14/10/2026
What is altered states of consciousness?
How breathwork is utilised to atain these trance likw states
Altered States of Consciousness & Breathwork
Understanding the trance-like states of consciousness created through conscious breathing
An altered state of consciousness (ASC) is a temporary shift in our ordinary waking awareness. Our perception of ourselves, our bodies, emotions, thoughts, memories and surroundings can change, allowing us to experience reality in ways that differ from our everyday consciousness. Altered states occur naturally in everyday life. They can arise during dreaming, meditation, prayer, deep relaxation, rhythmic movement, drumming, chanting and certain breathing practices.
In Rebirthing Breathwork and Shamanic Breathwork, conscious breathing is used to facilitate changes in awareness that may allow people to explore emotional material, experience symbolic imagery, access personal memories and enter deeply meditative or trance-like states. These experiences can be meaningful and transformative, although they vary considerably between individuals.
1. What happens during an altered state of consciousness?
In ordinary waking consciousness, we tend to experience ourselves through our familiar identity, thoughts, beliefs and perceptions.
During an altered state, some of these familiar patterns may temporarily change.
People may experience:
Expanded awareness: A feeling of connection with something greater than themselves.
Deep relaxation: A sense of stillness, surrender or being absorbed in the present moment.
Emotional release: Feelings such as grief, anger, joy or sadness may arise more intensely.
Inner imagery: Colours, landscapes, symbols, memories or dreamlike scenes may appear.
Changes in time perception: Minutes may feel like hours, or time may seem to disappear.
Changes in body awareness: Tingling, warmth, vibrations, heaviness or a feeling of floating.
Reduced awareness of the external environment: Attention may turn inward, making music, thoughts and imagery more prominent.
Transpersonal experiences: Some people report a sense of unity, spiritual connection or contact with what they understand as their higher self.
Not everyone experiences all these phenomena. Some participants have powerful visual experiences, while others experience subtle emotional shifts or simply a quieter mind.
Importantly, an altered state is not necessarily a state of unconsciousness. A person may remain aware of their surroundings while experiencing a profound shift in their inner world.
2. How does breathwork induce altered states?
Breathwork can influence consciousness through several interconnected mechanisms involving breathing patterns, the nervous system, attention, emotions and brain activity.
A. Changes in breathing and brain chemistry
Different breathing patterns affect the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the body.
During rapid or deep breathing, particularly when ventilation exceeds the body's metabolic needs, carbon dioxide levels in the blood can fall. This is known as hypocapnia.
Reduced carbon dioxide can change blood pH and constrict blood vessels in the brain, temporarily altering cerebral blood flow.
These physiological changes can contribute to sensations such as:
Light-headedness or dizziness.
Tingling in the hands, feet or face.
Feelings of unreality or detachment.
Changes in perception.
Muscle tightness or cramping.
Heightened bodily sensations.
These effects are not necessarily evidence of a deeper spiritual state. Some are direct consequences of changes in carbon dioxide levels. A crucial distinction: The sensations associated with overbreathing should not automatically be interpreted as emotional release, trauma leaving the body or spiritual awakening.
A participant's experience may have emotional, psychological and physiological dimensions simultaneously.
B. Rhythmic breathing and sustained attention
In conscious connected breathing, the participant maintains a continuous flow between the inhalation and exhalation, usually without deliberate pauses.
As attention becomes absorbed in the rhythm of breathing, the person may become less focused on ordinary external distractions.
This can create conditions for:
Deep absorption.
Reduced self-consciousness.
Spontaneous imagery.
Changes in the experience of time.
Increased awareness of bodily sensations and emotions.
The repetitive rhythm can become an anchor for attention, much as a mantra, drumbeat or meditation practice can.
C. Emotional activation and release
Breathwork can bring attention to sensations and emotions that are ordinarily ignored, suppressed or difficult to articulate.
For example, a participant might notice tightness in their chest, sadness in their throat or tension in their abdomen.
With continued attention, these sensations may become associated with emotions, memories or personal meanings.
Some people cry, shake, vocalise or experience spontaneous movements.
From a trauma-informed perspective, it is important to recognise that these responses do not necessarily prove that a traumatic memory has been recovered or that trauma has been released.
The facilitator's role is to provide a safe, respectful environment in which participants can experience their responses without being told what those responses must mean.
D. Music, rhythm and the environment
Music can play a significant role in facilitating an altered state.
In Shamanic Breathwork, music is often arranged to support an experiential journey through different emotional and energetic phases.
For example:
Arrival: Gentle music encourages settling and relaxation.
Opening: Rhythmic sounds help participants establish a breathing pattern.
Deepening: Layered percussion, drones or repetitive rhythms support inward attention.
Emotional intensity: Music builds in volume, texture or energy.
Integration: The music gradually softens, creating space for reflection and rest.
The combination of breath, rhythm, focused attention and an evocative environment may help participants enter a trance-like state.
However, music affects people differently, and a facilitator should be responsive to individual needs rather than assuming that everyone must reach the same intensity.
3. What is the relationship between trance and the brain?
Trance is a broad term describing a state of focused absorption in which ordinary awareness may change.
It is not one single, clearly defined brain state.
During breathwork, meditation or other contemplative practices, researchers may observe changes in attention, emotional processing, autonomic activity and patterns of brain activity. The exact changes depend on the practice and the individual.
Several psychological processes may contribute.
Process What the participant may experience
Focused attention Becoming deeply absorbed in breathing or music.
Reduced external awareness Feeling less concerned with the room or other distractions.
Increased interoception Noticing internal bodily sensations more vividly.
Emotional activation Experiencing feelings more intensely.
Imagery and association Experiencing spontaneous images, memories or symbolic narratives.
Altered self-perception Feeling less identified with the usual sense of self.
These processes help explain why a person may experience breathwork as dreamlike, immersive or spiritually significant.
However, we should be careful not to claim that breathwork reliably activates one particular brainwave frequency, switches off the analytical mind or gives direct access to the subconscious. These claims are often presented too confidently.
4. How altered states relate to Rebirthing Breathwork
In the Rebirthing tradition developed by Leonard Orr, conscious connected breathing is used as a practice for exploring the relationship between breathing, emotions, habitual patterns and personal experience.
The breathing rhythm is intended to be continuous, relaxed and connected rather than forced.
Within this framework, participants may notice familiar emotional responses, bodily sensations or beliefs emerging during a session.
For example, a person who habitually suppresses sadness may become aware of grief during a session. Another may notice anxiety, frustration or a strong need to control their breathing.
The facilitator can encourage the participant to remain curious about the experience, notice their breathing and allow feelings to be present without imposing an interpretation.
Why might this feel like entering a deeper layer of consciousness?
As attention moves away from everyday tasks and towards breathing and bodily sensations, familiar patterns of thought may become less dominant.
Experiences that are normally outside immediate awareness may become more noticeable.
This can feel like moving beneath the surface of the conscious mind.
It is important, however, to distinguish between a participant's subjective experience of accessing the subconscious and scientifically established evidence about unconscious mental processes.
The therapeutic value does not depend on recovering a literal memory of birth or infancy. A participant can gain insight into present-day emotions and behaviours without establishing that a particular image or sensation represents an actual past event.
5. How altered states relate to Shamanic Breathwork
Shamanic Breathwork incorporates conscious breathing with music, imagery, ritual and a spiritual framework.
In the approach associated with Linda Star Wolf, the journey may draw on shamanic symbolism, the elements and the imagery of different worlds or dimensions of experience.
A participant might encounter:
An inner landscape or natural environment.
Animal imagery or symbolic figures.
Memories or emotionally significant scenes.
Images associated with personal challenges.
A sense of meeting an aspect of themselves.
Feelings of connection with nature, ancestors or spiritual dimensions.
Within a shamanic framework, these experiences may be understood as encounters with archetypes, spirit guides, the inner healer or aspects of the soul.
From a psychological perspective, they may also be explored as symbolic imagery arising through imagination, memory, emotion and expectation.
These interpretations do not have to be treated as mutually exclusive, provided the facilitator respects the participant's beliefs and does not present spiritual interpretations as objectively verified facts.
The role of intention
Before a journey, participants may establish an intention, such as:
What am I ready to understand?
What patterns am I ready to explore?
What would it mean to reconnect with myself?
What do I need to acknowledge or make space for?
An intention can help direct attention and provide a framework for reflecting on the experience afterwards.
The aim is not to force a vision or manufacture a dramatic experience. It is to create conditions in which participants can explore their experience with curiosity and choice.
6. The difference between a meditative state, trance and a highly activated breathwork experience
These experiences overlap, but they are not identical.
Meditative state
Attention becomes more settled, and the person may experience stillness, clarity or a reduced stream of ordinary thoughts.
Trance-like state
Attention becomes deeply absorbed, and the person may experience altered time perception, vivid imagery or reduced awareness of the external environment.
Highly activated breathwork experience
The participant may experience intense emotions, tingling, muscle contractions, dizziness, rapid breathing or a sense of profound intensity. Some of these effects can result from changes in carbon dioxide and blood pH rather than trance itself.
Transpersonal experience
The person experiences a sense of connection beyond their ordinary identity, sometimes described as unity, spiritual awakening or transcendence.
A participant may experience more than one of these states during a single session.
A powerful experience is not necessarily a more beneficial one. Quiet, subtle experiences can also be meaningful.
7. The facilitator's role: Supporting the journey safely
For breathwork facilitators, the goal should not simply be to induce the deepest possible trance.
It is to support an experience that is appropriate for the individual, respects their autonomy and allows them to remain as safe and grounded as possible.
Important principles include:
1. Establish informed consent. Explain the breathing practice, possible sensations, emotional responses and relevant risks beforehand.
2. Encourage choice. Participants should know they can slow down, return to gentler breathing, open their eyes or stop at any time.
3. Avoid forcing catharsis. Crying, shaking, shouting or revisiting difficult emotions should never be treated as requirements for healing.
4. Stay attentive to physiological signs. Severe dizziness, faintness, chest pain, marked confusion or other concerning symptoms require stopping the intensive breathing practice and appropriate assessment.
5. Support grounding and integration. Allow time for quiet rest, hydration when appropriate, reflection and discussion without pressuring participants to explain their experiences.
6. Respect individual differences. Trauma history, current psychological state, physical health and breathing technique can all influence a person's response.
Intensive breathing practices can pose risks, particularly for people with certain cardiovascular, respiratory or neurological conditions, a history of seizures, or significant mental health vulnerabilities. Appropriate screening and professional guidance are important.
Never use underwater breathwork or breath-holding challenges to induce altered states. Loss of consciousness underwater can lead to drowning.
8. A simple example of how an altered state may develop
Imagine a participant attending a Shamanic Breathwork session.
Stage 1 — Settling
The participant lies comfortably, listens to the music and begins to focus on breathing.
Their attention gradually moves away from everyday concerns.
Stage 2 — Absorption
The breathing becomes rhythmic. The participant becomes more absorbed in the experience and less attentive to the external environment.
They may notice bodily sensations, emotions or images.
Stage 3 — Deepening
The music develops, and the participant continues breathing according to the agreed practice.
They may experience vivid imagery, strong emotions or a change in their sense of time.
Alternatively, they may experience little beyond physical sensations.
Stage 4 — Emotional or symbolic experience
The participant notices sadness, joy, fear or another emotion. They may associate it with a memory or encounter an image that feels personally meaningful.
The facilitator supports the participant without deciding what the experience means for them.
Stage 5 — Returning
The music softens, and the participant gradually returns their attention to their surroundings.
They are given time to rest, orient themselves and reflect.
Stage 6 — Integration
The participant considers what they noticed and whether it has any relevance to their present life.
The experience is explored with curiosity rather than being automatically labelled as a breakthrough, trauma release or spiritual awakening.
This sequence is illustrative, not a fixed progression. People can move between states, experience them in a different order or remain relatively close to ordinary waking awareness.
9. The deeper question: Why are humans drawn to altered states?
Across cultures and throughout history, humans have used meditation, chanting, drumming, prayer, dance and ritual to explore consciousness.
These practices can provide a break from habitual ways of thinking and create opportunities for reflection, emotional expression, meaning-making and connection.
Breathwork offers one pathway into this exploration because breathing is both an automatic physiological process and something we can consciously influence.
By bringing attention to the breath, we can change our relationship with bodily sensations, thoughts and emotions.
For some people, this becomes a deeply spiritual experience. For others, it is primarily emotional, psychological or meditative.
Neither experience needs to be more valid than the other.
The important questions are whether the practice is appropriate for the person, whether they retain the freedom to regulate their experience, and whether they can integrate what they discover in a constructive way.
A final thought for your work as a breathwork facilitator
In both Rebirthing and Shamanic Breathwork, I would distinguish between facilitating an altered state and facilitating meaningful integration.
The altered state may open the door to an unusual or deeply felt experience. The integration process helps the participant make sense of that experience without imposing a particular interpretation.
A powerful journey is not measured only by how far someone travels into a trance, how intensely they express emotion or how many visions they experience.
Sometimes the most meaningful shift is a participant becoming aware of a familiar pattern, allowing an emotion to be felt without judgement, or developing a new sense of compassion for themselves.
The breath can be the doorway; awareness, choice and integration are what help make the journey meaningful.
Krisy Conroy
Shamanic Transcendence
