Panic can catch us unaware at any time. Anxiety can suddenly overwhelm us when we least expect it. We never know what will trigger stress in our lives. We can guess, but we can’t always be prepared. When those moments happen, how we handle that stress can determine the course of our day. According to a study published in Behavioural Brain Research, mindfulness and transformational breathwork give us the power to take back our control by retraining our body and mind in how we react to anxiety and stress.
What Is Transformational Breathwork?
At first glance, transformational breathwork may be mistaken for yoga. While both involve breathing, they are very different from each other. Transformational breathing is a conscious breathing technique that involves breathing in deeply through the mouth and into your abdomen. You then exhale softly with your whole mouth, like you are intentionally fogging up a windowpane. Transformational breathing is an active form of meditation. However, unlike meditation or yoga, the act of breathing is quick, which elicits a body response. This body response is a result of the physical act of breathing out emotional distress, not calming the mind.
How Does Transformational Breathing Work?
Practicing transformational breathwork initiates tension or muscle twitches. These sensations may feel akin to a panic attack. However, there is a logic behind the approach. Deep and rapid breathing works like a vacuum that pulls all the emotions, anxieties, and stress. The breath out forces them out of our system. It helps to think of it as a deep cleaning of our body through the power of breath.
How Does Transformational Breathwork Help?
Transformational breathwork can change our nervous system with time and practice. Our body adapts to new levels of the oxygen we bring in and the carbon dioxide we release. As we progress in our breathwork, our body begins to react proactively to stress and anxiety. Transformational breathing can be beneficial for those struggling with trauma, as the technique specializes in removing past turmoil that absorbs life energy. In addition, it is a highly fundamental practice to learn while in recovery. The ideal way to learn transformational breathing is with a skilled practitioner in a group or individual setting. Many addiction treatment centers include transformational breathwork or other types of breathwork as one of the therapeutic modalities they offer.
Those who struggle with behavioral addictions and substance abuse are no strangers to stress or anxiety. Entering the world as a person in recovery is challenging. Transformational breathwork can help permanently train the body to fight the urge to relapse by instilling the instinctual response to breathe out cravings or trigger responses. Transformational breathwork empowers our bodies to fight all forms of emotional distress regardless of their source. More importantly, it’s a permanent solution to many of life’s problems. That is something worth learning.
Taking recovery into your own hands, whether it be from trauma, substance abuse, or behavioral addiction, is a powerful first step. A tremendous amount of healing and joy comes from empowering ourselves to make our lives more manageable. While on the road to recovery, it is essential to pick up as many tools that can aid us as possible. Transformational breathwork is definitely one of those tools. If you or someone you care about is burdened by trauma or addiction, reach out to The Guest House. Please call (855) 483-7800 for more information.