Hyperventilation & Tetany - what is this all about?
Side effects of deep & fast breathing
Hyperventilation in breathwork
What is Hyperventilation? It is usually defined as a form of over-breathing, when someone breaths more than is required to meet the body’s needs. This can sometimes lead to shortness of breath, panic attacks or cramps in the body. The medical world states that the cause being that the inhale exceeds the natural demand, which causes an alkalization effect on the body. The medical terminology for this is called Tetany.
As a result of the deep and fast breathing during the breathwork sessions, the effect is often tetany, cramps and/or muscular spasms with intense pain in both muscles and joints. This is usually experienced in the hands, but can also happen in the lips or feet. It can sometimes cause a substantial amount of pain and be a considered a negative experience for some breathers, as they might feel as if they cannot move their hands or feet. But also for others, this experience could be considered a powerful channel of energy that they feel, and as described by some breathers as enjoyable.
Some breathworkers may view hyperventilation as something bad for the breathers, and tetany is a function to prevent material that cannot be integrated from coming up from the unconscious and overwhelm the breather. The pain from the spasms and cramps takes the attention available and causes a distraction.
According to the founder of Holotropic Breathwork, Dr. Stanislov Grof, he mentions that “the psychosomatic response to faster breathing, the hyperventilation syndrome, is considered a pathological condition, rather than what it really is, a process that has an enormous healing potential.” Grof also states that “what seems to happen is that faster breathing creates a biochemical situation in the body that facilitates emergence of old emotional and physical tensions [including tetany] associated with unresolved psychological and physical traumas… this situation actually represents a unique opportunity for healing. What emerges under these circumstances is unconscious material with strong emotional charge that is most ready for processing”.
Does Tetany happen to everyone?
Approximately a third to a half of people who try breathwork experience tension and spasms. And many people who take part in breathwork never get tetany so there is something more than mere medical explanation. Throughout the breathwork session, the body knows what needs to be done, and the best way to release tension is to first bring it all up. The body then maximizes the tension in our hands, feet or other parts of the body, to get a full release of what is energetically stuck.
Breathwork practitioners learn to handle tetany symptoms, breathe into the process and at any point if it becomes too intense to simply slow down the breath. It is possible to breathe faster and more intensive for a long period of time without the symptoms of hyperventilation, on the contrary this may lead to increased relaxation or mystical experiences. Even with minor or even major signs of cramps in the hands or feet, continuing the deep intensive breathing does not necessarily result in intensifying the cramps. Once the climax of the breathing is achieved, it is usually followed by a profound relaxation. The pain caused by the spasms often corresponds with a release of repressed and painful memories and can lead to deep insights.
We all have toxic negative or contaminated energy in our body, this is held in our minds. Through the breath, we are able to release them and heal.
How to deal with Tetany during a breathwork session?
What you need to keep in mind is that beyond the temporary discomfort lies healing. Staying with the process and continuing with the breath is a way to reach a higher state of consciousness, with no resistance to the experience. Trust your inner guide and believe that your body always knows what to do.
If and when you feel the effects of tetany just remember that the best way to go past the pain is to experience it fully and go through it. Tetany can also be resolved when emotional and physical releases occur.
Remember that you control the intensity of the experience, you can slow down the breath at any time and reground yourself before continuing on in your journey.
How long does it last?
It can last from a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on each person’s individual case. Tetany will always go away, and it will not harm you although at certain times may be painful for some. Many breathers state that after their encounter with tetany they feel relaxed as they have had a physical release. Tension is being released from where it is blocked. Some consider tetany to be a good thing when it happens. For the majority of regular breathers, the occurrence of the tension is eliminated.
4 points to remember in the event of Tetany:
Relax. Know that you are OK. Whenever tetany thoughts come, simply come back to the breath.
Slow down the breath for a few minutes until you can handle the tetany, then come back to your deeper and faster breath.
Let out some sound. A big sigh of relief or a loud sound helps facilitate the release.
Move. Shake your hands or legs, send the breath into the parts of your body that need it the most. By this way you channel the energy.
Breathing is safe!
During the breathwork sessions, breathers are reinforced by the message that breathing is safe, even though it may lead to certain temporary discomfort in the body. Breathers are encouraged to stay with the breathing technique and to remember that they are safe