WHY YOU MIGHT FEEL WORSE BEFORE YOU FEEL BETTER
Understanding the deep emotional impact of Conscious Connected Breathing
Introduction: Two Kinds of Breath, Two Kinds of Outcomes
By now, most of us understand the benefits of slow, controlled breathing. It calms the nervous system, lowers heart rate, and signals safety to the body. This is parasympathetic breathing, the go-to for yoga, meditation, and relaxation.
What Parasympathetic Breathing Does — And Why It Feels ‘Nice’
Slow, rhythmic breathing (like 4-7-8 breathing or box breathing) activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the part of your body responsible for rest, digestion, and healing. When this system is engaged:
Your vagus nerve is stimulated
Your heart rate and blood pressure drop
Your stress hormones decrease
You feel a sense of safety and calm
This is why most people associate breathwork with feeling “zen.” But not all breathing is about relaxation. Some breathing is about revelation.
But… there’s another kind of breathwork that’s not designed to calm you down. It’s designed to wake something up.
It’s called Conscious Connected Breathing (CCB), and unlike slow breathing, it can leave you feeling emotional, raw, or even unsettled afterwards. That doesn’t mean it went wrong. In fact, it likely means it worked exactly as intended.
Let’s unpack what’s really happening here.
What Conscious Connected Breathing Does to the Brain and Body
Conscious Connected Breathing (CCB) is intentionally non-relaxing. It creates a state of hypocapnia, which means your blood CO₂ levels drop. This shift:
Alters your blood pH, temporarily making it more alkaline
Disengages the prefrontal cortex (your thinking brain)
Activates the limbic system (your emotional brain)
Disrupts your default emotional defence patterns
Unlocks suppressed emotions, memories, or traumas
Essentially, CCB quiets the part of your brain that normally says, “Don’t go there,” and hands the mic to the part of you that’s been waiting to be heard.
It’s a direct line to the subconscious. But that can come with a cost: you might feel exhausted, sensitive, or even a bit lost afterward.
What Happens to the Brain During Breathwork? (Hypocapnia + Cerebral Hypoxia)
During Conscious Connected Breathing, you’re deliberately over-breathing. This lowers carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in your blood, a state called hypocapnia.
While CO₂ is often seen as waste, it’s crucial for oxygen delivery. When CO₂ drops, your blood becomes more alkaline, and vasoconstriction kicks in, meaning your blood vessels tighten, including those in the brain.
This leads to cerebral hypoxia, a mild, temporary reduction in oxygen to parts of the brain, especially the prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for logic, control, and analysis.
Why is this important?
Because when the prefrontal cortex quiets down, your limbic system , the emotional brain, becomes more active. Emotions, memories, and sensations that were buried or repressed can finally rise to the surface.
It might feel intense. But this is the work.
It’s not damage; it’s deep access. You’re not being “re-traumatised.” You’re being given a chance to process what’s already there.
Why You Might Feel Worse After a Session
Think of your inner world like a cluttered attic. Most of us keep the door locked, storing things we don’t want to deal with. CCB opens that door. At first, it feels overwhelming. Old memories, emotions, or bodily sensations might flood out, and it’s natural to feel like you’re in a mess.
But here’s the reframe:
The mess was already there. You’re just finally seeing it.
This isn’t backtracking or breakdown. It’s processing. And sometimes, the nervous system needs time to catch up with what you released. Feeling heavy or “off” after breathwork often means something deep was stirred, and that’s something to be celebrated.
Let’s Be Clear: Breathwork Doesn’t Re-traumatise You
One concern we sometimes hear is:
“I felt worse after class. Was I re-traumatised?”
The answer is no.
You can’t re-traumatise a traumatised system by bringing awareness to it. Breathwork doesn’t create trauma, it surfaces what’s already stored.
Imagine a splinter under the skin. Digging it out hurts, but it’s the only way to heal. That temporary pain is part of the healing process, not a new injury.
This Is the Point: You’re Healing at the Source
When someone cries in session, shakes, or feels raw, we don’t panic, we celebrate. These reactions mean the body is finally releasing what it’s held onto for too long.
You didn’t do it wrong. You did it right.
Your breath found the place that needed attention.
These after-effects are not glitches, they’re clues that something meaningful happened. And while they can feel uncomfortable, they also open the door to profound transformation.
Myth Buster: “What if I get stuck in the trauma?”
This is a fear I’ve heard many times: What if something dark comes up during breathwork and I can’t get out of it?
It’s a valid concern, especially if you’re doing deep work like Conscious Connected Breathing. But let me be clear: properly structured breathwork doesn’t leave you stuck in the dark. It brings you through it.
One thing I love about IMD Breathwork (yes, I created it — but this is why I stand by it) is the way each session is built like a circle. You don’t just dive in and hope for the best. There’s an introduction to set expectation, a beginning to set intention, a middle where you do the work, a deliberate closing of integration all build in and finally an outro to again set expectation and know that you are supported. The session is designed to take you on a journey and bring you back.
Instructors at IMD prepare participants from the start. They let you know that this can be intense and things might feel worse before they feel better, and that’s not a flaw, it’s a feature of deep healing. After each session, you’re guided through what to expect next, and given a clear post-Breathwork support document.
You’re also offered free, shorter breath journeys on the IMD website that help regulate your nervous system afterward, and more importantly, instructors openly invite you to reach out if anything feels overwhelming in the days that follow.
So no, you’re not going to get stuck. You’re going to feel something. You’re going to move something. And most importantly: you’re going to come back around transformed and ready to thrive.
Because healing isn’t about staying in the dark, it’s about learning how to walk through it with support, structure, and a way back to the light.
How to Support the Process Afterward
After a deep session, your system might still be processing. That’s not a setback, it’s part of the healing. To support the integration:
1. Rest: Allow for quiet time. Your nervous system has done deep work and may need space to recalibrate.
2. Hydrate: Emotional release and altered states can move a lot of energy through the body. Keep water nearby and drink plenty throughout the day.
3. Journal: Capture what surfaced, feelings, images, memories, or shifts in perception. This helps bring subconscious material into conscious awareness.
4. Talk: If something felt big or confusing, share with someone who understands this work. Sometimes saying it out loud is all that’s needed. And make sure to reach out to your instructor as they will help guide you through the next few days of transition.
5. Move: Gentle movement like walking, stretching, or dancing helps complete the somatic release and return the body to balance.
6. Breathe to Reset: A few simple breath patterns can help settle your system and support integration:
Reset Breath: Sharp inhale through the nose, long exhale through the mouth. Do 3–5 rounds to clear tension and reconnect.
4-7-8 Breathing: Inhale for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8. Great for calming the nervous system and easing into sleep.
Box Breathing: Inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4. As you feel more grounded, you can build to 6 or even 8 seconds per part for deeper balance.
Conclusion: You’re Not Broken — You’re Unravelling
Breathwork doesn’t always feel good. But it’s not meant to be comfortable, hence the name Breath-WORK … it’s meant to be true.
If you felt emotional, tired, disoriented, or cracked open after your last session, know this: your body is healing at the deepest level. That tiredness is your system rebuilding itself.
Don’t judge the session by how you felt right after.
Judge it by what shifts inside you in the days, weeks, and months to come.
You’re not going backwards.
You’re going deeper.
Try This: Two Free 10-Minute Breath Fixes
To support you after your session, or anytime you need a reset. We’ve created two free guided breathwork videos available on the IMD Breathwork website.
One is designed as a Morning Boost to energise and awaken your system.
The other is a Stress Release Reset, perfect for unwinding tension and rebalancing after emotional shifts.
You can use either at any point in your day. Both are powerful tools to help regulate your nervous system, rebalance your breath, and reconnect with yourself.
They’re completely free — enjoy the reset.
GOOD MORNING JOURNEY
Start your day with clarity, energy, and intention. This 10-minute Morning Boost breathwork journey by IMD Breathwork is designed to wake up your body, clear mental fog, and prepare you to take on the day ahead. No fluff, just focused breathing paired with immersive soundscapes that rewire your nervous system, reduce cortisol, and boost mood—all in under 10 minutes.
STRESS RELIEF JOURNEY
Feeling overwhelmed or tense? Take 10 minutes to reset with this Stress Relief journey from IMD Breathwork. Using conscious connected breathing, calming soundscapes, and rhythmic guidance, this short session is designed to reduce stress, lower anxiety, and bring you back to centre.