Breath is the most constant companion of our lives. It is the first thing we do when we enter the world and the last thing we do when we leave it. Yet for most of us, breathing goes unnoticed, a quiet rhythm in the background of our existence. Across cultures, however, people have long recognized that the breath is more than just oxygen intake—it is a bridge between body and mind, between the ordinary and the extraordinary.
From yogic pranayama in India to shamanic breathing rituals in Indigenous traditions, cultures have used deliberate breathing patterns to reach altered states of consciousness, invite healing, or connect with something beyond the self. Now, modern science is beginning to catch up with what these traditions intuited centuries ago: that breath, especially when paired with music, can profoundly change how we feel, think, and experience ourselves.
A Study of Breath and Bliss
A groundbreaking study led by Amy Amla Kartar and colleagues from the Brighton and Sussex Medical School in the U.K., recently published in PLOS One, dives into this mysterious frontier. Their research focused on high ventilation breathwork (HVB), a technique that involves fast, deep, rhythmic breathing—often accompanied by music that helps guide the inner journey.
The scientists invited participants to engage in 20- to 30-minute sessions of continuous, cyclic breathing while listening to music. Afterwards, participants described their experiences through questionnaires, while some underwent functional brain imaging to track what was happening beneath the surface.
The results were striking. Breathwork, it turns out, doesn’t just calm the nervous system—it can evoke states of consciousness remarkably similar to those triggered by psychedelic substances like psilocybin.
The Brain on Breathwork
So what happens inside the brain during these sessions of intensified breathing? The study revealed a fascinating paradox.
On one hand, the body showed signs of stress activation: heart rate variability dropped, suggesting the sympathetic nervous system—the “fight or flight” system—was engaged. Normally, we might associate this with anxiety. But that wasn’t the whole story.
At the same time, blood flow patterns in the brain were shifting dramatically. Regions like the left operculum and posterior insula, which are usually busy representing the body’s internal states, showed reduced blood flow. This downregulation may help explain why people often feel detached from their everyday sense of bodily awareness during breathwork, entering what researchers call “altered states of consciousness” (ASCs).
Yet in a beautiful counterbalance, other regions lit up. The right amygdala and anterior hippocampus—areas deeply involved in processing emotions and memories—showed increased blood flow as the session progressed. These are the parts of the brain that shape our fears, joys, and sense of meaning. The more these areas were engaged, the more participants reported feelings of emotional release, bliss, and unity.
In short: while the body was responding as if under stress, the brain was creating an inner world of deep calm, connection, and transcendence.
Oceanic Boundlessness: A Window Into the Infinite
One of the most fascinating findings was that participants consistently reported a state researchers call Oceanic Boundlessness (OBN). Coined in the early 20th century by Sigmund Freud and later expanded in psychedelic research, OBN describes experiences of spiritual connection, unity with the universe, blissful surrender, and profound insight.
People spoke of feeling as if they dissolved into something greater than themselves, as if personal boundaries melted and a deep sense of belonging washed over them. These are the very states that psychedelic researchers say hold promise for treating depression, anxiety, and trauma—yet here, they were evoked not by a pill or plant, but by the simple rhythm of breath and sound.
A Safe Pathway to Altered States
Perhaps even more compelling is the safety profile observed. Despite intense experiences and measurable changes in brain activity, participants did not report adverse reactions. Instead, they consistently noted a reduction in fear and negative emotions. For many, breathwork became a pathway to release pent-up stress and reconnect with a more peaceful sense of self.
This makes HVB particularly exciting as a non-pharmacological therapeutic tool. While psychedelic-assisted therapy is showing great promise, it is also constrained by legal, ethical, and medical hurdles. Breathwork may offer a complementary or alternative approach—accessible, affordable, and free from many of those barriers.
Science Meets Spirit
The implications of these findings ripple outward. On a practical level, breathwork could be used in clinical settings to support people struggling with trauma, anxiety, or emotional blockages. On a deeper level, it hints at something profoundly human: our ability to alter consciousness through natural, embodied practices.
Dr. Alessandro Colasanti, the principal investigator of the study, described breathwork as a “powerful yet natural tool for neuromodulation.” Unlike pharmaceuticals that target the brain from the outside, breathwork seems to reorganize brain activity by working from within—through the simple act of controlled breathing, which touches metabolism, circulation, and emotional regulation all at once.
For practitioners, the experience is not just clinical—it is emotional, even spiritual. Participants spoke of bliss, of release, of unity. These are not sterile outcomes. They are experiences that touch the very heart of what it means to be alive and connected.
The Road Ahead
This study is exploratory, and the researchers themselves caution that more work is needed. The sample size was small, and future studies will need to compare the effects of breathwork with and without music, to see how much each factor contributes to the altered state. Larger, controlled trials will be essential before HVB can be fully integrated into therapy.
Yet even in its early stages, the research is groundbreaking. For the first time, neuroimaging has mapped how breathwork transforms brain activity during altered states. It confirms what practitioners have felt for years: that the breath, when harnessed deliberately, is not just survival—it is transformation.
Breathing the Future
As interest in holistic and non-pharmacological therapies grows, breathwork may find its place alongside mindfulness meditation, psychedelic-assisted therapy, and traditional medicine. Its accessibility makes it uniquely promising: anyone, anywhere, can try it.
But perhaps the most profound takeaway is not scientific at all—it is existential. We carry, within us, the ability to open doors of perception, to release pain, to touch the infinite. All it requires is the courage to breathe deeply and listen.
In the end, breathwork reminds us that the tools for healing and transcendence are not always external. Sometimes, they are already within us—woven into the rhythm of our lungs, waiting to be awakened by a song.
