Our breath is our very life force, but it does much more than keep us alive. With the right strategies, we can harness the power of our breath to heal and release trauma, creating more space for ease and joy. I invite you to join me in this blog post as we explore the benefits of breathwork for trauma healing and exercises to get you started.
How Trauma Affects Your Body and Breath
After trauma, your nervous system becomes dysregulated and if this tension and stress are not released, you can develop chronic pain, stress, and tension in your body. You may also have shallow, short breaths. This is your sympathetic nervous system keeping you alert, but staying in this aroused state for too long will soon lead to exhaustion.
Yoga has long understood the connection between your body and breath. Have you ever taken a deep, slow breath and felt more calm? This is your breath at work, activating your parasympathetic nervous system and communicating to your body that you’re in a safe enough location to complete the stress response and release trauma.
Many yoga practices include holding or constricting your breath. For many trauma survivors, including sexual trauma survivors, this can be triggering instead of supportive. It’s important to explore breathwork strategies that bring you into a relaxed state. This can look different for everyone, so it’s best to go with your own experiences and preferences.
Another way to support trauma healing with breathing exercises is with a trauma-informed approach. This means that commonly triggering techniques are avoided or modified so you can spend less time adjusting practices on your own and focus on more supportive exercises.
I invite you to learn more about trauma-informed yoga’s approach and if it’s right for you in this blog post.
5 Key Benefits of Breathwork for Trauma Healing
I welcome you to explore 5 key benefits of breathwork to see if this is a good fit for you and your practice.
- Less stress. This source from the National Library of Medicine explored how diaphragmatic breathing, or deep breathing, resulted in improved mental health, including participants experiencing less stress, anxiety, and depression.
- Improved self esteem. This pilot study explored how breathwork improved self esteem in adolescents.
- Supportive for people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety. This study explored how controlled breathing decreased PTSD symptoms in veterans returning from war overseas.
- Releases tension. Certain breathwork, like diaphragmatic breath, also supports tension release of other areas of your body, like your pelvic floor. Many sexual trauma survivors have pelvic floor tension, and this is a gentle approach to finding softness.
- Reconnects your mind and body. When exploring breathwork, you bring your attention inward. This is known as interoception, and is your ability to sense your internal body sensations. Rebuilding this is beneficial for healing because you’ll be able to understand certain signals. Maybe you clench your jaw when you’re stressed or angry, and so you know to explore and release your irritability before it becomes rage.
3 Quick Guided Breathwork Exercises for Trauma Healing
Below are a few quick, trauma-informed breathwork exercises to explore and get you started on your healing journey.
Diaphragmatic Breath
Also known as belly breathing, this is one of the most popular breathwork practices because it’s so accessible. It involves breathing deeply into your belly (instead of your chest, which causes your shoulders to rise.) I invite you to explore this breathwork practice in more detail here.
Sighing Breath
Sighing breath recreates the natural sigh your body makes to relax. This is a simple exercise you can do anytime or with other breathwork practices.
Steps:
- Find a comfortable position either seated or lying down.
- Inhale deeply through your nose, perhaps breathing into your belly, chest, and throat.
- Exhale through your mouth with a sigh. You have the option to make a ha sound as you do this. You might also allow your shoulders and other points of tension to soften.
- Repeat as often as you like, and you might choose to pause in between breaths to notice any effects or subtle differences in your body and stress levels.
Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadi Shodhana)
This breathwork practice involves blocking one nostril as you inhale, then blocking the opposite as you exhale to create balance in your body. I invite you to explore this practice more in depth in this blog post.
Tips for Your Best Breathwork Practice
I invite you to explore these additional tips when exploring trauma breathwork for your best, most effective practices:
- Begin with short sessions. You might explore just a few breaths or up to three minutes to begin, exploring longer when you feel comfortable.
- Practice in a comfortable space.
- Honor your limits: You know your body best, so if you experience any heightened emotions, dizziness, or feel uneasy, I invite you to take a break or end your practice.
- Include breathwork with other practices: You might choose to include breathwork with your yoga practice, meditations, grounding, or any time you choose.
Overview
Breathing techniques are a versatile, accessible practice to soften tension, promote trauma release, and create physical and emotional balance. With trauma-informed guidance, you can deepen your practice further without risking common triggering techniques.
When healing trauma after a traumatic event, I welcome you to take all the time you need and explore as many support options that you choose.
I invite you to explore trauma-informed yoga classes and breathwork in my free private library, the Cozy Corner. Classes cater to common symptoms experienced by sexual trauma survivors and explore poses, meditations, and somatic exploration for less stress and trauma in your body. I invite you to join me inside!
