Breathwork can be a powerful tool for trauma recovery, offering support and promoting healing, simply by using your breath. The controlled breathing exercises practiced in breathwork can help individuals manage the emotional and physical symptoms of trauma and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), contributing to their journey to recovery.
Trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that overwhelms an individual’s capacity to cope, leading to difficulties in functioning. There are different types of trauma: Big traumatic (or ‘Big T’) events such as physical or sexual abuse, war or natural disasters, or significant losses such as the death of a loved one; and small traumatic (or ‘small t’) events like break-ups, financial worries, or interpersonal conflict. These are not necessarily one-off events, as prolonged overwork or burnout related to challenging life events can also lead to long-term physical and psychological symptoms of trauma.
An estimated 70-75% of people will experience at least one traumatic event in their life; with approximately 10% suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. The psychological effects of trauma can be ongoing and long-lasting, and can have serious implications for physical and mental health. While it’s important that those who have experienced trauma seek help from professionals, many people carry unresolved trauma despite trying traditional methods such as ‘talk’ therapy.
Trauma-informed breathwork is a natural modality that uses specific breathing exercises, potentially in combination with visualisation or mindfulness practices, to support individuals in addressing unresolved emotional experiences.
People who spend too much time in traumatic responses such as fight, flight, freeze, or fawn, can intentionally activate the parasympathetic nervous system using breathwork. Specific breathing techniques can address physical, psychological, and emotional trauma, bringing about emotional catharsis and healing.
Where the effects of trauma often surface long after the triggering event, breathing techniques can help our ‘thinking brain’ go offline, allowing us access to our limbic brain, where we process behavioural and emotional responses; ultimately giving us access to emotions and repressed memories which have been ‘shoved under the carpet’.
Trauma breathwork practices can give individuals the ability to:
Breathwork can be an extremely helpful tool for those suffering from trauma and PTSD. A 2023 research paper on Breathwork Interventions for Adults with Clinically Diagnosed Anxiety Disorders, found that in psychiatric research and clinical practice, breathwork had been demonstrated to effectively improve symptoms of trauma, alongside a number of other mental health conditions. But what exactly is trauma breathwork and how does it work?
Any event that shakes us to our core causes our brains to go through a similar cycle. Our physical body perceives a distress-producing stimulus and our sympathetic nervous system activates. That’s our fight-flight-freeze response kicking into gear. Under normal conditions, after our body is on high alert, the threat passes, and we calm down (parasympathetic activation). This is called completing the stress cycle. However, trauma happens when we are unable to get back to the parasympathetic, rest-digest-repair state after a “traumatic” event and we get stuck in the sympathetic state and our unconscious mind never processes what has happened.
Trauma can be reversed by intentionally activating our sympathetic nervous system (the same system that activates when we experience trauma). Breathwork techniques like Breakthrough Breathwork, Holotropic Breathwork or Rebirthing Breathwork, do this by activating the somatic-cognitive cycle. During a session, you can spontaneously bring unresolved issues to the surface, experience the same stress-response, and integrate the process at the end of the breathwork exercise, helping our minds and bodies process these events.
There are many different types of breathwork techniques that can be used to address trauma and PTSD. Here are a few examples of breathwork exercises you can try at home:
Try a Breakthrough Breathwork session guided by Breathless Expeditions Founder Johannes Egberts.
Breathwork sessions are a powerful tool in helping overcome trauma and PTSD for good. One of the potential benefits of using breathwork for trauma and PTSD is the sense of release and resolution reported by participants following breakthrough or holotropic sessions. Many individuals describe a profound feeling of “letting go” that feels lasting. In a world where many struggle with unresolved trauma, could breathwork be the key to lasting change for those carrying emotional burdens? Why not try it and see for yourself.
This concise online program bridges the gap between ancient principles and scientific explanations. clear, simple, and immediately applicable to your life, due to 7 super effective guided exercises.
What does trauma breathwork feel like?
Generally, breathwork for healing trauma involves being guided by a breath practitioner through a series of breath patterns including rounds of breathing exercises consisting of big, full inhales and exhales and breath holds. The first few rounds are slow and escalate as time increases to a more rapid breathing rate. This activates the sympathetic nervous system and many people find this uncomfortable and have to urge either to get up and leave (flight) or dissociate (freeze) by falling asleep, or to start thinking about other things (fight). These are completely normal responses.
During the rounds of breathing, memories can flash before your eyes. Confronting emotions, images, thoughts, and full or partial flashbacks are common. You can experience physical effects such as whole body shaking, muscle stiffness, altered states of consciousness, an urge to scream or roar and other physical reactions. Subsequent rounds of breathing work the diaphragm and build up a lot of emotional and muscular tension. Finally, as you hold your breath, the stiffness releases and a breakthrough is often experienced. In the Integration stage, feelings of joy, resolution, and enlightenment are often reported. Whatever issue surfaced during the practice feels processed and resolved.
Will trauma-informed breathwork work for me?
Many people who have tried traditional therapies might doubt breathwork’s effectiveness. However, breathwork can work by addressing the limitations of talk therapy and coping mechanisms. During your first session, your mind might resist the process through common defense mechanisms like dissociation or avoiding emotional engagement. These reactions are normal, and a trained breathwork therapist can guide you through them.
Studies show that breathwork, such as Breakthrough Breathwork, can successfully access and process even deeply buried memories. By actively engaging in the session, even by challenging your initial resistance, you can unlock the potential of breathwork therapy and experience its positive impact.
Does breathwork help with PTSD?
Witnessing trauma can leave lasting scars, manifesting as PTSD in some individuals. This condition often traps individuals like first responders and military veterans in a constant state of fight-or-flight, unable to fully process the past.
Traditional therapies may not always provide complete relief. However, research shows that breathwork has been effective in alleviating PTSD symptoms for veterans. By promoting relaxation and reducing anxiety, breathwork helps individuals break free from the cycle of hyperarousal and emotional distress.
Beyond calming the mind, breathwork can also unlock deeper emotional layers, allowing individuals to confront and heal from repressed memories. This journey can lead to a deeper understanding of their experiences and facilitate true emotional recovery.
What are trauma-release exercises (TRE)?
Trauma Release Exercises (TRE) were developed by David Berceli Ph. D. to help the body release stored tension, subconscious issues and trauma through physical movements to initiate the healing process and allow self transformation. These exercises work by activating the body’s natural tremor response, which can help release physical and emotional tenseness from the body.
When we experience shock, our bodies can store that energy in our muscles and nerve network. This stored energy can lead to physical stiffness, pain, and emotional distress. TRE exercises aim to release this stored energy by activating the body’s natural tremor response.
During TRE exercises, individuals engage in a series of simple physical movements that help release tension and distress from the body. These movements include stretches, postures, and shaking exercises. The shaking exercises are designed to activate the body’s natural tremor response, which can help release stored energy and tension. Breathwork can help immensely by creating space in trauma survivors’ lives to allow the healing to begin.
The tremors that occur during TRE exercises are a natural and involuntary response of the system and act as a trauma release system, generating healing that will eventually nurture the entire person’s health. They are similar to the shaking that occurs when an animal is released from a state of distress or danger. This shaking is a natural way for the body to release tension and restore balance to the nerve network.
The goal of TRE exercises is to help individuals release stored tension from the body at a cellular level, which can lead to improved relaxation, physical and emotional healing and well-being. TRE exercises are often used in conjunction with other therapies, such as talk therapy or somatic experiencing, to help individuals address and heal from trauma.
It is important to note that TRE exercises should only be done under the guidance of a qualified practitioner, as they can be intense and may trigger emotional responses.
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Copyright © 2022 | Breathless
Copyright © 2022 | Breathless
