For many years, the world of allopathic medicine has ignored the holistic approach outright. However, as more people have sought a more balanced and affordable way of dealing with disease, the world of science demonized those treatments as dangerous or irrelevant. In recent years the scientific community has been forced to study alternative treatments, such as breathwork therapy.

This particular type of therapeutic practice requires both the patient and their doctors to embrace the notion that there is a connection between the mind and the body. Doctors today are educated in a pharmaceutical approach which focuses on masking symptoms rather than finding causes of disease. However, the idea that the way one thinks about themselves and their body can impact their overall health is a perspective that is on the rise.

Followers within the New Age movement firmly believe that there is a connection between our thoughts and our health. They take it to the extreme sometimes, claiming that any negative thoughts are destructive. Negative thoughts are part of our reality and must be acknowledged, but there is no doubt that one who tends to be depressed has less chance of recovery than one who stays upbeat.

Research has shown that deeper breathing promotes calm in the face of anxiety. This has become an important approach in treating panic attacks as well as other psychological problems that many people experience. When one is able to control their breath rate, they can help work themselves through a moment of panic without making a scene.

Individuals who live with Asperger Syndrome have utilized this method to great success. By controlling their breath, they can control the way they handle an attack of anxiety in social situations. This ability helps to lessen the stress for those who care for them, and it gives them a greater sense of control over their own reality when they do not melt down in public.

The treatment is obviously helpful to those with asthma or COPD, as regular practice of deep breathing helps the lungs to expand more and allows more air to flow. Anyone with these ailments knows that they are tested for their oxygen saturation, and if it is low they could be in trouble. Deep breathing exercises definitely help keep the blood oxygenated.

Most people only take in shallow breaths to their lungs, but when one takes breath in all the way to their diaphragm, it better oxygenates the blood. This deeper level of breathing allows for a greater saturation of oxygen into the bloodstream due to the fact that there are more shallow blood vessels in the diaphragm than in the lungs. This allows a great deal more oxygen into the blood stream, much like when one yawns.

Anyone facing an illness is warned to discuss any procedures they undergo with their doctor. If they do not appreciate the answers their physician gives, it may behoove them to seek a holistic MD. No matter what expert they see about their illness, it is important that they do the research and find the treatment options that they are most comfortable with.