Breathwork Detox, Trauma, and the Biology of Awakenings

We’ve interviewed spiritual teachers, neuroscientists, healers, skeptics, channelers, and scientists. We’ve explored consciousness, intuition, meditation, plant medicine, and everything in between.

But nothing prepared us for the moment when a woman’s tumor passed from her body and into a toilet bowl after a single breathwork session; a story told with such sincerity, detail, and corroborating witness accounts that we found ourselves sitting in stunned silence.

This wasn’t a story about belief.

It wasn’t a story about placebo.

It wasn’t even a story about spirituality as most people imagine it.

It was a story about the body, about trauma, about nervous system programming, and about how much human beings are holding inside their fascia, organs, breath patterns, and survival responses without realizing it.

Talking with Kurtis Lee Thomas, founder of Breathwork Detox and corporate mindfulness trainer for companies like Nike and NASA, made us rethink everything we believed about emotional release and the mechanics of spiritual awakening.

We expected another conversation about “high vibes” and manifestation.

Instead, we discovered something far more grounded:

The body is the library of the past. And unless we learn to release what’s stored in it, no amount of positive thinking will ever override the biology of survival.

This is the story of what we learned.

The Day Breathwork Changed a Life...and a Paradigm

When Kurtis first told us he healed a five-year stomach condition in one session, we felt the same skepticism many listeners will feel now. How could something as simple as breathing accomplish what years of tests, medications, and specialists could not?

But his story was medically plausible in a way we didn’t expect.

He described years of abdominal discomfort, digestive shutdown, cognitive fog, and stress sensitivity. When nothing, Western or Eastern, resolved it, he tried a deep diaphragmatic breathwork technique.

In that single session, his diaphragm released.

His peristalsis returned.

His gut motility normalized.

His cognition sharpened.

What he described sounded remarkably similar to what research in psychoneuroimmunology, vagal toning, and somatic trauma release has documented for decades:

When the diaphragm unlocks, the vagus nerve activates.

When the vagus nerve activates, the body shifts from threat to safety.

When safety returns, digestion, cognition, and emotional regulation come back online.

The science is clear:

• More than 80% of afferent vagus nerve fibers run from the body to the brain, not the other way around. (University of California, San Diego)

• Diaphragmatic breathing reduces sympathetic arousal and restores parasympathetic dominance. (Frontiers in Psychology, 2017)

• Suppressed emotions correlate with chronic inflammation and somatic tension, especially in the abdomen and hips. (Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score)

What Kurtis experienced wasn’t mystical.

It was physiological.

But what happened next was something beyond physiology.

Thousands of people...engineers, veterans, therapists, mothers, skeptics, spiritual seekers...began reporting emotional breakthroughs, spiritual visions, intuitive downloads, and spontaneous physical shifts during his Breathwork Detox sessions.

This wasn’t mild relaxation. It was catharsis, clarity, release, and, in some cases, something resembling awakening.

Which led us to our next question:

Why does breathwork affect people this deeply?

The Biology of Stored Stress (and Why Talking About Emotions Isn’t Enough)

Before interviewing Kurtis, we assumed emotional release was mainly psychological, a matter of insight, therapy, reframing, and inner work.

But what he described, and what research supports, is that:

The body stores what the mind can’t resolve.

According to studies from Harvard, over 80% of all doctor visits are stress-related. Chronic stress changes breathing patterns, muscle tension, inflammatory responses, and hormonal balance.

When stress becomes a lifestyle, the body adapts by:

• Tightening the diaphragm

• Shortening the breath

• Activating abdominal guarding

• Contracting the psoas and hip muscles

• Reducing the mobility of digestive organs

Under this pattern, deep breathing is not merely difficult...it is biologically blocked.

Which means:

You can meditate all you want.

You can chant affirmations all day.

You can repeat “I am safe, I am healed, I am abundant.”

But…

If your diaphragm is locked, your nervous system won’t believe a word of it.

Kurtis put it simply:

“The body holds onto the past. We were never taught to release, only to accumulate.”

This reframed something for us.

People aren’t failing at healing because they’re not trying hard enough.

They’re failing because they’re working only with the mind, not the tissues where unresolved experiences actually live.

The Technique: Why Breathwork Detox Works When Other Breathwork Doesn’t

Breathwork is an umbrella term. A massive one.

There’s:

• Pranayama

• Wim Hof

• Holotropic

• Box breathing

• Coherent breathing

• Transformational breathing

• And dozens more

But Breathwork Detox is laser-focused on diaphragmatic activation, emotional purging, and nervous system re-patterning.

Here’s the core 3-part method:

1. Inhale into the belly (80%)

Activates the diaphragm, stimulates the vagus nerve, destabilizes stored tension.

2. Inhale into the chest (20%)

Opens the heart space, expands intercostal muscles, increases oxygen saturation.

3. Exhale fully through the mouth (with no pushing)

A natural release, similar to the “sigh of relief” mechanism built into our nervous system.

This continuous cycle (done for ~28 minutes) overwhelms habitual breathing patterns and forces the body to let go of old survival responses.

Physiologically, this:

• Floods tissues with oxygen

• Raises CO₂ thresholds

• Creates transient hypofrontality (a doorway into flow state)

• Temporarily quiets the brain’s executive function

• Allows suppressed emotional content to rise

• Forces the body out of chronic freeze patterns

Spiritually, this often opens portals of:

• Intuition

• Visioning

• Somatic memory

• Energetic release

• Connection

• Awakening

As hosts, we were struck by something unexpected:

This wasn’t breathwork for relaxation. It was breathwork for truth.

The Moment Science Meets Mystery

One of the most striking themes from our conversation was the way highly logical, non-spiritual people respond to this work.

Kurtis told us about:

• Engineers spontaneously experiencing Kundalini-like movements

• Veterans breaking down in tears after decades of emotional suppression

• Rocket scientists receiving intuitive insights they couldn’t explain

• High-level corporate employees having creative breakthroughs

• Skeptics becoming curious, open, and transformed

What stood out wasn’t the mystical content.

It was the universality of the response.

Across gender, age, belief system, job title, and trauma history, people report:

• Tingling

• Vibration

• Emotional release

• Temperature shifts

• Visual imagery

• Memories resurfacing

• A sense of spaciousness

• A profound clarity

One neuroscientist in particular, Dr. Jack Feldman, a leading expert in respiratory neurobiology, attended a session and immediately recognized its potential. He later joined Kurtis for sessions at NASA and contributed research and Q&A to his events.

Dr. Feldman is the scientist who discovered the brain mechanism controlling breathing rhythms.

If he saw something worth studying, that says something.

This intersection between neurology and spirituality is where Breathwork Detox is carving its place.

Not as a mystical practice.

Not as a clinical intervention.

But as a bridge.

Why Emotional Release Is the Missing Step in Manifestation

One of the most profound lessons we took away from this interview was this:

You have to let go before you let in.

Manifestation isn’t blocked by negative thoughts.

It’s blocked by stored emotional weight.

Kurtis explained it beautifully:

“Sometimes it’s not the weight itself. It’s how you carry it.”

This hit us hard.

We meet countless listeners trying to raise their vibration, visualize their future, or attract better outcomes. Yet they are carrying:

• unresolved grief

• unfelt anger

• shame patterns

• abandonment wounds

• chronic tension

• stored fear

• survival responses

These aren’t mindset issues.

They’re body issues.

And if the body is holding the past, the mind cannot create the future.

This explains why breathwork is creating such massive breakthroughs for manifestation and spiritual awakening:

It clears the channel.

It makes room.

It restores the ability to receive.

The Hidden Gift of Breathwork: Clarity

While emotional release is dramatic and often life-changing, Kurtis told us the real reason he practices breathwork daily:

Clarity.

Not visions.

Not ecstasy.

Not spiritual fireworks.

Clarity.

Research supports this.

During intense breathwork, the prefrontal cortex enters a state known as transient hypofrontality, reducing internal chatter and increasing insight, creativity, and problem-solving.

Think:

• stepping out of confusion

• seeing your next step clearly

• knowing what you actually want

• feeling your intuition speak

• understanding your own patterns

As hosts, we’ve talked to countless teachers about awakening. But this grounded explanation made something click:

Awakening isn’t about rising above your humanity. It’s about finally seeing it clearly.

The Four People Who Need Breathwork Most (According to Kurtis)

On his website, Kurtis describes four types of people who benefit most from breathwork. While he didn’t list them all in the interview, he hinted at the categories:

1. People who overthink

Breathwork interrupts looping thought patterns.

2. People who suppress emotions

Especially those who “cope by coping.”

3. People who feel stuck or unclear

Clarity emerges when the mind quiets and the body empties.

4. People who are awakening spiritually but feel overwhelmed

Breathwork grounds the process.

As we reviewed our own lives, and the lives of listeners, we realized virtually everyone fits at least one category.

Practical Guide: How to Apply Breathwork Detox Today

You don’t need a 90-minute ceremony to begin this work.

Here’s a simple, safe, actionable version anyone can try:

Step 1 — Lie on your back

Place one hand on your belly and one on your chest.

Step 2 — Open your mouth wider than comfortable

This is essential for proper airflow.

Step 3 — Begin the 3-part cycle

1️⃣ Belly inhale (deep)

2️⃣ Chest inhale (full)

3️⃣ Mouth exhale (release)

No pauses.

No resting.

Just continuous flow.

Step 4 — Continue for 2–3 minutes

This is enough for beginners to feel a shift.

Step 5 — Close your eyes and observe

You may feel:

• tingling

• emotion rising

• warmth

• relaxation

• clarity

All normal.

All safe.

Step 6 — Drink water & journal

What surfaced?

What softened?

What became clear?

When NOT to Do Breathwork Alone

Kurtis noted that breathwork is generally safe, but people with:

• epilepsy

• recent surgeries

• heart conditions

• respiratory issues

…should practice under professional supervision.

This isn’t because breathwork is dangerous...it’s because it can activate stored tension and emotional charge that may feel intense if unsupported.

Why This Conversation Changed Us

Some interviews shift perspective.

Some shift understanding.

This one shifted responsibility.

We realized:

You cannot think your way out of a bodily pattern.

You cannot journal your way out of a survival response.

You cannot meditate your way out of unprocessed grief.

Talking with Kurtis made us see how many people including ourselves, are trying to heal the mind when the body is the one holding the score.

As Will said during the interview:

“This isn’t breathwork for relaxation. It’s breathwork for truth.”

Breathwork Detox isn’t a technique.

It’s an invitation.

To feel.

To release.

To reset.

To awaken; biologically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Final Takeaway: Awakening Isn’t About Ascending... It’s About Unburdening

We expected this episode to be about breathwork.

Instead, it was about being human.

Our listeners often ask:

“How do I raise my vibration?”

“How do I stop repeating old patterns?”

“How do I align with my purpose?”

“How do I hear my intuition?”

Talking to Kurtis reframed those questions:

Start by emptying what’s in the way.

Not spiritually.

Not mentally.

Not philosophically.

Physically.

If you’re stuck, anxious, unclear, or overwhelmed, don’t push harder.

Breathe deeper.

Let go more fully.

Trust your biology.

Let your body exhale what your mind cannot.

Your awakening lives in the space of your next release.

Where to Learn More About Breagthwork Detox?

If you want to go deeper into Breathwork Detox and how it can help jumpstart your spiritual awakening:

📌 https://breathworkdetox.com/

📌 Watch or Listen to the full interview on The Skeptic Metaphysicians

📌 Stream the episode video at NewRealityTV.com