Exhaling the Past: A Comprehensive Neuropsychological Test of Breathwork as a Tool for Trauma Processing and Mental Well-Being

INSTITUTION: Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Martha Nari Havenith

CO-INVESTIGATORS: Isabel Dziobek (Humboldt University Berlin) and Christopher Timmermann (Imperial College London)

REGION: Germany 

Overview:

This study aims to explore the potential of circular breathwork as a tool for trauma processing. Our goal is to understand whether circular breathwork and psychedelic therapy share similar psychological and neuronal mechanisms in participants with a history of childhood trauma.

Abstract: 

This study aims to explore the potential of circular breathwork as a tool for trauma processing, focusing on individuals with a history of childhood trauma. Circular breathwork is a body-centered approach that resembles the experiences reported in psychedelic therapy. The study will assess improvements in long-term well-being in naive participants with a history of childhood trauma - tracking well-being on the emotional, social, and neuronal  level. Additionally, EEG signals will be recorded during circular breathwork and compared to the EEG signatures associated with psychedelic states. The goal is to understand whether circular breathwork and psychedelic therapy share similar psychological and neuronal mechanisms. If successful, this research can establish circular breathwork as a low-cost and accessible method for individuals and communities to unlock their human potential beyond the confines of trauma.