The Sacred Breath Method

HOLISTIC. INTUITIVE. PARASYMPATHETIC-DRIVEN. UNINHIBITED.

Kaya Leigh writes…

There are two ways of experiencing Breathwork and taking Breathwork Journeys.

(Please note that when I refer to ‘Breathwork Journeys’, I am meaning Conscious Connected Breathwork Journeying. Conscious Connected Breathwork is an extended experiential journey of breath, working with a connected breath pattern which eliminates the pause between the inhale and exhale, to create an increased state of oxygenation in the body. This kind of heightened oxygenation allows one to access non-ordinary and expanded states of consciousness (theta brainwave), tap into their subconscious and rebalance the emotional body. This type of Breathwork offers an unparalleled opportunity for deep somatic, emotional and energetic healing, reconciliation and catharsis).

So again, there are two ways of experiencing Breathwork— one is via the path of the mouth, and the other is via the path of the nose. However, the majority of Breathwork Journeying we witness today focuses exclusively on the pathway of the mouth, and it is my (and many others’) belief that this is not a trauma-informed or somatically intelligent approach to the work, for many reasons.

It is my opinion that it is ultimately harmful to offer a “cookie-cutter approach” in the main, without consulting with the nervous system and unique psycho-emotional needs of the breather. I will go on to explain why.

According to a wealth of information, both ancient and modern, we should ALMOST NEVER be breathing into our mouths, especially not in Breathwork Journeying where we enter into expanded brainwaves (theta state) that re-imprint the subconscious and recode our breath patterns (and also unlock sensitive, even traumatic content, where the state of the nervous system matters). Entering into a theta state is likened to a kind of hypnosis, and this has the ability to not only create new neural pathways but also re-entrain our breath patterns. In simple terms, this means we would be reprogramming our resting (unconscious) breath to be that of the breath cycle we are using in our journeys. And if the journeys being offered in the main are largely that of mouth-inhalation cycles, so too would one’s resting breath (the breath we are not thinking about) mirror it, taking an unfortunate turn. Yet it goes much deeper than this, especially in dealing with any methodology that has the ability to unlock traumatic imprints. Because mouth-inhalation also affects which nervous system response is being elicited in the body, we must also look to the implications of what it is eliciting in those dysregulated [from a nervous system perspective]. For those unaware, breathing in through the mouth activates the “fight/flight” response, and sometimes “freeze” response, also known as the sympathetic nervous system. And as we will learn later, this creates unnecessary somatic resistance, protection and armoring when meeting our more tenderly-held layers, which are almost always uprooted through breathwork journeying. It could be argued that short bursts of mouth breath, for example in kundalini yoga, that are under 5 minutes, do not cause any lasting harm. Anything beyond this, however, has consequences that must be addressed.

Simply put: Our bodies were intelligently designed (by Nature/Source/Creator) to breathe through the nose, not the mouth. It’s even been said that breathing through your mouth is about as practical as trying to eat through your nose!

The Physiology of the Nose:

The nose is a miraculous filter lined with tiny hairs called cilia. The cilia have many functions: they filter, humidify and warm or cool the air (depending on the temperature) before it enters the lungs. It is estimated that cilia protect our bodies against about 20 billion particles of foreign matter every day!

Once it exits the nose, air passes through the mucus-lined windpipe. This is another avenue to trap unwanted particles before they enter the lungs. Next, air enters the lungs, where the oxygen is pumped into the bloodstream and circulated through the body. In exchange, the air leaving the body carries with it carbon dioxide from the cells, a waste material that is expelled through exhalation. (Lawrence)

Conversely, the mouth is designed for taking in food and water and converting these forms of sustenance to essential nutrients in the body.

Nose breathing is the way Nature designed us to breathe all the time…

So why should breathwork be any different, especially when you are taking in up to 60% more oxygen and also retraining/reprogramming your lungs how to breathe during your resting, unconscious breath?

Additionally, breathing in and out through the nose helps us take fuller, deeper breaths, which stimulates the lower lung to distribute greater amounts of oxygen throughout the body. Also, the lower lung is rich with the parasympathetic nerve receptors associated with calming the body and mind, whereas the upper lungs — which are stimulated by chest and mouth breathing — prompt us to hyperventilate and trigger sympathetic nerve receptors, which result in the fight/flight/freeze stress response.

That said, wouldn’t you want these increased oxygen levels to be filtered properly and your inhale to be of that which supports your overall health, vitality and wellbeing, not to mention deep body ease?

Once the parasympathetic nervous system turns on, cortisol levels decline and the parasympathetic receptors slow the stress response by releasing hormones that relax the mind and body while inhibiting, or subduing, many of the high energy functions of the body. It produces a visceral feeling of calmness and relaxation within which [during breathwork] is key for meeting and releasing trauma, repressed emotions, tender content and energetic imprinting. Through our breath, we can learn to trigger this parasympathetic response to immediately reduce any sense of anxiousness or stress in the body. This response also helps to elevate our mood, strengthen our emotional resiliency, and reduce blood pressure/stress in the moment. Conversely, the fight or flight response releases stress hormones, creates tension and protection in the body, and can even cause long term oxidative stress in the body. It can additionally create “stimulant” effects, akin to a short-term high, but this not support the long-term picture of embodied healing and somatic unwinding.

What this means is that when the body feels safe (through the parasympathetic response) it will be more receptive, relaxed and open to the breathwork journey. When the body doesn’t feel safe (through the sympathetic response), it will further contract, armor and shut down. The sympathetic response, in essence, like adding fuel to the fire; put another way, potentially retraumatizing the traumatized. And on top, most people don’t even realize they are holding onto traumatic imprints. A heightened stress response induced through a mouth-inhalation breathwork journey holds the potential to re-traumatize and further dysregulate the breather. It can also cause us to become numb to our experience, therefore not feel what’s happening in our body, and, as a result, push past what is available to our nervous system, shocking our entire system. This is why our Academy fundamentally disagrees with mouth-inhalation breathwork, unless the breather is advanced in the practice and fully regulated from a nervous system perspective. (Again, most are not). I’m genuinely sorry to be the one to have to say this, but someone has to: Open-Mouth Breathwork is simply not trauma-informed. It’s that simple.

This is not to “push up against” mouth-inhalation Breathwork, but is to to boldly speak to this point: Every single person is different in their needs and ultimately Breathwork should be nervous system-led, along with the facilitator taking in the unique psycho-emotional compositions of every single breather. There should not be a ”cookie cutter” or an overstimulating open-mouth approach given to every person. This kind of forcefulness must stop. It is harmful, even if unintentional. Even though well-meaning Practitioners believe that they are supporting others with this approach, these methods retraumatize, create oxidative stress and bring further imbalance to the dysregulated. This approach can also turn people off completely to the very powerful tool of breathwork (something we see again and again).

Deep healing, nervous system coherence and emotional rebalancing only happens when the body is in a relaxed, open and receptive state. There must, as a baseline, be a sense of safety in the body in order for deep-rooted emotions, energetic imprints, charges and traumas to be brought forth and met in a state of somatic receptivity. Engaging this process though a sympathetic stress response, is not only counter-intuitive, but it creates further armoring, protection and defensiveness in the body. This energy of forcing or pushing past what is available to our body or our nervous system, even trying to race to the finish line of our healing (ie. controlling our healing), leaves little space for the innate, organic intelligence of Sprit/the Divine to work through us.

Part of my (Kaya Leigh’s) dharma exists in challenging the "status quo" if that SQ is not serving the whole... I wholeheartedly embrace this mission as I continue to compile a decade of research and real-time tracking on why mouth-inhale breathwork does not support all nervous systems. You can read more here.

We must understand that breathwork is big, life-changing work and hold its magnitude. Because of this knowing, our Academy remains a trailblazer of ethical, trauma-informed and responsible space-holding, and this includes the inhalation method. We have heard far too many stories to count within the Breathwork community of breathwork being held in an irresponsible and/or non-informed way, and so it has become our FOREMOST INTENTION to set an unwavering community standard of impeccability and somatic safety when guiding this work. We hope that you will join us!

It is one thing to activate the SNS (sympathetic nervous system) and work with mouth-inhale formats if a breather has already attained nervous system regulation (or are naturally regulated), however to push aggressive mouth-inhale formats on every individual with zero due diligence/no awareness of the general state of their nervous system (i.e. if they are in dysregualtion or not/what their deeper psycho-emotional composition is/if they are able to safely meet repressed emotions in a SNS response/etc) is causing much harm in the Breathwork world. To offer a mouth-inhale approach in mass without consulting with the nervous system of the breather is both unethical and irresponsible in my eyes, creating further fracturing, non-safety, and body armoring, and, at times, even further traumatization to the breather.

For all of the reasons above, I (Kaya) have created by own method of Breathwork.

The Sacred Breath Method is our method of Conscious, Connected Breathwork, created by Sacred Breath Academy Founder, Kaya Leigh. The SBM was born from years of Kaya witnessing breathwork in the field that did not fully support the long-term picture of healing or multilayered, somatic unwinding. She continued to witness more aggressive, stimulant-like and ”out there” breathwork that did not bring people deep into their bodies (“in here”), where the totality of what remained un-met was actually living through them. She found… That some breathwork was yet another “distraction” from going in… That many breathers enjoyed the mouth-induced quick “highs” of oxygen, but were not venturing into their total emotional landscapes, ultimately still avoiding what called to be healed. That the status quo was force and push over allowance and receptivity of process.

Kaya’s Method (SBM) was thus birthed to create a trauma-informed, somatically-intelligent and more nourishing and therapeutic approach to breathwork journeying and healing, amidst a sea of rigorous, forceful and fast-paced mouth-inhalation breathwork, often with little to no intentional containers or safe space for processing or integration. Kaya saw that much existing breathwork was unintentionally causing harm, based on the unique personal needs, nervous system responses and psycho-emotional compositions of the collective. Because we are all vastly different, and thus, so is our healing. In realizing there was no "cookie-cutter" approach or formula to this work (as was being aggressively offered by some), the SBM was created as an alternative approach to breath journeying, to take into account the infinite diversity present within myriad individuals comprising the whole.

The SBM honors the divine intelligence of the body by holding the anchor of allowance over force, and inviting the parasympathetic (safety) response in Breathwork. The ethos of our method is never pushing past what is available to one’s nervous system (or being) in any moment. For even resistance serves… until it is truly ready to unwind and shift. But you can’t force it… Otherwise it’s like trying to force open a flower. We will never get there this way… Yet we see this when one cannot feel their way through their process, and seek to “race” or rush through their healing. Our method instead invites self-guided, holistic and multidimensional unwinding, honoring each breather as a magnificently-blooming flower held in the right nutrients. We additionally respect the unique and sovereign unfoldment of each breather’s personal process.

In this, we teach the deeply-needed ethos of allowance over force; nose (the intelligent path of breath) over mouth; sensitivity over non-sensitivity; parasympathetic over sympathetic; working with our unique physiology rather than pushing past it, etc, all as a foundational starting point to cultivate a relationship with breath as medicine. For we cannot summit a mountain until we take those first walks amidst the trees, breathing in the gift of those subtleties and working our way to the peaks...

The Sacred Breath Method is a transformative and experiential self-healing modality. It the way of intuitive, fluid and uninhibited breathwork, as this creates profound spaciousness and freedom of expression for the breather within their personal process of healing, release, reclamation and soul activation. 

At SBA, we understand that the secrets of somatic unwinding, trauma release, full-bodied catharsis, and nervous system regulation include an artfully-woven and intentional container of complete free-form movement and sonic/somatic/emotional expression, guided by the intelligence of breath and a deeply-attuned facilitator. 

We also incorporate a nourishing nose-inhale breath cycle, which is key to activating the parasympathetic (rest & restore) nervous system response. You can learn more here.

We work with nose inhales because our bodies were intelligently designed to breathe through the nose, not the mouth. Breathing in and out through the nose helps us take fuller, deeper breaths, which stimulates the lower lung to distribute greater amounts of oxygen throughout the body. Also, the lower lung is rich with the parasympathetic nerve receptors associated with calming the body and mind, whereas the upper lungs — which are stimulated by chest and mouth breathing — prompt us to trigger sympathetic nerve receptors, resulting in the fight or flight response.

The Sacred Breath Method is a pathway to expanded states of consciousness, where immense healing and transformative experiences can occur through an intimate and sacred meeting of self. It is a revolutionary inner technology, existing through the simple vehicle of one’s own breath, which serves to awaken and activate the healer within— the one who holds all answers already. Through this work, we support a new paradigm of sovereignty in which we no longer solely look to outside sources for our healing or empowerment. We may instead return to the knowing that all lies within, and Sacred Breathwork is a catalyst of this essential remembrance. 

Many who have studied and implemented our method say it is the next caliber of transpersonal and somatic healing, finding it to be completely life-changing. Through the unfathomable intelligence of breath (Spirit/Prana), the breather is self-guided on a personal journey into their being, or soul. Here, one is able to access higher states of awareness, spiritual wisdom, and emotional breakthroughs (catharsis). 

The multifaceted experience of the Sacred Breath Method incorporates a ceremonial, intentional or shamanic container, conscious, connected breathwork, high grade essential oils, smudging herbs, soul-invoking music, vibrational sound, somatic breakthrough coaching, sacred circling/processing and other powerful tools to invoke the deeper aspects of one’s being/soul. Integration techniques follow the breathwork journey so that the internal shifts may be anchored back into one’s day-to-day life in real-time embodiment.