ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the most common direct or indirect connections between imbalanced breathing and health. Imbalanced breathing potentiates symptoms, thus perpetuating the problematic situation. Through stress reactions, conditions such as physical illness or surgery may contribute to the development of imbalanced breathing patterns and aggravation of symptoms. Psychophysical breathing exercises can also be used for problems with underarousal in depressed and exhausted people. Calming down of breathing thus notably promotes stress control, both by calming down the mind and by influencing physical stress responses. In psychophysical breathing therapy, we often see people finding it hard to set boundaries to protect themselves from excessive stress. For people exercising actively, breathing exercises may provide the chance to learn to stop and to acquire patience. Psychophysical breathing therapy will also provide competing athletes with the chance to balance stress and tension. In a safe therapeutic relationship, bodily sensations, particularly those related to breathing, can help to detect anxiety.
