas.
What is Breathwork?
Breathwork is an umbrella term for various practices that focus on intentional breathing. These practices can include different breathing techniques, such as slow, deep breathing, or rhythmic breathing, and can incorporate meditation, visualization, or movement.
The goal of breathwork is to regulate the nervous system, which can help improve mental, physical, and emotional health. When we breathe intentionally, we signal our brain to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the body's rest and relaxation response. This response can help reduce stress, anxiety, and other negative emotion
Research has shown that trauma can have a lasting impact on the nervous system, affecting the way the body responds to stress and triggering a range of physical and emotional symptoms. Techniques like breathwork, mindfulness, and somatic experiencing aim to release these stored emotions and help individuals become less reactive to triggers in the future.
The Study
The study compared the effectiveness of breathwork and cognitive processing therapy in improving emotion regulation among PTSD veterans. Emotion regulation refers to the ability to control and manage one's emotions in a healthy and adaptive manner. It involves being able to recognize and understand one's own emotions, as well as being able to regulate the intensity and duration of those emotions. Effective emotion regulation can lead to improved mental health, better relationships, and increased overall well-being.
One therapy is called "Sudarshian Kriya Yoga (SKY)," which is a type of breathing-based yoga that involves specific sequences of breathing exercises. It has been shown to have beneficial effects on mental and physical health, including reducing stress and anxiety, improving mood, and heart rate variability.
Heart rate variability (HRV) is a measure of the variation in time between successive heartbeats. It reflects the ability of the autonomic nervous system to adapt to changes in the environment and regulate physiological responses. Higher HRV is associated with better emotional and physical well-being, as it indicates a more flexible and adaptive nervous system. In the context of emotion regulation, HRV can be used as an objective measure of physiological changes in response to emotional stimuli or interventions. Improvements in HRV have been associated with improvements in emotion regulation, stress reduction, and overall health.
The other therapy was called "Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)" which is a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy that is often used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The therapy involves talking about past traumatic experiences, identifying negative beliefs and thoughts related to the trauma, and challenging those beliefs and thoughts. The goal of CPT is to help individuals develop more balanced and realistic beliefs about their trauma and themselves, which can lead to improved emotional well-being.
The veterans received therapy for six weeks, and the study found that the breathing-based yoga helped veterans regulate their emotions both in the way they reported their feelings and in their physical responses (measured by heart rate variability). The cognitive processing therapy only helped veterans report their emotions.
Implications
The study's findings suggest that breathing-based interventions, such as breathwork, have the potential to improve symptoms associated with PTSD and other emotional disorders more broadly. The data suggest that breathing-based yoga may be an effective treatment option for PTSD that improves both intentional and automatic emotion regulation. This means that breathing exercises can help people control their emotions and physical reactions to stress and trauma.
For anyone interested in using breathwork for regulating their nervous system and releasing past traumas, these findings offer hope and direction. By focusing on intentional breathing, such as in breathwork practices, individuals can improve their ability to regulate their emotions and physiological responses. This can be especially beneficial for those struggling with PTSD or other emotional disorders.
Conclusion
Breathwork is an accessible and effective tool for regulating the nervous system and releasing past traumas. The recent study published in BMC Psychiatry found that breathing-based yoga improved both self-reported and physiological emotion regulation, while cognitive processing therapy only improved self-reported emotion regulation. This means that breathing exercises can help people control their emotions and physical reactions to stress and trauma. These findings suggest that breathwork has the potential to improve symptoms associated with PTSD and other emotional disorders more broadly. By incorporating breathwork into their self-care routine, individuals can improve their emotional wellness and overall quality of life.
Incorporating breathwork into your daily routine can be as simple as taking a few deep breaths when you're feeling stressed or anxious. You can also explore different breathwork practices, such as pranayama, holotropic breathing, or Flow Breathwork, to find one that works for you.
Additional Resources
If you’re a wellness practitioner interested in learning breathwork to help your clients release past traumas from their body, click here to become a certified Breathwork Facilitator today.
If you’d like to read the research article related to this post, click here.
