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Research & Studies

The scientific study of breathwork has grown significantly over the past two decades, with research now supporting what ancient traditions have known for centuries, that conscious breathing is a profound vehicle for physiological and psychological change.

A landmark 2023 study published in Cell Reports Medicine compared cyclic sighing, box breathing, and mindfulness meditation across five weeks. The breathwork groups showed significantly greater reductions in anxiety and negative affect, and greater improvements in positive emotion and sleep quality than the meditation-only group, suggesting that active breath control may outperform passive awareness practices for emotional regulation (Balban et al., 2023).

A 2018 randomised controlled trial found that heart rate, blood pressure and perceived stress all dropped after 12 weeks of slow breathing exercises (Naik et al., 2018).

Published in the renowned Springer Nature: Current Psychology Journal, scientists found that breathwork reduced anger, tension and confusion whilst increased esteem. Brain frequencies also changed, with gamma brainwaves increasing in experienced practitioners, linked to higher IQ and better concentration (Camile Bahi et al., 2023). 

The Physiology of the Breath

Every breath you take is a cascade of physiological events: a combination of chemistry, pressure, and electrical signals that governs your state of mind and body more profoundly than almost any other process.

Breathing regulates the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a low oxygen level but a rising carbon dioxide level that triggers the urge to breathe. Carbon dioxide plays a critical role in the Bohr Effect, the mechanism by which oxygen is released from haemoglobin into the tissues. This is why slower, fuller breathing often delivers more oxygen to the cells, not less.

During certain breathwork practices, deliberate hyperventilation temporarily reduces carbon dioxide, creating a shift in blood pH and triggering a range of physiological responses including: altered sensation, emotional release, and expanded states of awareness. 

The diaphragm (the primary muscle of breathing) is intimately connected to the vagus nerve, the psoas muscle, and the pericardium surrounding the heart. When we breathe fully and freely, we are not only oxygenating the blood; we are massaging the heart, stimulating the digestive organs, and creating coherence throughout the entire body.

Trauma, the Body, & Healing

Trauma is not what happened to you, it is what happened inside you as a result. When an experience overwhelms the nervous system's capacity to process and integrate, the unresolved energy of that moment becomes stored in the body: in the muscles, the fascia, the breath patterns, and the posture we carry through life.

Breathwork offers a bottom-up approach, working directly with the body and nervous system to create the safety, regulation, and discharge that allows trauma to move. Somatic breathwork practices help the body complete the defensive responses it was unable to finish at the time of the overwhelm, allowing held tension to release and the nervous system to reset (Van Der Kolk, 2015).

All breathwork sessions at Coming Home are held within a trauma-informed framework. This means working at a pace that honours your nervous system, respecting your boundaries by creating the conditions of safety and trust that make genuine healing possible.