The Science of Breath Regulation & Mindfulness

As contemplative practices become more popular, so does the research validating their effectiveness in health, athletic training as well as executive and leadership coaching.  We have allocated the research into several difference topics in an effort to help you find your area of interest. As more and more information becomes available, we’ll continue to provide this education to our clients. Enjoy!

 

A must read for everyone:

 

• Dysfunctional Breathing & Influence Of Respiration on ALL Body Systems

• Health Impacts of Yoga & Pranayama (A State Of The Art Review)

• Dysfunctional Breathing:  What Do We Know?

• Effects of yogic breath regulation: A narrative review of scientific evidence

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1. Health & Well-Being

   1. Stress and/or Autonomic Nervous System

      1. Mindfulness For Workplace Stress Reduction

      2. Yoga & Stress Reduction At Work

      3. Breathing To Reduce Inflammation

      4. Breathing Through a Particular Nostril Can Alter Metabolism and Autonomic Activities

      5. Autonomic Responses to Breath Holding and Its Variations Following Pranayama

      6. Effects of Various Prāṇāyāma on Cardiovascular and Autonomic Variables

      7. The physiological effects of slow breathing in the healthy human

      8. Physiology of long pranayamic breathing: Neural respiratory elements may provide a mechanism that explains how slow deep breathing shifts the autonomic nervous system

      9. Yoga Breathing Reduces Inflammatory Markers in Saliva

      10. Stress Reduction & Resilience Training

      11. Alternate Nostril Breathing & ANS Function

      12. Health Impacts of Yoga & Pranayama

      13. Diaphragm Action of Autonomic & Enteric Nervous Systems

      14. The Effects Of Diaphragmatic Breathing On Attention, Negative Affect And Stress In Healthy Adults

      15. Breathing through a particular nostril can alter metabolism and autonomic activities.

      16. Immediate effect of specific nostril manipulating yoga breathing practices on autonomic and respiratory variables.

      17. The effects of right and left nostril breathing on cardiorespiratory and autonomic parameters.

      18. Sudarshan Kriya Yogic Breathing in the Treatment of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Part I-neurophysiologic Model

      19. Hemisphere specific EEG related to alternate nostril yoga breathing

      20. Pranayama Meditation (Yoga Breathing) for Stress Relief: Is it Beneficial for Teachers?

   2. Cardiovascular Disease

      1. The effect of Unilateral Breathing on Heart

      2. Effects of Various Pranayama on Cardiovascular & Autonomic Variables

      3. Breathing Retraining: A Three-Year Follow-Up Study of Treatment for Hyperventilation Syndrome and Associated Functional Cardiac Symptoms

      4. Differential effects of uninostril and alternate nostril pranayamas on cardiovascular parameters and reaction time

      5. Deep Breathing For Patients With Chronic Heart Failure 

      6. Guided Breathing Results on Co2 & HRA

      7. Breathing Improves Arterial Baroreflex Sensitivity

      8. Yoga Breathing Influences Sympathovagal, HVR & Cardiovascular Health

      9. Effects of Mouth Breathing on Heart/Lungs

      10. Respiration, Stress, and Cardiovascular Function

      11. Effect of alternate nostril breathing exercise on cardiorespiratory functions

      12. The Impact of Resonance Frequency Breathing on Measures of Heart Rate Variability, Blood Pressure, and Mood

      13. Immediate effect of chandra nadi pranayama (left unilateral forced nostril breathing) on cardiovascular parameters in hypertensive patients

      14. Immediate cardiovascular effects of pranava pranayama in hypertensive patients

      15. Immediate effect of slow pace bhastrika pranayama on blood pressure and heart rate

      16. Immediate effect of a slow pace breathing exercise Bhramari pranayama on blood pressure and heart rate

      17. Alternate nostril breathing: a systematic review of clinical trials

      18. Immediate Effects of Bhramari Pranayama on Resting Cardiovascular Parameters in Healthy Adolescents

   3. Immune System

      1. ​Could nasal nitric oxide help to mitigate the severity of COVID-19?

      2. Nasal nitric oxide in man

      3. Humming greatly increases nasal nitric oxide

      4. EVIDENCE FOR CURE OF FLU THROUGH NOSE BREATHING

      5. Modified Bhramari Pranayama in Covid 19 Infection

      6. Targeting the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway with vagus nerve stimulation in patients with Covid-19?

      7. Vagus Nerve Stimulation ARDS Prevention Trial for COVID-19 Hospitalized Patients

      8. The role of NO in COVID-19 and potential therapeutic strategies

   4. Longevity

      1. Lung Function May Predict Long Life Or Early Death

      2. Associations between lung function and future cardiovascular morbidity and overall mortality in a predominantly First Nations population: a cohort study.

   5. Weight Loss

      1. Losing Body Fat With Breathing

      2. When Somebody Loses Weight, Where Does The Fat Go?

      3. Weight Loss Associated With Dysfunctional Breathing

   6. PTSD & Trauma

      1. Yoga Breathing For Trauma​

      2. Yoga Breathing As Treatment For PTSD With Military Vets

      3. Yoga Breathing For PTSD, ADHD & Schizophrenia

      4. Yoga Breathing For PTSD

      5. Yoga Breathing & Longevity

      6. Breath Practices for Survivor and Caregiver Stress, Depression, and Post- traumatic Stress Disorder: Connection, Co-regulation, Compassion

   7. Ultradian Rhythm & Circadian Rhythm

      1. Yoga Breathing & Ultradian Rhythm

      2. Breathing around the clock: An overview of the circadian pattern of respiration

      3. Lung Function Regulated By Circadian Rhythms; Exercise And Respiratory Treatments May Be Best In Afternoon

      4. An endogenous circadian rhythm of respiratory control in humans.

      5. Nasal Dominance & Ultradian Rhythm

      6. Nasal Cycle In Ultradian Rhythm

   8. Pain Management

      1. ​The Effect of Deep and Slow Breathing on Pain Perception, Autonomic Activity, and Mood Processing

      2. Perspectives on Yoga Inputs in the Management of Chronic Pain

      3. Breathing pattern disorders, motor control, and low back pain

   9. Upper Respiratory Disease

      1. Yoga Breathing & Pulmonary Function

      2. Nitric Oxide Inhibits the Replication Cycle of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus

      3. Oxygen consumption of oral vs. nasal breathing

      4. Nasal Breathing & Nocturnal Asthma

      5. Breathing For Asthma

      6. Effects Of Mouth Breathing on Heart/Lungs

      7. Inhalation of Nasally Derived Nitric Oxide Modulates Pulmonary Function in Humans

      8. Training of Paced Breathing at 0.1 Hz Improves CO2 Homeostasis and Relaxation During a Paced Breathing Task

      9. Definition of a Yoga Breathing (Pranayama) Protocol That Improves Lung Function

      10. Evidence-Based Role of Hypercapnia and Exhalation Phase in Vagus Nerve Stimulation: Insights into Hypercapnic Yoga Breathing Exercises

   10. Dental & Sleep Medicine (including sleep apnea)

       1. Yoga & sleep quality

       2. Efficacy of paced breathing for insomnia

       3. Nose or mouth breathing?

       4. Yoga Treatment For Chronic Insomnia

       5. Mindfulness Meditation With Breath Improves Sleep

       6. Nasal Breathing:  Keystone To Oral & Systemic Health

       7. Influence of Mouth Breathing On The Dentofacial Growth of Children:  A Cephalometric Study

       8. Association Between Oral Habits, Mouth Breathing & Malocclusion

       9. Mouth Breathing:  Physical, Mental & Emotional Consequences

       10. Do circadian rhythms in respiratory control contribute to sleep-related breathing disorders?

       11. Sleep-Disordered Breathing in a Population-Based Cohort: Behavioral Outcomes at 4 and 7 Years

   11. Mental & Emotional Health

       1. Breathing & Psychotherapy

       2. Breathing above the brain stem: volitional control and attentional modulation in humans

       3. Breathing & Fibromyalgia 

       4. The Meaning of Breath

       5. Mindful Attention To Breath Regulates Emotions 

       6. Yoga For Psychiatry & Mental Health

       7. Breathing For Self Regulation To Reduce Anxiety

       8. Breathing For Cognition & Emotion

       9. Breathing Induces Tranquility

       10. Respiratory Feedback in Generation of Emotion

       11. How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing

       12. Breathing Matters

       13. The Effects Of Diaphragmatic Breathing On Attention, Negative Affect And Stress In Healthy Adults

       14. Nasal Respiration Entrains Human Limbic Oscillations And Modulates Cognitive Function

       15. Neurophysiological and neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the effects of yoga-based practices: towards a comprehensive theoretical framework

       16. Vagus Nerve as Modulator of the Brain–Gut Axis in Psychiatric and Inflammatory Disorders

       17. Cardiac coherence, self-regulation, autonomic stability, and psychosocial well-being

       18. Breathing above the brain stem: volitional control and attentional modulation in humans

       19. The rhythm of memory: how breathing shapes memory function

       20. Amygdala-Stimulation-Induced Apnea Is Attention and Nasal-Breathing Dependent

       21. The impact of emotion on respiratory-related evoked potentials

       22. Alternate nostril breathing: a systematic review of clinical trials

       23. The effect of pranayama on test anxiety and test performance

       24. MAPPING BRAIN HEMODYNAMIC SIGNALS AND AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY RELATED TO SLOW YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUES AND WORKING MEMORY PERFORMANCE

       25. ABSTRACT High Frequency Yoga Breathing For Enhanced Cognition

       26. EFFECT OF HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING ON STATE ANXIETY AND ATTENTION

       27. Hemisphere specific EEG related to alternate nostril yoga breathing

       28. Immediate Effect of a Yoga Breathing Practice on Attention and Anxiety in Pre-Teen Children

       29. Specific respiratory patterns distinguish among human basic emotions

   12. Addiction

       1. ​Antidepressant efficacy and hormonal effects of Sudarshana Kriya Yoga (SKY) in alcohol dependent individuals

       2. The effects of mindfulness-based yogic breathing on craving, affect, and smoking behavior

       3. Effect of rhythmic breathing (Sudarshan Kriya and Pranayam) on immune functions and tobacco addiction

   13. Brain Health

       1. Breathing & Brain health

       2. Breathing Can Affect Cleansing Of The Brain

       3. Lateralized rhythms of the central and autonomic nervous systems

       4. Alternation in Nasal Cycle Rhythm as an Index of the Diseased Condition

       5. Measuring and Characterizing the Human Nasal Cycle

       6. Breathing as a Fundamental Rhythm of Brain Function

       7. Yoga Breathing & Neuroprotectice effects

       8. Breathing & Self-Regulatory brain function

       9. The Heart/Brain Connection (recommend reading lots of research on the HeartMath Institutes website.)

       10. Alternate Nostril Breathing & The Pre-frontal Cortex

       11. Alternate Nostril Breathing & ANS

       12. Yoga Breathing & ANS

       13. Link Between Yoga Breathing, Cognition & Brain Health

       14. Serotonin Neurons & pH Homeostasis

       15. Coupling of Respiration & Attention Via Locus Coeruleus

       16. Breathing As A Fundamental Rhythm of Brain Function

       17. Amygdala and Emotional Breathing in Humans

       18. Amygdala and hippocampus are symptomatogenic zones for central apneic seizures

       19. Increased oxygen load in the prefrontal cortex from mouth breathing: a vector-based near-infrared spectroscopy study

       20. Dysfunctional breathing: what do we know?

       21. Effect of uninostril yoga breathing on brain hemodynamics: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study

2. Athletic Training & Performance

   1. Performance Breathing

      1. Diaphragmatic Breathing Reduces Oxidative Stress

      2. Effect of Nasal Versus Oral Breathing on Vo2max and Physiological Economy in Recreational Runners Following an Extended Period Spent Using Nasally Restricted Breathing

      3. The hyperpnoea of exercise in health: Respiratory influences on neurovascular control

      4. The effects of nasal breathing on exercise tolerance

      5. Influence of the breathing pattern on the pulmonary function of endurance-trained athletes

      6. Endurance exercise performance: the physiology of champions

      7. Oral vs. nasal breathing during submaximal aerobic exercise

      8. Bhastrika Breathing & Athletic Performance

      9. Nasal Dysfunction In Exercise

      10. Nasal Obstruction, The Airway, The Athlete

      11. Inspiratory Muscle Training 

      12. Inspiratory Muscle Training II

      13. Inspiratory Muscle Training III

      14. Nasal breathing & exercise tolerance

      15. The diaphragm muscle & influence on respiration

      16. Nasal Breathing & Systolic Blood Pressure

      17. Aerobic Exercise & Performance

      18. Breathing & Physiotherapy

      19. Breathing & Spinal Stability

      20. BREATHING PATTERN DISORDERS AND FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT

      21. Effect of Breathing Rate on Oxygen Saturation and Exercise Performance in Chronic Heart Failure

      22. Triathlete Adapts to Breathing Restricted to the Nasal Passage Without loss in VO2max or vVO2max

      23. The Effect of Nasal Breathing Versus Oral and Oronasal Breathing During Exercise: A Review

      24. Can Yoga Breathing / Pranayama Concepts Be Reasonably Extended to Conventional Endurance Training?

      25. Walking With Controlled Breathing Improves Exercise Tolerance

      26. A framework of transient hypercapnia to achieve an increased cerebral blood flow induced by nasal breathing during aerobic exercise

3. Corporate Executive Coaching & Leadership Development

   1. Cognitive Training

      1. Unilateral Forced Nostril Breathing & Cognition

      2. Is There an Optimal Autonomic State for Enhanced Flow and Executive Task Performance?

      3. Breathing patterns & cognition

      4. Nasal airflow and brain activity: is there a link?

      5. Breath & Executive Functioning

      6. Nasal Breathing & Cognitive Function

      7. Unilateral Nostril Breathing Influences Lateralized Cognitive Performance

      8. Coupling of Respiration & Attention Via Locus Coeruleus

      9. Breath-based Meditation:  A mechanism to restore the physiological and cognitive reserves for optimal human performance

      10. Effect of Left, Right and Alternate Nostril Breathing on Verbal and Spatial Memory

   2. Emotional Intelligence Training

      1. The Effect of Meditation on Brain Function (specific to attention & emotion)

      2. Rhythm Of Breathing Affects Memory & Fear

      3. The impact of emotion on respiratory-related evoked potentials

   3. Leadership

      1. Mindfulness & Leadership

      2. Mindfulness In Organizations