Doctors Are Understanding Breathwork Therapy

By Nancy Gardner


Allopathic doctors have made it a habit to ignore the rise in interest over holistic medicine. They have attempted to marginalize it entirely, but too many people wish to find better treatments for disease, and the millions of people without health insurance created a vacuum as well. The methods of breathwork therapy are merely one example of therapies being sought.

In order to utilize this therapeutic approach, both the doctor and the patient must be willing to acknowledge that there is a connection between the mind and the body. The ancient healers held that the thoughts of the mind could impact the health of the body, and this notion is being renewed. This is not an easy perspective for a very linear-thinking individual to embrace.

Followers within the New Age movement firmly believe that there is a connection between our thoughts and our health. They take it to the extreme sometimes, claiming that any negative thoughts are destructive. Negative thoughts are part of our reality and must be acknowledged, but there is no doubt that one who tends to be depressed has less chance of recovery than one who stays upbeat.

Research has shown that deeper breathing promotes calm in the face of anxiety. This has become an important approach in treating panic attacks as well as other psychological problems that many people experience. When one is able to control their breath rate, they can help work themselves through a moment of panic without making a scene.

Anyone who has cared for or just been around an adult with Asperger Syndrome knows what a panic attack meltdown looks like, and how stressful it can be for everyone involved. Many people with Asperger Syndrome have been taught to control their breathing with these methods. Being able to maintain control of themselves in a moment of anxiety can be a great accomplishment.

Diseases such as COPD and asthma deal very directly with breathing, and this fast-shallow-to-deep-slow breathing exercise can help increase their lung capacity. Any time a COPD patient sees their doctor, they will be checked for their oxygen saturation levels. If there is a low level of oxygen in their blood, they run the risk of being hospitalized right away.

The average person will take in more shallow breaths that only fill the lungs. However, we all take in deeper breaths through yawning, which fill the diaphragm and brings oxygen to an area with blood vessels that are more shallow than in the lungs. Yawning is the natural way to maintain a proper O2 saturation, which tells us that the body is already programmed to do what these exercises promote.

For anyone facing serious illness, seeking the advice of your doctor about any additional treatments is highly recommended. It is important that the patient has a physician who appreciates their desire for the whole-body approach to wellness. Anyone who has fought such battles already knows, we must all play an active role in our own struggle to regain health and vitality.




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