The Power of Breath
"Breath (pran) is the life of beings, therefore it is called sarvayusha (all-enlivening)" - Taittiriya Upanishad, Book 2, Chapter 3, Verse 1
When I was 19, life introduced me to a Himalayan Yogi who changed the way I understood the power of breath (and my understanding of life itself, but that’s for another time). Through different breathing practices that I was taught, I experienced how something so simple could shift my state of mind, from deep relaxation and stillness to different levels of awareness and consciousness. Breath became my go-to mental remedy: free, always accessible, and without side effects. It was something I could carry with me anywhere.
And as it turns out, the relationship between breath, body, mind, and consciousness runs surprisingly deep.
Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Science
People recognized the relationship between breath and state long before we could measure brain activity. In the yogic traditions of India, intentional regulation of the breath is known as pranayama. The word comes from prana, commonly understood as breath or life force, and ayama, referring to regulation, control, or extension.[1]
Pranayama has been practiced for thousands of years- not simply for relaxation, but as a way of preparing the mind for meditation, cultivating awareness, and influencing one's mental and physical state.[1]
Similar ideas developed across cultures. Concepts connecting breath with life or vital energy can be found in qi in Chinese philosophy, ki in Japanese traditions, pneuma in Ancient Greek thought, ruach in Hebrew, and spiritus in Latin.[1]
Different traditions used different language, but they recognized something remarkably similar: There is an intimate relationship between our breath, our body, and our state of mind.
Today, neuroscience is exploring that relationship through another lens.
Your Breath, Nervous System, and Brain
Think about how your breathing changes with your emotions. Fear or anxiety may make the breath faster or shallower. Laughter changes it. Crying changes it. Exercise, sleep, excitement, and relaxation each have their own rhythms. Our state influences our breath.
But importantly, the relationship can also work in the other direction: Our breath can influence our state.
Breathing is largely controlled automatically by the nervous system, yet we also have the ability to consciously change its speed, depth, rhythm, and timing. This places the breath at an interesting intersection between the automatic and intentional- giving us a way to consciously interact with processes that are usually happening outside of our awareness.
Researchers are increasingly studying how different patterns of breathing interact with the autonomic nervous system, brain activity, attention, emotion, and cognition.[1,2] Each breath creates rhythmic changes in heart rate, blood pressure, carbon dioxide levels, and sensory signals traveling between the body and brain. Together, these changes help create an ongoing conversation between our breath, body, and nervous system.
Slow breathing, for example, has been associated with changes in heart-rate variability and respiratory sinus arrhythmia—measures that reflect the close coordination between breathing, the cardiovascular system, and autonomic nervous system. Studies have also reported greater relaxation, comfort, and alertness, along with reductions in arousal and anxiety during slow-breathing practices.[1,2]
But the effects of breathing aren't limited to the body. The rhythm of our breath also interacts with activity in the brain. Research suggests that respiration can synchronize, or “entrain,” patterns of neural activity across different brain regions. Nasal breathing has been linked with respiration-related activity in the amygdala and hippocampus, regions involved in emotion and memory, as well as cortical networks involved in attention and cognitive processing.[2] Research examining attention to the breath has also identified changes in networks connecting the prefrontal cortex and amygdala, which are involved in emotional processing and regulation.[2]
These connections have led researchers to explore intentional breathing as a potential form of self-directed neuromodulation, using changes in our own physiology to influence activity within the nervous system.[1]
In other words: the breath isn't simply responding to what is happening within us; it may also be participating in how we experience it.
Breath and Consciousness
This relationship may go even further. Some forms of intensive breathwork can produce profound changes in subjective experience- including changes in awareness, emotion, perception, and sense of self. This was one of the things that originally fascinated me about breathing at 19. What I experienced wasn't always simply “relaxation.” Different breathing practices could create noticeably different states of awareness and consciousness, allowing me to go deeper into very deep states of meditation. It was within those states that I began to notice meaningful changes in my self-awareness and perspective.
Researchers are now beginning to study experiences like these. A 2024 study followed 14 people across 301 breathwork sessions while researchers measured brain activity with EEG and recorded participants' subjective experiences. More intense psychedelic-like experiences during breathwork were associated with changes in measures of neural complexity, including experiences characterized by bliss.[3]
A 2025 study explored this further using high-ventilation breathwork accompanied by music. Participants reported altered states characterized by experiences such as bliss, unity, changes in perception, and reductions in negative emotion. These experiences were accompanied by measurable changes in physiology and blood flow within brain regions involved in emotion, body awareness, and memory, including the insula, amygdala, and hippocampus.[4]
Together, these emerging findings suggest that certain forms of intentional breathing may influence not only our physiological state, but also how we experience awareness, emotion, and consciousness itself. The research is still developing, but it offers a fascinating scientific lens into experiences that breathing and contemplative traditions have described for centuries.
It raises a fascinating question that contemplative traditions have explored for centuries: How much can changing something as fundamental as our breathing change the way we experience consciousness itself?
Sometimes You Don't Need to Change the Breath
Not every practice requires controlling the breath. Sometimes, we simply notice it.
Where do you feel your breath?
Is it fast or slow?
Shallow or deep?
Smooth or irregular?
Can you follow one complete inhale and exhale without trying to change either?
And if you’ve made it this far, try this: Inhale for 3 seconds → hold for 3 → exhale for 6 → hold for 3.
Repeat it a few times and simply notice what happens. You don't need to force yourself to relax or feel anything in particular—just observe.
Studies examining focused attention on breathing suggest that bringing attention to the breath may influence mind wandering and unwanted thoughts while engaging networks involved in attention and emotional regulation.[2] This is one reason the breath has been used as an anchor in meditation for thousands of years.
The mind can wander into yesterday or tomorrow. The breath is always happening now
Breath, Practice, and Neuroplasticity
There may also be something important about repetition.
Researchers have proposed that neuroplasticity may contribute to changes associated with sustained yogic breathing practices through repeated engagement of networks involved in attention and emotional regulation, although this remains an evolving area of research.[2]
Perhaps the value of intentional breathing isn't only what happens during one breath.
Every time we practice, we're also practicing the ability to notice our internal state, direct our attention, tolerate sensations, pause, and intentionally influence how we respond.
Over time, the practice itself may become familiar.
Learn More: Neuroplasticity
Written by: Vivek Patel, MSN, FNP-C, PMHNP-BC
Last updated: August 2026
Medical Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice.
References
1. Bhargav H, Mehta UM, Kumar A, Subramanian S, Keshavan MS. Breathing and the brain: Pranayama, an ancient self-directed approach to neuromodulation. Asian Journal of Psychiatry. 2026;115:104788.
2. Campanelli S, Lopes Tort AB, Lobão-Soares B. Pranayamas and Their Neurophysiological Effects. International Journal of Yoga. 2020;13(3):183–192.
3. Lewis-Healey E, Tagliazucchi E, Canales-Johnson A, Bekinschtein TA. Breathwork-induced psychedelic experiences modulate neural dynamics. Cerebral Cortex. 2024;34(8):bhae347. View study on PubMed
4. Kartar AA, Horinouchi T, Örzsik B, et al. Neurobiological substrates of altered states of consciousness induced by high ventilation breathwork accompanied by music. PLoS One. 2025;20(8):e0329411. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0329411.
