WHO CAN USE KINESIOLOGY?

WHAT IS BREATHWORK?

Breathing. It sounds simple — and it is — but behind that simplicity lies one of the most powerful tools we have for healing, clarity, and transformation. Breathwork isn’t just about relaxation; it can be about recalibration — of your nervous system, your body, your subconscious or your life’s direction, depending on what style you engage.

Whether you’re looking to expand consciousness, regulate anxiety, heal trauma, improve performance, or just get through your day with more energy and ease — breath can be a potent gateway.

BREATHWORK is a broad term that applies to a number of breath practices, whuch can losely be broken down into two categories: FUNCTIONAL BREATHING & TRANSFORMATIONAL BREATHWORK.

WHAT IS FUNCTIONAL BREATHING?

Modern breathwork for performance emphasises the need to retrain the body to breathe less and breathe correctly as an everyday practice, because chronic over-breathing and mouth-breathing are damaging for your health: impacting respiratory, cardiovascular, reproductive, immune and digestive systems as well as oral, dental and mental health.

WHAT FUNCTIONAL BREATHWORK DOES TO YOUR BODY.

Functional breathing is about learning to breathe WELL, and it's the cornerstone of physical and mental health.

Functional Breath Retraining restores balance by:

Encouraging nasal breathing to support nitric oxide production (which improves oxygen uptake and modulates neurotransmitters.)
Cultivating diaphragmatic breathing to strengthen the core, stimulate vagus nerve and regulate the nervous system
Using intermittent hypoxic training (IHT) — controlled breath holds to enhance CO₂ tolerance and boost endurance and athletic performance.
Promoting proper oral posture, impacting jaw development, sleep quality, hydration and dental health
Supporting mental health by reducing hyperventilation, normalising CO₂, and enhancing alpha/theta brainwave states linked to calm and creativity

Over time, functional breath training can restore health, increase energy, improve sleep, decrease anxiety, and support performance in every area of life — from your workouts to your relationships.

TRANSFORMATIONAL BREATHING

Unlike Functional practices, many breathwork styles like Holotropic or Circular Breathing which focus on facilitating healing or peak experiences rely on short sessions of rapid breathing (Hyper-ventilation/Super-ventilation.)

This technique alters your state of consciousness — temporarily lowering activity in the ego-centric parts of the brain and allowing repressed material to rise to the surface.

What happens in a session can’t always be explained — but common experiences include:

Recall and release of unprocessed or subconscious experiences
Somatic-emotional release (body bound emotions release)
Vivid visions, insights, and dissolution of limiting beliefs and behavioural patterns

WHAT TRANSFORMATIONAL BREATHWORK DOES TO YOUR BODY

Through hyperventilation and reduction of Co2 and O2 to the cells, participants induce what is known as “Transient Hypofrontality” meaning that the prefrontal cortex is suppressed, suppressing critical thinking and the Default Mode Network (responsible for ego/self identity.) This style of breathwork is used to access emotional catharsis, get beyond the psyche or ego toward wholeness and is associated with psychedelic or spiritual experiences. This process may leverage the body's natural chemistry — including the potential release of DMT, often referred to as “the spirit molecule.” This inner journey is both science and soul — one that invites profound transformation.

It can also be a support for people experiencing freeze (or dorsal/vagal shutdown) because it escalates the nervous system back to fight or flight to complete the stress response and return to neutral. Many proponents report having profound and healing experiences with super-ventilation practices. If you are choosing to practice this style of breathwork though you are well advised to note the contraindications (below) and balance it out by also focussing on retraining the breathing to tolerate CO2 and breathe less.

Holotropic Breathwork should always be facilitated in a safe, guided, trauma-informed environment.

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WHO CAN USE IT?

Many people can benefit from breathwork.

Functional Breathing is well tolerated generally and recommended for a number of issues including:

Asthma & breathing disorders (e.g. chronic hyperventilation, sleep apnea, snoring)
Anxiety, panic, depression & stress (via nervous system regulation)
Trauma & PTSD (by re-patterning autonomic responses)
Emotional suppression or dysregulation
ADHD, brain fog & poor focus (via improved oxygenation & CO₂ tolerance)
Fatigue, burnout & low energy
Athletic performance & recovery
Mouth breathing, TMJ, poor jaw development (especially in children)
Neck, back & shoulder pain (from dysfunctional chest breathing)
Poor posture & weak core stability
Sleep issues & poor sleep quality

Transformational Breathwork is generally considered a wonderful compliment to traditional therapy due to it's ability to:

Leverage emotional release
Induce profound experiences and awareness's
Assist practitioners in getting beyond entrenched belief systems and counter-productive habits.

However, hyperventilation practices carry more risks and is contra-indicated for a number of conditions including but not limited to: Pregnancy, Epilepsy or history of seizures, Uncontrolled thyroid conditions, Diabetes, Ocular Issues: (detached retina/glaucoma laser eye surgery in past month) Cardiovascular Disease/Irregularity/pace-maker, Unmedicated high/low blood pressure, Osteoporosis, Aneurysms, Stroke, Blood Thinning or Anti-Clot Medication, Bipolar/Schizophrenia, Skeletal Fractures, Complex PTSD, Strong doses of antidepressants, anti- anxiety, or mind altering medication, psychological or psychiatric conditions, including psychosis, brain injury/surgery/severe head injury/concussion, photosensitive medication, recreational/psychoactive drug use 24 hours before, health issues requiring treatment (active depression)

Ask a qualified health professional if you have any questions about your capacity to safely undertake any practice.

FAQ's

Why is breathwork important?
Breathwork (particularly functional breathwork) is a must for practically everybody because we have endemics of mouth-breathing and over-breathing in modern society, exacerbated by stress, subsisting on western, acid forming diets and environmental factors.

Breath is a powerful way to leverage calm in a chaotic modern world. It is the only system in the body that is both automatic and under our control. That makes it a master key. When we learn to consciously regulate the breath, we can influence our mood, focus, stress response, energy levels, and even trauma patterns.

What are breathwork classes like?
They vary depending on the style — from gentle functional techniques to deeper emotional journeys. Erin's classes begin with intention setting and nervous system priming, followed by guided breath techniques, and finish with integration. They’re powerful, yet safe.

Can breathwork release trauma?
Yes. Trauma is not just a memory — it’s a body-based experience. Breathwork allows suppressed emotional and somatic material to surface and be safely released. This can lead to significant breakthroughs, but it should be practiced in a supported setting.

When is the best time to do breathwork?
Functional breath practices can be done daily — during exercise, when you find yourself emotionally dysregulated, in morning to energise, or evening to relax. Transformational breathwork sessions are better suited for when you have space to process and integrate, and should only be performed in a supportive group or private session and always under the supervision of a trained facilitator.

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