The Benefits of Breathwork in Trauma Recovery

Breath is one of the few body functions that happens automatically but can also be consciously controlled. Because of this, breathwork has become an important tool in trauma recovery and nervous system healing.

For trauma survivors, breathing patterns often change without them realizing it. Many people hold their breath, breathe shallowly, tighten their chest, or stay in a constant state of tension. This happens because trauma places the nervous system into survival mode. The body prepares to fight, flee, freeze, or shut down, and breathing changes along with these protective responses.

Trauma experts such as Peter Levine, Stephen Porges, and Gabor Maté all emphasize that healing involves helping the nervous system return to a state of regulation, connection, and safety.

Breathwork can support this process by helping the body slow down, reconnect to the present moment, and release stored stress and survival energy.

According to Polyvagal Theory, slow and intentional breathing can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the part of the body responsible for rest, restoration, and feelings of safety.

When trauma survivors experience chronic stress, their nervous system may remain stuck in fight-or-flight activation or collapse states. Conscious breathing practices can help signal to the body that danger has passed. This can reduce heart rate, muscle tension, anxiety, and hypervigilance while increasing emotional regulation and grounding.

Stephen Porges’ work highlights how breathing patterns are closely connected to vagal tone, emotional regulation, and social engagement. When breathing slows and deepens, the nervous system often becomes more stable and connected.

Trauma often causes disconnection from the body. Many survivors become numb, dissociated, or uncomfortable feeling physical sensations because the body became associated with fear or overwhelm.

Somatic therapies view healing as a process of safely reconnecting with bodily sensations. Breathwork can gently rebuild this connection.

In Somatic Experiencing, Peter Levine teaches that trauma symptoms often result from survival responses that were interrupted or never completed. Breath awareness helps individuals notice internal sensations safely and gradually, allowing the nervous system to release stored activation over time.

Simple breathing practices may help people feel more grounded, increase body awareness, notice emotions safely, reduce dissociation, and tolerate difficult sensations without becoming overwhelmed.

Many people notice emotions surfacing during breathwork sessions. This happens because the body stores stress physically as tension, constriction, or protective patterns.

When breathing deepens and the nervous system softens, emotions that were suppressed for survival may begin to emerge. Some people experience crying, trembling, warmth, tingling, or a sense of release.

Trauma-informed breathwork approaches focus on allowing these experiences slowly and safely rather than forcing catharsis. Experts emphasize pacing, grounding, and nervous system regulation rather than overwhelming emotional release.

Although breathwork can be healing, trauma experts also caution that intense breathing practices may feel overwhelming for some trauma survivors if introduced too quickly.

For individuals with severe trauma, panic, dissociation, or nervous system dysregulation, certain breathwork techniques may temporarily increase activation. This is why trauma-informed approaches prioritize safety, pacing, and choice.

Gentle practices are often recommended first, such as: slow exhalations, grounding breaths, humming, orienting to the room, and noticing the body gradually.

Somatic practitioners often encourage clients to stay connected to the present moment rather than pushing into overwhelming sensations. Healing happens through building capacity slowly, not through forcing emotional breakthroughs. Community discussions among trauma survivors also frequently emphasize that slower, gentler breathwork tends to feel safer and more sustainable for nervous system healing.

Breathing with another safe person can also help regulate the nervous system. In trauma therapy, therapists may guide breathing exercises while offering calm presence and emotional attunement.

This process supports co-regulation, where one nervous system helps another settle and feel safe.

Dr. Gabor Maté often speaks about trauma as a loss of connection to self, body, and authentic emotion. Breathwork can help restore this connection by increasing awareness, presence, and emotional honesty.

Breathwork is not simply about taking deep breaths. In trauma recovery, it becomes a way of communicating safety to the body.

By slowing the breath, increasing body awareness, and supporting nervous system regulation, breathwork can help trauma survivors reconnect with themselves in a gentle and embodied way.

Healing does not happen by forcing the body to relive trauma. It happens by helping the nervous system experience moments of safety, connection, and regulation again, one breath at a time.

References & Resources

Levine, Peter A. Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 1997.

Levine, Peter A. In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2010.

Maté, Gabor. The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2022.

Porges, Stephen W. The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011.

Payne, Peter, Peter A. Levine, and Mardi A. Crane-Godreau. “Somatic Experiencing: Using Interoception and Proprioception as Core Elements of Trauma Therapy.” Frontiers in Psychology 6 (2015): 93.

Poli, Andrea, Angelo Gemignani, Federico Soldani, and Mario Miccoli. “A Systematic Review of a Polyvagal Perspective on Embodied Contemplative Practices as Promoters of Cardiorespiratory Coupling and Traumatic Stress Recovery for PTSD and OCD.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 22 (2021): 11778.