And just like that, over a thousand years later and modern science is finally catching up with the wisdom yogis have known all along - breathwork, or pranayama, is one of the most powerful tools we have to regulate the mind and the body. Pranayama, the yogic practice of breath control, first mentioned in Hindu texts between 800 and 500 BCE as a way to shift energy, focus the mind, and promote wellbeing. Once considered merely a meditative or spiritual practice, breathwork is now gaining recognition by the scientific community as a powerful tool that can rewire the brain and regulate the nervous system. Researchers are finally confirming and figuring out how the way we breathe doesn’t just change how we feel - it alters the way our brain functions, shifts stress responses, and fine-tunes the nervous system on a physiological level.
BREATHWORK - THE REMOTE CONTROL FOR YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM
Think of your nervous system as the command center of your body. It’s an intricate network of specialized cells that coordinate each movement, thought, sensation and function in the body (heart rate, breathing, digestion, and more). It receives, processes and responds to information from itself (our body’s internal state) and from our external environment. It’s divided into two parts: (1) the Central Nervous System — which only includes the brain and spinal cord—and (2) the Peripheral Nervous System—all the nerves that extend from the brain and spinal cord but aren’t connected directly to them.
The Peripheral Nervous System is further divided into two branches:
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Somatic or Voluntary Nervous System
This controls voluntary movement, like walking, reaching for something, or practicing a yoga pose.
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Autonomic Nervous System
This regulates involuntary functions like digestion, heart rate, and breathing, as well as the stress response that mostly operates automatically and outside of our conscious control.
Most autonomic (think automatic or involuntary) functions - like heartbeat or digestion - are unconscious and happen without our input. Our heart beats without conscious control and digestion happens without us needing to remember to do it. But the breath is unique. Breathing is the one function within the Autonomic Nervous System that’s both automatic and under our conscious control. When we focus on it, we can decide to slow the breath down or speed it up, but once we get distracted or find something else to focus on, our awareness of it fades but we keep breathing, uninterrupted.
This bridge between involuntary and voluntary nervous systems makes breathwork a powerful tool for influencing our mental and physical and wellbeing. By practicing pranayama, we can directly tap into and consciously control our Autonomic Nervous System, which is usually inaccessible. This makes the breath a powerful lever for shifting everything else within the Autonomic Nervous System and the entire nervous system as a whole.
The final distinction within the Autonomic Nervous System is that there are two divisions:
- Parasympathetic Nervous System, which primes our bodies’ rest and digest functions.
- Sympathetic Nervous System, responsible for the fight-or-flight response, and temporarily increases alertness and energy.
The breath is so much more than just an automatic and subconscious function, it’s literally a handle we can use to guide our nervous system from one state to another. Breathing is a direct pathway to influencing our physiological state. When we slow down or speed up our breath, the other functions of our Autonomic Nervous System adjust in sync. For instance, slow, deep breathing stimulates the Parasympathetic Nervous System and rapid, shallow breaths activate the Sympathetic Nervous System.
A key element of the Parasympathetic Nervous System that calms us down and helps us rest and digest, is the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in the human body and connects the brain to nearly every organ in the body. It conveys information on how the heart, lungs and digestive organs are functioning, and keeps essential functions like heart rate, breathing, and digestion running without us having to think about it.
One of the ways we measure the activity of the vagus nerve or vagal activity is through heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is the slight variation in time between heartbeats, and more variation is better. A high HRV means that the nervous system is flexible and responsive, meaning that the body can easily switch between relaxation and stress modes as needed. A low HRV means that our nervous system is stuck in a stress response. The vagus nerve directly influences HRV by modulating our heart rate based on our breath.
The vagus nerve (that long verve that allows the brain to communicate with nearly every organ in our body) passes through not only the heart and lungs, but also our main breathing muscle, the diaphragm. When we inhale, the diaphragm contracts and moves downward, creating the space necessary in the chest cavity to allow the lungs to expand. And when we exhale, the diaphragm relaxes and moves back up, pushing air out of the lungs. As the diaphragm moves, it stimulates the vagus nerve, and when we take deeper, slower breaths the Parasympathetic Nervous System activates, and the heart rate slows down. This is how we can hack our way into a calm state. On the other hand, when we take fast, shallow breaths, we activate the Sympathetic Nervous System, which can boost alertness and focus. See diagram below:
The way we breathe has a profound impact on our nervous system, and different techniques engage it in different ways. Whether the goal is relaxation, focus, or energy, breathwork provides a direct line of communication between the brain and body. Let’s dive into three specific techniques - deep breathing, 4-7-8 Breathing, and Kapalabhati - and explore the research behind each one.
DEEP BREATHING INCREASES FOCUS
Deep breathing is a simple yet powerful pranayama technique that can help regulate the nervous system towards a state of calm. At its core, deep breathing is about using the diaphragm. This technique involves breathing deeply into the diaphragm and expanding the belly during the breath in and simply exhaling all the air out with the breath out.
One study used deep breathing to show just how profoundly it can change neural activity. During eight minutes of box breathing, participants’ brain activity was recorded using magnetoencephalography (MEG), which detects magnetic fields generated by neural activity and allows researchers to track how breathing patterns affect brain function in real time.
Alpha waves are brain waves (neural oscillations) that occur at the frequency of 8-12 hertz and are associated with a state of relaxed wakefulness. These waves are thought to play a role in allowing us to filter out unnecessary or distracting information, which allow us to focus. Results showed that the alpha waves fluctuated with participants’ breathing patterns—alpha power decreased during inhalation and increased during exhalation—suggesting that breathing rhythm can modulate the patterns of brain activity. But the participants who were deep breathing showed even higher alpha power increases when compared to those who were simply breathing normal or doing a box breath.
4-7-8 BREATHING CALMS YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM
This relaxing pattern is also a straightforward technique only it uses a breath hold to increase parasympathetic activity. Inhale through the nose for four seconds, hold the breath for seven seconds, then exhale through the mouth for eight seconds.
The 4-7-8 Breathing was found to reduce anxiety levels even more than deep breathing in a 2022 clinical trial that used pranayama as a treatment after surgery. Another study looked at the effects of 4-7-8 Breathing on heart rate, blood pressure and HRV in healthy individuals. The authors wanted to specifically compare the effects of pranayama on those with and without sleep deprivation to see whether five minutes of the 4-7-8 Breathing technique would still be effective when the nervous system’s performance was impaired and the activity of the Parasympathetic Nervous System is reduced. The results? Both heart rate and blood pressure were lowered by 4-7-8 Breathing and HRV increased, indicating a shift towards parasympathetic (relaxation) activity. The core effectiveness of this technique lies in its direct connection to the vagus nerve. These shifts were more pronounced in individuals who weren’t sleep deprived, but the 4-7-8 Breathing was effective despite only practicing it for five minutes.
KAPALABHATI BREATH BRIEFLY BOOSTS ENERGY
On the other end of the spectrum, we have more energizing breathwork practices like “Skull Shining Breath,” or Kapalabhati. This is a more dynamic pranayama technique that’s activating and uses fast, rhythmic, and forceful breaths.
To practice Kapalabhati breath, just inhale about halfway through the nose, then using the core muscles as a pump, let out short, sharp exhales through the nose or mouth (purse the lips and make a “shhh” sound with each breath out). The inhales happen on their own. Start off slowly, doing a few rounds, gradually working up to a quicker pace and completing 60 or 100 exhales.
Physiologically, Kapalabhati stimulates the Sympathetic Nervous System, which is responsible for increasing alertness and energy. The rapid busts of exhalation increase heart rate, blood pressure, and HRV.
One study found that during and after Kapalabhati, heart rate patterns changed, showing reduced relaxation responses, but brain activity that stayed mostly the same compared to the starting point. Participants performed Kapalabhati at a rate of two breaths per second for five minutes. They used electrocardiography (ECG) recordings before, during and after the five-minute Kapalabhati session and found that the Sympathetic Nervous System (which is activating) was activated and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (which is calming) was temporarily reduced. However, after Kapalabhati, HRV parameters returned to normal, which means the Autonomic Nervous System was brought back to balance. Essentially, Kapalabhati works like a short-term stimulant for the nervous system, similar to how mild physical exercise can boost wakefulness and alertness. An important takeaway is that while Kapalabhati can heighten physiological arousal, it doesn’t leave the nervous system in a prolonged stress state. This practice is a useful tool in situations where increased focus, energy, and cognitive clarity are needed. Think of it as an on-demand energy boost that’s both stimulating and rebalancing.
PRANAYAMA REGULATES YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM
For thousands of years, pranayama has been used to regulate energy, focus the mind, and enhance wellbeing. Now, modern science is finally beginning to confirm what ancient yogis always understood: that breathwork directly influences the nervous system.
By controlling the breath, we tap into the Autonomic Nervous System, which regulates involuntary functions like heart rate, digestion, and stress response. Unlike most Autonomic Nervous System functions, breathing is unique - it can be both automatic and consciously controlled, making it a powerful tool for shifting physiological states.
Research now shows that slow, controlled breathing like deep breathing or 4-7-8 Breathing stimulate the vagus nerve, increase HRV, and enhance parasympathetic activity, in turn, promoting relaxation, emotional regulation, and better sleep. In contrast, fast, rhythmic breathing like Kapalabhati boosts sympathetic activity, increasing focus, circulation, and energy, but without prolonged stress, as the nervous system quickly rebalances.
Ultimately, pranayama isn’t just about relaxation or stimulation - it’s about building adaptability. Whether you need to calm the mind, sharpen focus, or energize the body, breathwork is an immediate, validated way to shift your state - one breath at a time.
PRACTICE WITH TARA:
One of the techniques we’ve discussed, the 4-7-8 Breathing pattern, is a breathwork pattern designed to regulate the nervous system and promote relaxation. This practice follows a rhythmic pattern - inhaling for 4 seconds, holding for 7 seconds, and exhaling for 8 seconds - which helps slow the heart rate, enhance vagal tone, and shift the body into a parasympathetic state. The extended exhale plays a key role in calming the mind and reducing stress by stimulating the vagus nerve, which aids in relaxation and recovery.
Join the author of this post, Dr. Tara Zinnamon, for a 5-minute 4-7-8 breathwork practice, that offers a direct way to anchor attention, quiet mental chatter, and create physiological balance. It’s particularly useful for those looking to improve sleep, reduce anxiety or regain focus in moments of stress. Whether used daily as a nervous system reset or as a tool to tackle high-pressure situations, this technique is a simple yet powerful way to tap into the brain’s natural ability to regulate itself.
Feel free to play her playlist below while practicing to slip into a state of calm even more easily.
This blog post is part two of a three-part series exploring the neuroscience behind asana (postures), pranayama (breath control/breathwork) and dharana/dhyana (meditation). Be sure to come back for part three in March, where we’ll dive into how meditation can change brain structure and activity to increase well-being.
DR. TARA’S PLAYLIST:
ABOUT DR. TARA:
Dr. Tara Zinnamon is a neuroscientist and yoga, breathwork, and meditation guide committed to moving her community towards wellness and expansion. Straddling two seemingly disparate approaches, she has found through her research, clinical, and lived experiences that the human mind and body are capable of self-healing and immeasurable feats. Guiding the body, breath, and mind, her intention is to encourage self-awareness, connection, and resilience in practice and in life.
Practice with her in Los Angeles at her weekly public classes at Black Being and Modo Yoga La Brea. Tara also hosts events at the intersection of science, wellness, and community through her social club, Journey Club. But practice with her anytime on her YouTube Channel @tarazinnamon
Stay connected with Tara on Instagram @tarazinnamon and @journey__club and on TikTok @tarazinnamon.
Tara is practicing on our PROlite® Yoga Mat with an enlight™ Meditation Cushion while wearing our Dhara Leggings in Lions Mane Heather and the Half Moon Hoodie in Earth.
Photos and video by Anisha Sisodia. Follow her on Instagram: @anishaspice.
The studio featured in the photos and videos is Black Being in Inglewood, California.
