My Nugget: Connecting to spirit through breatH

Sometimes you have to try new things to break out of your trapped emotions or past experiences that are lodged in the subconscious. I was aware that I had some stuck emotions in my body that I was finding challenging to shift. These were emotions I couldn’t shift through logical thinking. In seeking solutions, I got given the details of a breath work facilitator so I booked in for a 1:1 session and was curious to see what would happen.

We did about 40 min of intense breath work called conscious connected breath. The technique itself is simple, you breathe in and out through your mouth with an intense inhale and relaxed exhale with no pauses in between. The facilitator worked me up to a peak and then I did an intense inhale and held the breath for as long as possible and we did another two strong inhales and long breath holds. I can tell you now, those breath holds were a place that felt utterly blissful, I didn’t want to leave! I felt more relaxed than I had done for a long time after that. To be honest, I can’t really put into words how special that experience was.

Of course, I was curious about the science behind it too and how it affects the brain too. Here’s what I found. The process of this technique results in the brain receiving less oxygen by restricting the blood vessels through controlled hyperventilation. The oxygen in the brain is also released less quickly as its binding to haemoglobin is stronger.

There’s also a theory that our neocortex (the rational brain) is sidelined during the process. It also seems to activate the pineal gland which can heighten intuition, aid clarity of thought, increased awareness, decrease anxiety and depression, and even give transcendent experiences.

The pineal gland is known in yogic terms as the third eye chakra. It’s believed to connect the physical and spiritual worlds. Interestingly it has a connection with light and darkness via our circadian rhythms and melatonin secretion (melatonin is the hormone that regulates our sleep and circadian rhythms).

Would I do it again? Yes, I would and I’m curious to know if this is something you would try. Drop me a line and let me know.