Proper Breathing Can Be Therapeutic--by Fritz Elmendorf

Yoga-Wellness Voice of Nosara January 2011
Proper Breathing Can Be Therapeutic, by Fritz Elmendorf

By focusing on proper breathing under the guidance of a trained therapist, a person can distribute subtle energy throughout the body and heal emotional issues or restore lost vitality, according to Nosara practitioner, Helena Greaney.

Greaney said the breathwork practice resonated with her own explorations of Yoga, Tai-Chi, ChiKung and her own studies of body-oriented psychotherapies as a psychiatric nurse and therapist. She learned the technique from Samvedam Randles, founder of the Inner Arts Institute, who synthesized it from Eastern and Western body-oriented and psychological practices. “I thought it was pretty amazing.”, said Greaney.

In breathing more fully and deeply, under the oral guidance and sometimes guiding touch of the therapist, “Things happen in the body and in the person. I am looking for where the breath is going, and where it is stopping.” Energetic or emotional blocks can be released, “Making room for joy and love and qualities that we seek. Most people have restricted breathing, and need to let go of tensions and negativity, bringing breath into the whole body,” Greaney said.

According to a description of breathwork in Wikipedia, there are several schools of breathwork therapy, with a strong connection to the yogic breathing practice of pranayama. Wikepedia also notes there have been several criticisms of breathwork’s safety, “ with critics pointing out the well-known physiological dangers associated with hyperventilation.” Further, there is a lack of peer-reviewed studies of its effectiveness, Wikipedia notes.

According to Greaney, “It tends to be intense because people are not used to breathing this way. It’s not forced, it’s a rhythm, and some go on an internal journey. It’s an active meditation, very individual, very personal,” she said.
Increasingly, the medical and scientific establishment is examining alternative medical practices. Neurophysiologist Candace Pert states that there is a wealth of data showing that changes in the rate and depth of breathing produce changes in the kind and quantity of peptides that are released from the brain stem.

Consciously altering the breath can cause the peptides to diffuse rapidly throughout the cerebral spinal fluid in an attempt to restore homeostasis. Many of these peptides are endorphins, the body’s natural opiates, as well as other kinds of pain relieving substances, according to Pert. She reports that peptides may provide the scientific rationale for the powerful healing effects of conscious connected breathing.

The sessions can be used to address anxiety or depression or as part of a therapeutic process, but Greaney said that often clients are just curious. “Sometimes people go to old memories that haven’t been sufficiently processed, or experience active dreaming. It’s not a spiritual practice, “But people do have spiritual experiences, “Greaney concluded.