Breathwork Unlocks Bliss
New research on high ventilation breathwork shows the practice may induce experiences of “unity, bliss, and emotional release” like the altered states of consciousness brought on by psychedelic substances.
The study published in PLOS One shows these feelings are accompanied by changes in blood flow to regions of the brain associated with self-awareness, and fear and emotional memory processing.
“Our research is the first to use neuroimaging to map the neurophysiological changes that occur during breathwork,” the authors write.
Principle Investigator Dr Alessandro Colasanti from the UK’s University of Sussex, says: “Breathwork is a powerful yet natural tool for neuromodulation, working through the regulation of metabolism across the body and brain. It holds tremendous promise as a transformative therapeutic intervention for conditions that are often both distressing and disabling.”
High ventilation breathwork as a potential therapeutic
High ventilation breathwork (HVB) encompasses different practices where individuals control the pattern of their breathing to increase its rate or depth. It is also typically accompanied by evocative music.
Different HVB practices have been claimed to induce experiences similar to the altered states of consciousness (ASCs) induced by psychedelic substances, which according to the authors range from “panic-like sensations to feelings of awe and dissociative symptoms”.
At the extreme end of the scale is ‘oceanic boundlessness’, a term which describes a set of feelings which include “spiritual experience, insightfulness, blissful state, positively experienced depersonalisation, and the experience of unity”.
Oceanic boundlessness is one of the defining aspects of ASCs which arise from taking psychedelics such a psylocibin. These substances are increasingly being explored as treatments for difficult-to-treat psychiatric and physiological conditions.
The authors suggest HVB might therefore offer a “non-pharmacological alternative” to psychedelics with “fewer legal and ethical restrictions to large-scale adoption in clinical treatment”.
Exploring underlying mechanisms of HVB
The team recruited participants who were already highly experienced with breathwork to study the effects of HVB on blood flow in the brain, heart rate variability and self-reported experiences.
Amy Kartar, lead author at the University of Sussex, UK, says: “It was thrilling to explore such a novel area – while many people anecdotally recognise the health benefits of breathwork, this style of fast-paced breathing has received very little scientific attention. We are very grateful to our participants for making this work possible.”
The participants completed a 20- to 30-minute session of cyclic breathing (without pausing) while listening to music.
Fifteen individuals participated from home with verbal instructions provided by a breathwork facilitator over Zoom. Another 8 people participated in the laboratory and 19 inside a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine while listening to pre-recorded instructions by the same facilitator.
All completed questionnaires prior to and within 30 minutes after the session to record their subjective experiences.
HVB induces changes in blood flow to the brain
The researchers found that HVB resulted in global reductions in blood flow to the brain compared to baseline.
“We believe that these states are linked to changes in the function of specific brain regions involved in self-awareness, and fear and emotional memory processing,” the authors write.
“We found that more profound changes in blood flow in specific brain areas were linked to deeper sensations of unity, bliss, and emotional release, collectively known as ‘oceanic boundlessness’.”
A reduction in blood flow to the left operculum and posterior insula – brain regions implicated in representing the internal state of the body, including breathing – predicted the intensity of oceanic boundlessness.
It was also associated with a progressive increase in blood flow to the right amygdala and anterior hippocampus – brain regions involved in the processing of emotional memories – despite large reductions in blood flow elsewhere in the brain.
Across the board, participants also reported a reduction in fear and negative emotions, with no adverse reactions or panic attacks, during HVB sessions.
According to the researchers, the findings demonstrate that HVB can be safely reproduced across different experimental settings. They also say it provides a better understanding of HVB to direct future research to investigate its potential therapeutic applications. Future research will replicate the study with larger sample sizes and a control group to separate the effects of music on the brain