Breathwork for Trauma: A Somatic Approach to Release

Trauma often sits in the body as tension that never fully releases, a held breath, a braced shoulder, a stomach that stays tight for no reason you can name. Somatic work, work that goes through the body rather than around it with talk alone, is one way people find movement again. Galactic Breathing is a 90 minute guided ceremony built with that kind of release in mind, paced gently and never forced.

What makes a breathwork practice trauma-aware in the first place matters, because not all of them are. Some styles lean into intensity, screaming, forced hyperventilation, pushing toward catharsis as the goal. That approach can retraumatize a nervous system that is already working hard to regulate itself. Galactic Breathing takes a different route.

What trauma-aware pacing looks like

Jason trained as a pre-licensed marriage and family therapist before he built this modality, and that training shapes how he runs a session. He tracks trauma reactions as they surface, whether that is a tightening jaw, a held breath, a sudden stillness, and redirects gently rather than pushing through. "I have a lot of awareness of trauma reactions and how to redirect and bring people into a place of calm presence," he says, "and to keep tracking their body and not cause undue harm or pain from intense breathwork or screaming practices."

The session itself moves slowly on purpose. Meeting and settling first. A light movement practice, often Qigong, to get out of the head and into the body before any breath work begins. Guided meditation. Energy work centered in the heart. Then three rounds of breathing, each one building on the last, each one ending with an inhale, a hold, a release, and a real rest period before moving on. "The first round is all most people will need," Jason says plainly, and for someone working with trauma, that first round alone can be the whole session, with nothing more required.

Why breath and not just talk

Talk therapy works through language and memory. Somatic work, including breathwork, works through the body's own stored patterns, the ones that formed before language did, or that language never quite reaches. Slower, fuller breathing with held pauses gives the nervous system a different experience to draw on, one where the body gets to practice moving through activation and back to calm, with someone present the whole time. This is general, well-established nervous system understanding, not a claim unique to this method.

What Jason adds is presence and attention. He stays with you through the whole session, adjusting pace, watching the body, never leaving you to push through something alone. Many people describe a felt sense of something loosening, stagnant energy that had nowhere to go finally having somewhere to move.

Building safety before intensity

A lot of what makes a session trauma-aware happens before the breathing even starts. The opening movement practice and guided meditation are not filler, they are how Jason gauges where you are that day and builds a sense of safety in the room. Intention setting matters here too: naming what you want from the session, even loosely, gives both of you something to return to if things get intense.

Some people need several sessions before they feel comfortable going past round one, and that is completely normal. Trust builds gradually, and Jason paces around your comfort rather than a fixed script. Others feel safe quickly and want to explore the deeper rounds sooner. Neither pace is more correct than the other.

What this is not

This is not exposure therapy. It is not designed to make you relive a specific memory or event. It is not a substitute for trauma-focused therapy like EMDR or somatic experiencing with a clinical provider. Jason is a pre-licensed marriage and family therapist, not a fully licensed one, and this session is offered as spiritual and somatic support, not clinical treatment. Many people use Galactic Breathing alongside that kind of clinical work, as a way to support nervous system regulation between sessions, not instead of them.

A note on care

Breathwork can bring up strong emotion, and that is expected and held gently here. It does not replace medical or mental health care. If trauma symptoms are significantly disrupting your life, or if you are in crisis, please reach out to a licensed provider, and call or text 988 (US) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline if you need support right now.

Frequently asked questions

Will this make me relive traumatic memories?

That is not the intent, and Jason's trauma-aware pacing is built to avoid pushing you into that territory. The session focuses on gentle release and nervous system regulation, not reenactment.

What if I start crying or shaking during a session?

That is a normal part of somatic release and Jason is trained to stay present with it calmly, without rushing you through it or making it a bigger moment than it needs to be.

Can I stop mid-session if it feels like too much?

Yes, at any point. You are never pushed past round one if that is where you need to stay, and you can pause or stop entirely whenever you want.

Is this appropriate for severe or complex trauma?

Talk with your therapist or doctor first if you are managing complex trauma, PTSD, or a condition that makes intense physical states risky. This session complements clinical care, it does not replace it.

How is this different from other breathwork styles?

Many styles use forced or intense breathing patterns, sometimes with screaming, to drive toward catharsis. Galactic Breathing is intentionally gentler, building intensity gradually only if and when it feels right. Book a breathwork session to talk with Jason about what fits your situation.

Related reading: Galactic Breathing, breathwork for anxiety, breathwork vs somatic therapy, breathwork for emotional release, about Jason, locations.