I Didn't Know My Depression Had a Breathing Pattern

By Heather Indu Arena

As I sat down to write this article, I did something that has become so natural to me that I barely give it a second thought. I paused, closed my eyes, and took a full, steady breath.

Not so surprising for a Breath Therapist, right? And I promise I didn't do it for dramatic effect. But here's something that might surprise you.

For years, I had no idea that the way I was breathing might be playing a part in how I was feeling. Sure, I was breathing, or I wouldn't be here writing to you today. But was I breathing in a way that supported my physical, mental, and emotional well-being? 

As it turns out, not entirely.

Let me explain.

A Discovery I Never Expected

For most of my life, I didn't even realize I was experiencing depression. I simply thought that was how I was. When something has been part of your experience for as long as you can remember, you don't necessarily question it. You just assume that's the way life feels, or at least that's how it felt for me.

Eventually, I came to recognize that what I had been experiencing was depression. But understanding what it was and knowing how to move beyond it were two very different things! I wanted to feel differently, but I couldn't seem to find my way out of the familiar emotional patterns I had lived with for so long. Medication wasn't a path that felt right for me personally, although I recognize how incredibly helpful, even life-changing, it can be for many people.

Yoga and meditation had already become important parts of my life, and I have no doubt these practices were supporting my healing in ways I didn't fully recognize at the time. Yet even with all that inner work, the depression continued to linger, and I couldn't quite figure out what else might help.

Then I began practicing Integral Breath Therapy (IBT) regularly, and little by little, something began to change. There wasn't a sudden breakthrough or a particular moment when everything shifted. Instead, I gradually began feeling less of the depression that had accompanied me for so many years. The change was so subtle that I didn't immediately recognize just how different I was beginning to feel.

It was only when I looked back that I began to appreciate how much had changed, and naturally, I wondered what had made the difference. I believe my years of yoga and meditation had helped lay the foundation for healing, and IBT provided that final piece I needed to, as Carol Lampman, the founder of IBT, says, “Free the breath.” And as I began connecting the dots, I recognized something else that had been changing right along with my emotional experience. My breathing pattern!

You see, through my practice of IBT, I had also been changing something I hadn't previously recognized as significant. I had developed a habitual reverse breathing pattern!

Now, what exactly does that mean?

When Your Breath Tells a Story

When we breathe naturally and our diaphragm moves freely, the abdomen generally expands gently on the inhale and returns inward on the exhale. With reverse breathing, those movements happen in the opposite direction. Although this pattern is sometimes used intentionally in certain breathing practices, for me it had become an unconscious way of breathing.

As I began understanding more about the connection between breathing patterns and our emotional states, I discovered that reverse breathing is just one of many restrictive patterns we can develop. Shallow breathing, unconsciously holding the breath, physical restriction of the movement of breath through the body, or breathing in a rapid, irregular rhythm can all reflect what we're experiencing mentally and emotionally, and may even contribute to how we feel.

This made me wonder how much my own habitual breathing pattern might have been contributing to the depression I had experienced for so long. Isn't it fascinating that something we do every moment of every day, without even thinking about it, could be influencing our experience of life?

My experience opened my eyes to something I now feel passionate about sharing. Through my regular practice of Integral Breath Therapy, my breathing became freer and more natural, my depression gradually lifted, and it has not returned. Discovering that there was another way to feel after so many years was an extraordinary gift! 

Our breathing patterns can tell us more about our physical, mental, and emotional experiences than we might realize. By learning to recognize and gently transform these patterns, we may discover new ways to support our well-being.

The Breathing Patterns We Don't Even Know We're Carrying

One of the things that continues to amaze me is how much can be happening within our bodies without us even realizing it. We may be clenching our jaws, holding tension in our shoulders, or restricting our breathing without any conscious recognition that we're doing so. And when these responses become habitual, they can continue long after the stressful experiences that may have contributed to them have passed. Eventually, they can feel so normal that we don't even think to question them. Sound familiar?

I once worked with a woman who would actually stop breathing whenever I invited her to breathe. Imagine that! The very invitation to breathe brought about the opposite reaction. It was a beautiful reminder of just how deeply ingrained our breathing habits can become and why working with the breath sometimes requires patience, gentleness, and a little creativity. Rather than trying to make her breathe differently, I needed to support her in gradually discovering that she could experience her breath with greater ease.

Learning to recognize our habitual breathing patterns gives us an opportunity to become curious about what we're experiencing and explore how we might release those restrictions, allowing the breath to return to a freer, more natural rhythm.

Your Breath Is Free and Portable!

One of the things I love most about the breath is that it's always available to us. Think about that for a moment. You don't need to purchase anything or travel anywhere because your breath comes along for the ride wherever life takes you! Whether you're working, playing, or navigating one of life's more challenging moments, you have an opportunity to reconnect with yourself through something as simple and natural as breathing.

Something extremely valuable I've learned after more than 20 years of working with the breath is that recognizing our habitual breathing patterns is an important first step toward changing them. Instead of trying to take bigger or deeper breaths immediately, which can sometimes create more tension, we can begin by observing where the breath flows freely and where it feels restricted. From there, we can explore how to release those restrictions and support the body in returning to a freer, more natural rhythm.

Why not take a moment to explore your own breath right now? Notice whether it's flowing freely, whether you're holding it, or perhaps restricting its natural movement in some way. There's nothing you need to change just yet. Simply breathe, feel, and observe. You might be surprised by what you discover!

Change Your Breath, Change Your Experience of Life!

When I reflect on my own journey, I'm deeply grateful for the transformation I've experienced through yoga, meditation, and Integral Breath Therapy. IBT helped me recognize and retrain deeply ingrained breathing patterns, supporting my body in returning to a freer, more natural rhythm. Having experienced the profound difference this made in my life, I'm especially grateful to now teach and train other professionals in IBT, supporting them in sharing this work with others.

Perhaps one of the greatest gifts of this journey has been discovering that our habitual experiences are not the only way life can be. Just because we've been feeling or reacting a certain way for years doesn't necessarily mean that will always be our experience. Sometimes, the possibility for change begins with something as simple as becoming curious about our breath and what it may have been revealing to us all along.

So, the next time you find yourself feeling stressed, sad, stuck, or overwhelmed, consider taking a moment to notice how you're breathing, because your breath may offer you another way to explore what you're experiencing. You might discover a familiar pattern you never knew was there, or perhaps a little more freedom and ease than you expected.

And who knows? You may even discover, as I did, that something you've been doing unconsciously your entire life holds an opportunity to experience life in a whole new way.

Your breath is your lifelong companion. Why not take a little time to get to know it?

In Loving Service,

Heather Indu Arena

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