Overview

• Published in PLOS One, the UK team studied high-ventilation breathwork in 42 experienced practitioners across home, lab, and MRI settings.
• Twenty to thirty minutes of continuous cyclic breathing with music reliably elevated oceanic boundlessness scores encompassing unity, bliss, and emotional release.
• MRI data showed widespread reductions in cerebral blood flow alongside decreases in the left operculum/posterior insula and progressive increases in the right amygdala/anterior hippocampus.
• The intensity of the altered states correlated with sympathetic activation indicated by reduced heart rate variability, while participants reported less fear and no adverse events.
• The authors characterize the findings as exploratory, cite small samples and absent control conditions such as the role of music, and highlight HVB as a potential non-pharmacological neuromodulation approach requiring further testing.