Frontiers in Neuroscience
August 3, 2026
Kim P. C. Kuypers
Psychedelic-assisted therapy has shown rapid and durable benefits across multiple psychiatric conditions, yet the mechanisms underlying these effects remain incompletely understood. Full-dose psychedelic sessions simultaneously engage serotonergic neurochemistry, high-intensity subjective experience, and autonomic-interoceptive physiology, making it difficult to determine which components are...
Frontiers in Psychology
July 30, 2026
Lena Erdmann, Barbara Breitenstein, Maria Badanova et al.
BackgroundResearch suggests that high ventilation breathwork (HVB) improves mental health by reducing experiential avoidance (EA) through altered states of consciousness (ASCs). The present study examined whether EA during participants’ most recent breathwork session predicted mental well-being afterward. Additionally, the study examined the relationships between EA, ASCs, emotional...
Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medical Research
July 13, 2026
Gajanan Shripad Kulkarni, Amol Dhulgonda Patil
Anxiety disorders represent one of the most prevalent categories of mental illness worldwide, and pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments, while effective, remain inaccessible or unacceptable to a substantial proportion of affected individuals. Yoga and pranayama, mind–body practices rooted in South Asian contemplative traditions, have attracted sustained scientific interest as...
July 10, 2026
Lohani Noor
Sexual anxiety – whether rooted in trauma, performance-related shame, or dysregulated arousal – impedes intimacy, pleasure, and connection. Breathwork, a foundational somatic practice, offers an accessible means to regulate the ANS, reduce anxiety, and anchor present-moment awareness, core to healthy sexual engagement. Within psychosexual therapy, structured breathing promotes embodiment,...
International Journal of Drug Delivery Technology
July 6, 2026
P. S Edwin Anand, Rajathi Rajathi, Vishnu Dev Mishra
Stress is inevitable in life. With increasing complexities, aspirations and uncertainties associated with socio-economic, political and cultural upheavals, stress is more likely to increase. College students today feel pressure and stress coming at them from all different levels. They have stress from their own feelings and internal barometer on how they are fitting in socially and...
International Journal of Integrative Health and Mind-Body Medicine
June 30, 2026
Vinay Kumar, Divyansh Jain, Sonu Singh
Background: Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder frequently associated with sleep disturbances, which can worsen seizure activity and reduce overall quality of life. Non-pharmacological approaches such as Yogasana and Bhramari Pranayama have gained attention for their potential to improve sleep through relaxation, autonomic regulation, and mental stability. Objective: The present study...
Yoga Science & Spirituality
June 30, 2026
Fedra Nasoku
BACKGROUND: The scientific development of yoga during the twentieth century was shaped by several pioneering researchers who successfully integrated traditional yogic knowledge with modern medical science. Among the most influential was Dr. Mukund Vinayak Bhole (1935–2021), physician, physiologist, yoga researcher, and former Research Director of Kaivalyadhama, the world's first yoga research...
medRxiv
June 24, 2026
Dhruv Adhia, Deepali Raithatha, Arron Ferguson et al.
Abstract Vayu is a mobile breathwork system comprising an iOS companion app and Apple Watch application that delivers slow, resonant breathing using screen-free haptic cues , HRV-adaptive pacing, and reflective journaling grounded in Patanjali’s five states of mind. The watchOS component provides tactile phase guidance and real-time biometric sensing (heart rate, HRV), while the iOS interface...
Contemporaneity of English Language and Literature in the Robotized Millennium
June 20, 2026
Anusuya Mohan
Pranayama, or yoga breathing, is a vital part of Indo-Tibetan traditions and offers both physical and spiritual benefits. It promotes spiritual enlightenment, increased awareness, physical well-being, and meditation. Pranayama calms the mind, eases tension, and enhances meditation techniques. Studies indicate that it is effective in treating mental health issues, reducing stress, and enhancing...
Frontiers in Psychology
June 10, 2026
Guy W. Fincham, Edward Caddye, Amy Kartar et al.
Background Breathwork that increases ventilatory rate or depth represents an accessible non-pharmacological modality for potentially inducing altered states of consciousness (ASCs). Despite gaining traction as a potential therapeutic tool, empirical controlled research on breathwork and ASCs remains limited. Methods We examined the effects of a single session of high ventilation breathwork,...
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
August 1, 2024
Evan Lewis-Healey, Enzo Tagliazucchi, Andrés Canales-Johnson et al.
27 citations
Breathwork is an understudied school of practices involving intentional respiratory modulation to induce an altered state of consciousness (ASC). We simultaneously investigate the phenomenological and neural dynamics of breathwork by combining Temporal Experience Tracing, a quantitative methodology that preserves the temporal dynamics of subjective experience, with low-density portable EEG...
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
December 1, 2023
Guy W. Fincham, Amy Kartar, Malin V. Uthaug et al.
41 citations
High Ventilation Breathwork (HVB) refers to practices employing specific volitional manipulation of breathing, with a long history of use to relieve various forms of psychological distress. This paper seeks to offer a consolidative insight into potential clinical application of HVB as a treatment of psychiatric disorders. We thus review the characteristic phenomenological and neurophysiological...
Frontiers in Public Health
2023
Praag Bhardwaj, Monika Pathania, Yogesh Bahurupi et al.
31 citations
Burnout is "Chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed." Professional quality of life (PQL) includes work related experiences of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue. Healthcare providers (HCPs) are highly susceptible to burnout and compassion fatigue due to their demanding work, which lowers PQL. Burnout leads to poor care, medical errors, and patient safety...
Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience
March 21, 2022
Andrea Zaccaro, Andrea Piarulli, Lorenza Melosini et al.
32 citations
The modulatory effect of nasal respiration on integrative brain functions and hence consciousness has recently been unambiguously demonstrated. This effect is sustained by the olfactory epithelium mechanical sensitivity complemented by the existence of massive projections between the olfactory bulb and the prefrontal cortex. However, studies on slow nasal breathing (SNB) in the context of...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
May 21, 2020
Morgana M. Novaes, Fernanda Palhano-Fontes, Heloisa Onias et al.
110 citations
Pranayama refers to a set of yoga breathing exercises. Recent evidence suggests that the practice of pranayama has positive effects on measures of clinical stress and anxiety. This study explored the impact of a Bhastrika pranayama training program on emotion processing, anxiety and affect. We used a randomized controlled trial design with thirty healthy young adults assessed at baseline and...
International Journal of Yoga
2020
Stephany Campanelli, Adrianobretanha Lopes Tort, Bruno Lobão‐soares
41 citations
INTRODUCTION: , are known to induce meditative states, reduce stress, and increase lung capacity. However, the physiological mechanisms by which these practices modulate the human nervous system still need to be unveiled. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work was to review studies describing the influence of breathing exercises on the brain/mind of humans. METHODOLOGY: We reviewed articles written...
Psychophysiology
April 22, 2018
Michael Christopher Melnychuk, Paul M Dockree, Redmond G. O'Connell et al.
117 citations
Abstract The locus coeruleus (LC) has established functions in both attention and respiration. Good attentional performance requires optimal levels of tonic LC activity, and must be matched to task consistently. LC neurons are chemosensitive, causing respiratory phrenic nerve firing to increase frequency with higher CO 2 levels, and as CO 2 level varies with the phase of respiration, tonic LC...
International Journal of Yoga
2018
Jessy Abraham, Mrithunjay Rathore
22 citations
Telomeres, the repetitive sequences that protect the ends of chromosomes, help to maintain genomic integrity and are of key importance to human health. Telomeres progressively shorten throughout life and a number of studies have shown shorter telomere length to be associated with lifestyle disorders. Previous studies also indicate that yoga and lifestyle-based intervention have significant role...
Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine
September 22, 2017
Christine Tara Peterson, Sarah M. Bauer, Deepak Chopra et al.
54 citations
Stress-induced disorders such as anxiety represent the leading causes of adult disability worldwide. Previous studies indicate that yoga and other contemplative practices such as pranayama, or controlled yogic breathing techniques, may be effective in the treatment of mood disorders and stress. In this study, 142 individuals (mean age = 43 years; SD = 13.90) participated in a 3-day retreat...
September 1, 2017
Stevie‐jae Hepburn, Mary Mcmahon
22 citations
The effects of stress can have a significant impact on an individual’s personal life, relationship with colleagues, job satisfaction and career prospects. If unmanaged, stress can be the trigger that drives talented, motivated teachers out of our classrooms and into other professions. Yoga and meditation have been prescribed as a form of complementary alternative medicine for the treatment of...
Disability and Rehabilitation
May 24, 2012
Ragupathy Sendhilkumar, Anupam Gupta, Raghuram Nagarathna et al.
39 citations
Objective: To study the add-on effects of pranayama and meditation in rehabilitation of patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Patients and Method: This randomized control pilot study was conducted in neurological rehabilitation unit of university tertiary research hospital. Twenty-two GBS patients, who consented for the study and satisfied selection criteria, were randomly assigned to...
Heart Views
2011
RoopaB Ankad, Anita Herur, Shailaja Patil et al.
109 citations
CONTEXT: Asana, pranayama, and meditation are three main techniques of yoga practiced in India over thousands of years to attain functional harmony between the body and mind. Recent studies on long-term yogic practices have shown improvements in cardiovascular functions. AIM: The present study was conducted to ascertain if a short-term practice of pranayama and meditation had improvements in...
Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy
November 13, 2009
Bryany Cusens, Geoffrey B. Duggan, Kirsty Thorne et al.
102 citations
Abstract Two studies of a mindfulness training programme are presented. Study 1 reports on a pilot investigation of the impact on well‐being of the Breathworks mindfulness‐based pain management programme. Significant positive change was found on self‐report measures of depression, outlook, catastrophizing and pain self‐efficacy in the Intervention Group, but not the Comparison Group....
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
September 1, 2007
Joseph P. Rhinewine, Oliver J. Williams
37 citations
OBJECTIVES: To pose the question of whether Holotropic Breathwork (HB), a prolonged, voluntary hyperventilation procedure, might be useful in treatment of common psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depressive disorders. DESIGN: This is a hypothesis-posing paper pertaining to a potential novel treatment. SUMMARY: The neurophysiology and psychology of hyperventilation are reviewed,...