An exploratory study of breathwork-induced altered states of consciousness in experienced practitioners: the airways to alteration (A2A) trial
The A2A trial found that a single session of high-ventilation breathwork produced stronger mystical, emotional, and psychedelic-like altered states than body-scan meditation, and these experiences were associated with greater psychological insight and reported behaviour change one week later.
This exploratory study of experienced breathwork practitioners. The researchers compared a single session of high-ventilation breathwork with a body-scan meditation session in 24 healthy adults. The A2A trial found that a single session of high-ventilation breathwork produced stronger mystical, emotional, and psychedelic-like altered states than body-scan meditation, and these experiences were associated with greater psychological insight and reported behaviour change one week later.
Key points
Breathwork produced stronger altered states of consciousness than meditation
Breathwork led to greater emotional breakthrough
Benefits extended beyond the session - One week later, the breathwork group reported:
Greater psychological insight
Greater self-reported behavioral change
compared with the meditation group. The authors interpreted this as suggesting that the acute altered state may have translated into meaningful reflection and changes in daily life.
Mental health measures improved in both groups - Stress, anxiety, depression, and wellbeing scores improved over time in both the breathwork and meditation groups. However, breathwork showed additional advantages specifically related to altered-state experiences, emotional breakthrough, and insight.
Abstract
Background:
Breathwork that increases ventilatory rate or depth represents an accessible non-pharmacological modality for potentially inducing altered states of consciousness (ASCs). Despite gaining traction as a potential therapeutic tool, empirical controlled research on breathwork and ASCs remains limited.
Methods:
We examined the effects of a single session of high ventilation breathwork, compared to body scan meditation, in 24 healthy adults with primary outcomes of acute ASCs including mystical experience and emotional breakthrough. Sub-acute secondary outcomes were collected 1 week later.
Results:
Breathwork was associated with larger effects on oceanic boundlessness (p = 0.007, r = 0.63), visionary restructuralisation (p = 0.018, r = 0.60), total mystical experience (p = 0.007, r = 0.66), oneness (p = 0.018, r = 0.60), positive mood (p = 0.007, r = 0.66), ineffability (p = 0.038, r = 0.55), and emotional breakthrough (p = 0.028, r = 0.45). At follow-up, breathwork was associated with substantially greater psychological insight (p = 0.002, r = 0.67) and behavioral change (p = 0.008, r = 0.60) relative to body scan meditation. Stress, anxiety, depression and wellbeing improved in both groups over time.
Discussion:
Results from this preliminary experimental study indicate that breathwork is associated with larger acute psychedelic-like effects than meditation, alongside greater emotional breakthrough, insight, and self-reported behavioral change. These exploratory relationships and preliminary observations provide greater context around breathwork-induced ASCs, and support the feasibility of ASC-focused breathwork research for future confirmatory trials.
Fincham GW, Caddye E, Kartar AA, Lilley EA, Stoke N and Colasanti A (2026) An exploratory study of breathwork-induced altered states of consciousness in experienced practitioners: the airways to alteration (A2A) trial. Front. Psychol. 17:1851882. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1851882. Read Paper
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