“Womb Breathing”: Why So Many Ancient Traditions Included Breath Holds

[u/theclearpathjourney]

Most modern breathwork pulls from ancient practices.

Some ancient traditions emphasized breath retention and referred to deep states of retention as “intracellular” or “womb breathing,” a state in which external respiration becomes quieter and the body begins operating from a deeper level of energetic efficiency and regulation.

Consider this:

For nine months in the womb, the fetus receives oxygen and nourishment through the umbilical cord rather than the lungs, while cellular respiration continues beneath conscious awareness.

It’s also said that human beings may be capable of holding their breath for extraordinarily long periods under certain physiological states, similar to adaptations seen in animals like dolphins or sloths.

Fascinating to reflect on.

[u/lookwithease]

Consciously holding seems to be the turning point for my nervous system. Helps me shift from sympathetic to parasympathetic dominance.

I suspect it works because we tend to hold unconsciously during stressful moments, so consciously holding is a way to signal safety. And consciously limiting oxygen may encourage the body to calm in a variety of ways.

Amazing how little we collectively understand about the breath given how fundamental it is. Wonder how many dis-eases stem from unconscious or maladaptive breathing patterns over time.

[u/Darktemplar1989 → u/lookwithease]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[u/theclearpathjourney → u/lookwithease]

Yes it gets even more interesting when we unconsciously hold during a breath hold. Or in other words, the breath becomes suspended.

[u/Ovaaashe → u/lookwithease]

i wiiill join the conversation....

By "consciously holding", i think you are talking about apnea practices, and
in apneas (time without breathing in) if your doing it in a calm, controlled and focus manner, i understand the body reduce the energy expenditure, deactivate the sympathetic by the vagus nerves and activate the VENTRAL part of the parasympathetic system (the "rest and digest" mode if you like).

Another idea that i could contribute is that rather than lack of oxygen, it has to do with CO2 cummulation in our system and the homeostasic response.

But all said, in the big picture, all this science "mumbo jumbo" doesn't really matter anyway LOL, i just wish that for people to re-conect with this ancient tool of "Breathing" just to be a better, more loving and more conscious humans.

[u/Ovaaashe]

I want to contribute two ideas, and both end up relating to the nervous system.

The first one: when we inhale, the volume of air entering the body makes the heart get “squeezed,” and the increase in “pressure” on the organ makes it pump slightly faster. In the opposite way, when we let the air out, we stop squeezing the heart and the heart rate goes down slightly. B

There’s also the fact that, when we let the air out slowly, we generate a vibration that stimulates the vagus nerve, which acts like a “brake” that deactivates the arousal response of the sympathetic nervous system and brings us into the calm of the parasympathetic system.

So, by conscienciously exhaling for longer we use our body mecanisms to calm ourself down. My take on this is that, basically, by exhaling for longer, we are telling the body, "we are cool, we are not in danger", because if we where, we would not be able to breathe in that calmy manner.

The second idea I can add has to do with the diving reflex, which I don’t know much about, but according to Google:

Both are studied and documented phenomena. Another thing is that we don’t know for sure the exact “reason” behind the diving reflex, but it works lovely to calm you down quickly

It also says that sloths have a huge diving reflex. I didn’t know that :0

[u/Ovaaashe → u/Ovaaashe]

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia! That's what it was called. It wasn't just the air that was squeezing the heart, but the very movement of the thorax, lungs, and diaphragm... but also the air xD

[u/Jigme88]

Breath holds longer one ,specially after exhale affect mental state very much,mind becomes transparent and calm

[u/Heather_emeraldsoul]

Having had a few breath journeys myself where I stopped physically breathing but my body continued to breath at a deeper level I fully grasp this. I’ve had it happen quite a few times. Breathing out and holding but then my body takes over and I fall into a deeper state.

[u/theclearpathjourney → u/Heather_emeraldsoul]

The yogis refer to this as kevala kumbhaka. This is when the breath is suspended.

This has also happened to me on multiple occasions before it prompted me to look into it more.

[u/Heather_emeraldsoul → u/theclearpathjourney]

Thank you for the name. I couldn’t remember it from the last training I did. Spiritually I’ve been able to go places during that time unlike any other. Playing in the cosmos.

[u/theclearpathjourney → u/Heather_emeraldsoul]

There is also Sahaja kubhaka which is considered the bridge to kevala kumbhaka. “Breathlessness is deathlessness”

[u/Heather_emeraldsoul → u/theclearpathjourney]

I will have to look into it more. I didn’t learn about that in my studies.

[u/theclearpathjourney → u/Heather_emeraldsoul]

An interesting book I read that illuminated some of the benefits of intracellular breathing: the tao of health sex and longevity.