How Breathwork Shifts Your Mind & Body:

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Breathwork doesn’t just calm you — it changes your chemistry, your brain activity, and your nervous system.

Breath is a bridge between your body and your mind. It gives you access to parts of yourself that are usually buried or protected — so you can release what’s stuck, feel more alive, and return to peace.

 

Simple Science:​

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1. Breath Changes Your Chemistry

• Biological Mechanism Effect on Consciousness

  • ↓ CO₂ (hypocapnia) Lightheadedness, altered perception

  • ↑ Oxygen saturation Clarity, energy, euphoria

  • ↓ DMN activity Ego softening, access to subconscious

  • Nervous system shift Relaxation or emotional release

  • ↑ Neurotransmitters Mood elevation, emotional insight

  • Brainwave slowing Meditative, trance-like states

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When you breathe deeply and continuously (without pausing), your body releases extra carbon dioxide (CO₂).
This can make you feel:

• Lightheaded

• Tingly in your fingers or face

• More open or emotional

Your body is safe , but it’s reacting to a real chemical shift, which helps you enter a new state of awareness.

 

2. Your Nervous System Calms Down

Conscious breathing helps move you out of “fight or flight” (stress mode) into “rest and relax” mode.
This shift:

• Slows your heart rate

• Reduces stress hormones

• Helps you feel more grounded and safe

• Makes it easier to connect with emotions or memories

 

3. Your Brain Enters a Different Rhythm

Breathwork can slow your brainwaves, like what happens in meditation or dreaming.
This helps you:

• Feel less “in your head”

• Notice body sensations and emotions

• Access insights, memories, or clarity

• Let go of mental clutter and overthinking

 

4. You Release Natural Feel-Good Chemicals

As you breathe, your brain may release:

• Dopamine (for pleasure and motivation)

• Endorphins (your body’s natural pain relief)

• Serotonin (for calm and well-being)

This is why some people feel lighter, more joyful, or more connected after a breath session.​​

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More on the Science

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1. Changes in Blood Gases: CO₂ & O₂

• When you breathe deeply and continuously (as in CCB), you lower carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in your blood.

• This shift alters your body’s acid-base balance (pH), typically making it more alkaline (respiratory alkalosis).

• The brain interprets this chemical shift as a change in internal state, which can affect perception, emotion, and cognition. 

• Scientific term: Hypocapnia - reduced CO₂ in the blood, leading to lightheadedness, tingling, and disinhibition.

 

2. Increased Oxygen Uptake

• Breathwork boosts oxygen intake initially, which can enhance energy, stimulate alertness, or create euphoria.

• Over time, the balance between O₂ and CO₂ affects the brain’s ability to regulate its usual filters, leading to altered sensory and emotional processing.

 

3. Activation of the Default Mode Network (DMN)

• CCB appears to quiet the Default Mode Network; the brain region associated with self-referential thinking and the “ego.”

• This is similar to the effects of meditation and psychedelics, which can promote feelings of unity, timelessness, and ego dissolution.

• DMN suppression is linked to transcendent experiences, emotional breakthroughs, and access to buried memories.

 

4. Modulation of the Autonomic Nervous System

• Breathwork can shift dominance from the sympathetic (fight/flight) to the parasympathetic (rest/digest) nervous system.

• In deep emotional work, the breath may also oscillate between these states, giving rise to catharsis, trembling, crying, or even states of bliss and surrender

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5. Neurotransmitter Changes

• Studies suggest breathwork increases levels of:

  • Serotonin (linked to well-being and calm)

  • Dopamine (linked to reward and pleasure)

  • Endorphins (natural painkillers, often producing a “high”)

• This neurochemical release contributes to shifts in mood, perception, and memory integration.

 

6. Brainwave Shifts

• CCB has been shown to shift brainwave states from beta (alert, logical thinking) to alpha, theta, and even delta:

  • Alpha = calm, relaxed awareness

  • Theta = dreamlike state, access to intuition, inner imagery

  • Delta = deep restoration (sometimes reached in longer or more advanced sessions

• These slower waves are associated with meditative, hypnagogic, and healing states.

 

Supporting Studies & Sources

• D. Zaccaro et al., 2018 (Frontiers in Human Neuroscience): How breathing techniques influence physiology and cognition

• Ladouceur et al., 2019: Breathwork influences brain activity patterns similar to mindfulness and psychedelic therapies

• T. S. Brown & R. Gerbarg, 2005: Sudarshan Kriya yoga study showing mood and autonomic regulation via breath

• Kartar, A. A., Horinouchi, T., Örzsik, B., Anderson, B., Hall, L., Bailey, D., Samuel, S., Beltran, N., Bouyagoub, S., Racey, C., Nagai, Y., Asllani, I., Critchley, H., & Colasanti, A. (2025). Neurobiological substrates of altered states of consciousness induced by high ventilation breathwork accompanied by music. PLoS ONE, 20(8), e0329411. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0329411