How Breathing Can Support Trauma Recovery

When you've experienced trauma, your nervous system can stay stuck in survival mode — hyperalert , shut down , or swinging between both.

Breath is one of the most accessible tools we have to gently interrupt this pattern and signal safety back to the body.

Why breathing helps:

It connects body + brain in real time

It activates the parasympathetic nervous system (rest + digest)

It builds capacity for calm without forcing it

It offers a moment of choice — which trauma often steals

Start small:

Try 4-count in, 4-count out breathing

Let your exhale be longer than your inhale

Place a hand on your chest or belly and feel the rhythm

You don’t have to breathe “perfectly.”

Just pause. notice. exhale. That’s enough.

Your breath can become a safe place to return to — slowly, gently, again and again.

#NervousSystemHealing