In recent years, psychedelics have been gaining more attention from those pursuing mental and physical health. Speaking for myself, I have never had good experiences with any form of psychedelic. I’ve either felt nothing, or had panic attacks and extremely vivid and scary hallucinations. So when I found out that hypoxic breath meditations could mimic the benefits of psychedelics, I was very excited to learn more. Could there be a way to boost my health and experience the positive effects of psychedelics without having to take a drug?
First, let's explore the science a little bit to see if this makes sense. Well yes, theoretically, it makes sense. Instigating your own hypoxia allows your body to naturally release DMT. DMT is one of many psychedelic drugs that is known to expand awareness and consciousness. DMT isn’t just a drug, it’s also endogenous, meaning we produce it naturally. It has also been shown that DMT is naturally released to prevent brain cell death in hypoxic situations (Barker, 2018). It's a protective survival mechanism. And some people think that training yourself to adapt to hypoxia has benefits for the brain. Additionally, DMT has been shown to modulate the inflammatory response in the body. This suggests that naturally inducing its release can affect healing in those with chronic ailments (Szabo et al., 2016). Although there isn’t a ton of evidence to back up the claims that hypoxic breathing can create a psychedelic experience, there isn’t too much harm in trying it out either (unless you have blood pressure issues or a heart condition).
The idea of hypoxic breathing dates back to the ancient yogis, who developed a type of breathwork called kumbhaka pranayama. Kumbhaka involves systematic rhythmic breathing, where the exhale is extended longer than the inhale. This is followed by holding of the breath, both on the inhale and the exhale, along with bandhas (holding of certain muscles). More recently however, people like Wim Hoff and Niraj Naik have popularized the idea of hypoxic stress to stimulate radical healing and psychedelic awareness. Typically, they will pair the rhythmic breathing with music or drum beats, which help to heighten the experience.
So far, I have practiced both the traditional kumbhaka, Wim Hof, and Niraj Naik’s meditations. All three forms have allowed me to feel light, energized and free from stress. It feels a bit like a high. It is a different feeling from the one produced by “normal” meditation, which can sometimes leave me feeling sleepy. Have I experienced radical healing or expanded awareness? No. However, it’s certainly been an enjoyable experience, one that I have added to my regular meditation routine. Also, I don't practice this type of meditation every day or for more than 20 minutes at a time. So it's possible that I just haven't practiced enough to experience the full "high".
Should you try it? Yes! As long as you are healthy and don't have any issues with blood pressure or your heart, give it a try. One thing to keep in mind is that as you practice, you build tolerance to breath holds, so go easy on yourself and slowly ramp up your holds. Never make yourself intolerably uncomfortable. Meditation should always be enjoyable.
If you’re interested, here are some good resources to help you practice:
Barker S. A. (2018). N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), an Endogenous Hallucinogen: Past, Present, and Future Research to Determine Its Role and Function. Frontiers in neuroscience, 12, 536. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00536
Szabo, A., Kovacs, A., Riba, J., Djurovic, S., Rajnavolgyi, E., & Frecska, E. (2016). The Endogenous Hallucinogen and Trace Amine N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) Displays Potent Protective Effects against Hypoxia via Sigma-1 Receptor Activation in Human Primary iPSC-Derived Cortical Neurons and Microglia-Like Immune Cells. Frontiers in neuroscience, 10, 423. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2016.00423
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