Breathing Through Layers

When we breathe with intention, we access profound healing beyond the conscious mind into the body's most profound memory and energetic imprints.

Reading time: 3 minutes

Have you ever noticed how a simple deep breath can instantly shift your emotional state? This everyday miracle hints at something far more powerful: breathwork's unique ability to heal trauma at its source by simultaneously engaging mind, body, and energy.

Trauma's Triple Imprint

Picture this: A child experiences emotional neglect. Their developing nervous system adapts by creating protective patterns—subtle contractions in the diaphragm, a slightly elevated heart rate when seeking connection, thought patterns around unworthiness. Decades later, these adaptations manifest as anxiety, relationship challenges, or mysterious physical symptoms that resist conventional treatment.

Why? Because trauma doesn't just live in our thoughts. It creates a three-dimensional imprint:

In our mental landscape: As beliefs, thought patterns, and perceptions that filter our experience
In our physical body: As tension patterns, nervous system dysregulation, and altered physiological responses
In our energetic field: As blockages in our natural flow that affect emotional processing, intuition, and vitality

Most healing approaches target just one dimension—typically the cognitive—while leaving the others untouched. It's like trying to untangle a knot by pulling only one strand.

The Breath Bridge

The breath stands uniquely at the intersection of voluntary and involuntary function—we can consciously control it, yet it also happens automatically. This makes it the perfect bridge between our conscious awareness and the autonomic systems where trauma patterns live.

During specific breathwork practices, something remarkable happens: the thinking mind temporarily steps aside, allowing direct access to stored patterns in the body and energy field.

Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman describes this phenomenon: "Breathing patterns directly modulate brain circuits controlling emotional states." We change the neural activity governing our emotions and physical responses by changing our breath patterns.

The Alchemy of Conscious Breathing

Effective trauma-oriented breathwork unfolds through three natural phases:

Creating a Container of Safety

Before releasing anything, our nervous system must feel safe enough to let go. Gentle breathwork that emphasises the exhale activates the parasympathetic nervous system, our built-in calming mechanism.

Try this: Breathe in through your nose for a count of four, then exhale slowly through slightly pursed lips for a count of six or eight. Feel your shoulders soften with each exhale—practice for two to three minutes to experience this immediate regulation.

How Conscious Breath Dissolves Trauma.

Illuminating Hidden Patterns

Once the body feels safe, we can explore more activating breath patterns. Connected circular breathing, in which inhales flow directly into exhales without pauses, increases energy and sensation in the body.

This heightened state often brings awareness to areas holding trauma. You might notice:

Sensations arising in specific body regions
Emotions surfacing unexpectedly
Spontaneous insights about patterns in your life
Memory fragments emerging with new clarity

Unlike talk therapy, this process bypasses logical defences, allowing direct access to stored experiences that may have existed beyond conscious awareness.

Embodying New Possibilities

The final phase is integration—allowing the insights and releases to reorganise our system at all three levels. Returning to slower, regulated breathing helps the nervous system recognise and incorporate the changes.

This is where the magic happens: what once triggered anxiety might suddenly feel neutral, relationship patterns shift without forced effort, and physical symptoms often resolve as the body releases its protective patterns.

Beyond Coping Mechanisms

Many popular approaches to anxiety focus on managing symptoms through distraction, cognitive reframing, or relaxation techniques. While valuable, these methods often require ongoing effort because they don't address the root imprints.

Breathwork differs fundamentally—it creates conditions for the system to resolve these imprints at their source. The changes that result don't require maintenance but become your new baseline.

"The body keeps the score," writes trauma researcher Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. Breathwork gives us a direct pathway to rewrite that score from the inside out.

Beginning Your Journey

If you're curious about exploring breathwork for trauma healing:

Start small with daily practices rather than occasional intense sessions
Find a properly trained guide who understands trauma-specific approaches
Create safety for yourself by beginning with gentle regulation techniques
Honour your body's wisdom—if something feels too intense, return to regulation

Breathing—something we do over 20,000 times daily—has the potential to be our most accessible and powerful healing tool. Engaging all three dimensions of our being offers a path to temporary relief and genuine transformation at the deepest levels of our human experience.