The Trip You Can Drive: Autonomy, Intuition, and Non-Ordinary States through Breathwork

Like most people, I always associated "altered states" primarily with psychedelics, plant medicines, or perhaps years of solitary, monk-like meditation.

Then, I found breathwork.

Now if I’m completely honest, my first breathwork session was weird and incomplete. I was certain I was doing it wrong. And it took me months to come back to it and give it another try.

But I’m so glad I did, more than any other practice it has quite simply changed my life.

The breathwork I practice and lead has a lineage that’s murky at best, but at the end of the day humans have been using the power of their own breath for physical and spiritual healing for more millenia than we can count.

The sessions I ended up having with a coach weren’t "relaxing" per se.  I often say, they call it breathwork for a reason. But what I ultimately experienced was a drug-free journey into what psychologists call a non-ordinary state of consciousness (NOSC). For 30 minutes or so, the mundane chatter of my critical brain—the imposter syndrome, the perfectionism—was completely quieted. In its place, I was left with pure feeling, profound insights, and a clearing that I hadn't found anywhere else.

It changed how I view self-care, and gave me a pathway to help others find healing.

In a world where we are often overwhelmed by external noise, I want to talk about how the most potent tool for reconnection is actually right under our nose.

The Science of the "Natural High"

How does simple breathing facilitate a "trip"? It isn’t magic; it’s physiology.

When we practice high-ventilation, circular breathing (like the three-part active meditation technique I teach), we are deliberately altering the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide (CO₂) in our bodies.

Specifically, we are rapidly exhaling CO₂. This process causes a temporary physiological shift that affects the central nervous system. As your CO₂ drops, blood flow to the Default Mode Network (DMN) in the brain is reduced.

The DMN is the headquarters of your ego. It is the part of your brain responsible for your sense of self, your autobiographical memory, and your inner critic. It is the part that likes to say, "You’re doing this wrong," or "You aren't good enough." Did you know that your brain was kind of a liar?

By temporarily lowering the volume of the DMN, other areas of your brain—specifically those associated with emotion, memory, and somatic feeling—become more active. The most critical "filters" of your perspective are cleared away. Psychedelics are said to have the same effect on the DMN.

The result is an access point to parts of your unconscious that are usually guarded by the thinking mind.

The Gift of the Breathwork NOSC: Choice and Autonomy

This is where the magic (or the mechanism) of breathwork diverges from psychedelics.

When you ingest a substance, you have surrendered a degree of control. You are "on the ride" until it wears off. That was always kind of a deal breaker for me (don’t worry, I’m working on my “control issues” through breathwork!).  

In breathwork, you are fully in the driver’s seat. You set the pace & depth of your breath. You engage with the work. And you can stop anytime. If the experience becomes too intense, you simply return to a normal resting breath, and the "altered state" recedes within minutes as your body chemistry stabilizes.

This offers an incredible sense of safety and autonomy. Because you are the creator of the experience, the insights that surface feel profoundly authentic. They aren’t coming from the plant; they are coming from you.

How Non-Ordinary States Lead to Healing

So, why do we want to access these states? We do it because non-ordinary states allow us to heal at a depth that talk therapy cannot reach. 

By getting "out of our heads and into our bodies," we bypass our logical, defensive, and armored self.

1. The Somatic Release of Trauma

Unprocessed emotions, chronic stress, and grief are often stored in the body’s tissues, not just the mind’s memories. In an NOSC, people often feel physical sensations—tingling, temperature shifts, or muscle tension. This is the energy moving. A session allows for a physical release—tears, laughter, or even a primal sound—that dissolves these somatic "stuck places."

2. Radical Self-Compassion

When the inner critic is quieted, we can begin to witness ourselves without judgment. I have seen clients connect with profound feelings of self-love that their thinking brain usually blocks. They don't just "understand" they are worthy; they finally feel it.

3. Direct Access to Intuition

The "downloads" I receive during breathwork are clearer than any intellectual brainstorm. In this liminal space, answers to problems, creative inspiration, and a sense of life purpose surface more easily.

Coming Back: The Importance of Integration

Because these experiences are so potent, they cannot exist in a vacuum. The non-ordinary state is the "work," but the "healing" happens in how we bring that work back to our everyday lives - through integration.

This is why I prioritize a community-based integration through Circle Practice. Moving energy is awesome, but we need time to witness each other’s journeys, speak from the heart, and ground our lessons. I’ll share more about this in future posts. Integration through Circle is the foundation of Buffalo Collective herds. 

Ready to breathe?

You already have everything you need to heal. Everything begins and ends with the breath.

I invite you to join one of my upcoming group sessions. No experience is necessary—just a safe space to lie flat and a willingness to explore the architecture of your own consciousness.