The science of stillness: what happens to the brain during SOMA breathwork

David Genecand Author

There’s a reason you feel calm, focused, or even euphoric after SOMA Breathwork. It’s not just in your mind — it’s in your brainwaves, your chemistry,

There’s a reason you feel calm, focused, or even euphoric after SOMA Breathwork. It’s not just in your mind — it’s in your brainwaves, your chemistry, and your nervous system. Stillness is not passive. It’s profoundly active.

Shifting brainwaves into flow

SOMA Breathwork guides you into slower, more rhythmic breathing patterns — often paired with music and movement. This combination shifts the brain from high-frequency beta waves (associated with stress and overthinking) into alpha and theta waves.

Alpha waves bring calm alertness. Theta, linked to deep meditation and dreaming, opens the door to subconscious insights, creativity, and emotional release. In this state, the mind becomes quiet — and the inner landscape becomes accessible.

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The prefrontal cortex takes a break

During breath retention phases in SOMA, something fascinating happens: activity in the prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain responsible for critical thinking, time awareness, and self-judgment — temporarily decreases.

This pause is powerful. It allows people to move beyond mental chatter, self-doubt, and over-analysis. It’s often in this stillness that people experience breakthroughs, a sense of unity, or deep emotional clarity.

You can also read: Why emotional healing must begin in the body, not the mind

Parasympathetic activation = deep restoration

Most of us live in sympathetic overdrive — fight or flight mode. SOMA activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the body’s “rest and digest” state. Heart rate slows. Cortisol drops. Feel-good neurochemicals like dopamine and serotonin begin to flow.

Over time, this retrains the body to find safety in stillness. And from that place, transformation becomes possible — not from effort, but from alignment.

Stillness doesn’t mean nothing is happening. In breath, in rhythm, in silence — your brain is rewiring. Your body is healing. You are returning to yourself.

If this resonates with you, don’t hesitate to book a free consultation today.

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