It all begins with the breath. Maybe you want to reduce stress or lose weight. Maybe you want to turn a scarcity mindset into a mindset of abundance. Maybe you are looking for emotional healing or clarity. Whatever it is, the way you connect with the breath and your innerself will help bring what you're looking for to life….Don’t take my word for it, dive into the research and scientific studies backing the benefits of breathwork below.
"Just Breathe" by Dan Brulé explores the transformative power of conscious breathing, offering practical techniques and insights to harness the breath for physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Drawing from his extensive experience in breathwork, Brulé provides readers with accessible tools to improve focus, reduce stress, and enhance overall health, emphasizing the breath as a vital resource for achieving balance and resilience in everyday life.
https://www.amazon.com/Just-Breathe-Mastering-Breathwork-Business/dp/1501134388
"Science of Breath" by Swami Rama delves into the scientific principles and ancient wisdom behind breath control and its profound impact on health and consciousness. The book discusses how proper breathing techniques enhance lung capacity and oxygenate the body, improving mental clarity, emotional stability, and overall vitality. By integrating scientific research with yogic practices, Swami Rama illustrates the essential role of breath in achieving physical and spiritual well-being.
James Nestor investigates the critical role of proper breathing in improving physical and mental health, drawing on cutting-edge research and ancient practices. Through personal experiments and studies, Nestor reveals how adjusting our breathing techniques can lead to transformative health benefits, including enhanced lung capacity, reduced stress, and increased energy levels.
"The Oxygen Advantage" by Patrick McKeown emphasizes the importance of optimized breathing techniques to enhance athletic performance, overall health, and even weight loss. By promoting nasal breathing and proper carbon dioxide levels, McKeown illustrates how these practices can lead to improved metabolic function, increased fat loss, and greater physical endurance.
In this podcast, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk addresses trauma and its effects on the body. At 1:04:18, he highlights breathwork as a somatic modality that aids in processing trauma and reconnecting with the body. He further explains at 1:26:00 how trauma affects brain waves and creates tension in basic bodily functions, including breathing. Breathwork helps move beyond the parasympathetic nervous system, facilitating relaxation in deep delta wave states.
“Far away, the best benefit of breathwork training and your susceptibility to carbon dioxide (CO2) offloading remains using nitrogen oxide (NO) to your benefit. The Bohr effect dictates that carbon dioxide and oxygen partner in nourishing the tissues and augmenting the tolerance needed for more efficient exercise. Both gases are important! Among other things, nitric oxide will dilate airways and vasculature, going the long way to ensuring a near 100% overlap of perfusion and blood availability, that is to say, ensuring that blood distribution overlaps with air delivery and the lung. Diaphragmatic breathwork generally uses nitric oxide to oxygenate the lower lung. Nitrogen oxide-mediated dilation of the vascular insures blood redistributes to the top of the lung. Many studies support this concept. In the end, diaphragmatic breathing diminishes the sympathetic effects and its chronic harms.”
-Dr. Paul Reynolds, Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology at BYU