Breaking the Momentum Tunnel and Finding Consciousness Through Breath

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

- Viktor Frankl

What does it mean to come home to yourself?

Does it mean you are "complete" with all of your healing? That you've officially "reached the destination"? That your soul has aligned with your physical body and you are "done"?

I think you can probably guess the answer to those questions, is no.

Those are contradictory statements in and of themselves, as the process of healing is never complete - and there is no "final destination" when we are talking about spiritual growth.

Now, I do believe that in a sense, it's true that part of coming home to yourself is finding soul alignment in this current lifetime; in this current physical body you inhabit. In other words, where your soul does align with your physical reality.

But, I don't believe that's the end of the story. Rather, I see it as a new beginning.

An awakening, if you will.

Last week, I had the wondrous pleasure, and true honor, of attending a retreat at a Sivananda Ashram for five days. If you don't yet know and are perhaps wondering what a "Sivananda Ashram" is, let me explain a bit.

Nearly 100 years ago, in 1932, a yoga teacher and guru by the name of Swami Sivananda, on his mission to share the gift of yoga with humanity, opened the first ever Sivananda Ashram, located just a few kilometers from Rishikesh, at the bank of the Ganges river in India.

This ashram, known as the Divine Life Society, became a sanctuary dedicated to the practice and teaching of yoga in its entirety - not just physical postures but as a complete system for spiritual growth. Later, one of his prominent disciples, Swami Vishnudevananda, brought these teachings to the West in 1957, eventually establishing the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers. Today, these ashrams exist worldwide as peaceful retreats where people can immerse themselves in yoga practice, meditation, vegetarian diet, study of spiritual texts, and selfless service (karma yoga) - all core components of what Swami Sivananda called the "Five Points of Yoga" for maintaining optimal physical and mental health while advancing on the spiritual path.

Now, I'm not here to give you all of the details of my personal experience at Sivananda last week (although I recommend to anyone to visit one of these sanctuaries for their own transformative experience).

Rather, I tell you about this place because it factors largely into my return to wanting to create - wanting to share what I've learned and what I am learning in present time.

Being at Sivananda was healing on so many levels. Truly, I don't have the words yet to encapsulate my entire experience (I journaled over 50 pages and am still integrating). But, I now feel called to resume building my practice as a breathwork facilitator, and continue to grow as an energy healer with new tools, knowledge, and inspiration.

Plus the INSANE astrological transits and planetary placements this month?! I know I cannot be the only one experiencing wildly intense energies and shifts.

Why This Blog Exists

The reason behind this blog existing - is to be a place of open discussion, not just on breathwork and the doors that practice alone can open up (in which we will discuss topics such as, but not limited to, neuroscience, neuro-behavior, trauma and how it is stored and processed in the body, and more) - but also to discuss spiritual and metaphysical topics, and things that personally set my heart on fire.

And with that, I hope I can reach others who share my desire to explore these vast and never ending areas of fascination. Because if there's anything I know - it's that although we are each unique individuals, I KNOW I am not the only one deeply intrigued by these conversations. And so that's why I am here - partially to rant about the things I care about, but also to hopefully have my words reach others and have this be a safe space for them (or rather, you) to venture into and expand your mind and consciousness.

What I wish to discuss today - is something I did learn about last week during a Shamanic Medicine workshop at Sivananda, which is something referred to as the "momentum tunnel".

What on earth is this momentum tunnel, might you ask?

Well, let's explore, shall we.

Essentially, the momentum tunnel is the trajectory that we take in our lives to go towards our fate. And if you think about what creates momentum? It's velocity and mass. The equation according to the law of physics is as follows: velocity × mass = momentum.

In physics, this momentum determines how difficult it is to change an object's direction of movement. The greater the momentum, the more force required to alter its course. A small pebble is easy to redirect; a speeding train nearly impossible.

The metaphysical concept of the momentum tunnel applies this same principle to our lives. Our thoughts, beliefs, and repetitive behaviors are like that train, gathering speed and mass through repetition and time. The longer we've been thinking certain thoughts or acting in particular patterns, the more momentum they have - and the harder they become to change.

We find ourselves moving through life in these tunnels of momentum, often unaware that we're even in them. These tunnels represent our unconscious programming, the automatic ways we respond to triggers, and the habitual paths we follow. They were formed by past experiences, cultural conditioning, family patterns, and even past lives.

Just as a physical object with great momentum follows the path of least resistance, we too continue in our momentum tunnels until something significant interrupts the pattern.

This concept of momentum tunnels resonated deeply with me because I recognized them immediately in my own life - particularly in relation to my periods of depression, which I experience 1-3x per year, usually.

During these periods of 2-3 months at a time, I would find myself caught in what I now understand was a powerful momentum tunnel. Each morning, the same heavy thoughts would appear. Each day, similar patterns of withdrawal and self-criticism would play out. The momentum of these thoughts and behaviors continued to build upon itself, making the tunnel feel increasingly inescapable.

The insidious nature of depression is how it convinces you that the tunnel is the only reality - and whether the term "momentum tunnel" is new to you or not, if you've ever experienced depression, you know what I mean here. The walls of my tunnel were built from beliefs that healing was too difficult, that I wasn't capable of holding space for others, that my voice didn't matter, that I should stay small, and overall being stuck in the trauma and limiting beliefs of my past. Each day I spent believing these thoughts added mass to them, and the velocity of their repetition created a momentum that carried me further down this narrowing path.

What's fascinating is not that I was unaware of these patterns - but rather I was painfully conscious of them. I could see the depression loops repeating, could name them in meditation, could recognize when I was spiraling, and could even understand to a degree where they were coming from. The issue wasn't lack of awareness but rather feeling powerless to redirect the momentum once it had built up such force.

Like watching myself trapped on a speeding train, I could observe the patterns but could not for the life of me find the brake lever. All the meditating, introspection, and inner work I was doing seemed to hit a ceiling. I felt stuck on a soul level - seeing the walls of the tunnel clearly but unable to break through them no matter how much I understood what was happening. The momentum itself had become the obstacle, too powerful for my existing tools to overcome.

Where Breath Comes In

For me, it was the combination of my consistent breathwork practice alongside the immersive experience of a 5-day yoga retreat that finally allowed me to step outside this most recent momentum tunnel of depression. The breath, and the stillness brought by the serene environment at Sivananda (plus having my phone on airplane mode the entire time), became the interruption powerful enough to slow the train.

I recognize that this shift doesn't mean the work is done. In fact, I'll be spending the following months doing much of the inner work I felt too exhausted to tackle while in the grips of depression. I'm aware the depression may return, though likely with less force. This time, I'm preparing differently - creating a game plan to reduce its impact or perhaps negate it altogether through consistent breathwork practice and energy healing.

Unlike other practices that merely helped me observe my patterns, conscious breathing offers something different - a direct way to interrupt the momentum itself.

***Before I went on my trip, I also decided to do something called an SRT clearing. I worked with a healer who I see occasionally for deeper issues that are more difficult for me to tackle on my own. SRT stands for Spiritual Response Therapy, and is an advanced method of clearing subconscious programming and energy blockages using higher consciousness. This experience played a significant role in my healing journey, but I'll save the details for a future post where I can give this powerful modality the attention it deserves. For now, I want to focus on how breathwork specifically helps break momentum tunnels.

So - what is the key for stepping out of the momentum tunnel, then?

At the shamanic workshop I attended, I learned that breaking free from momentum tunnels requires three key elements: more consciousness, past healing (both from this life and past lives), and visualization.

While the first two might seem straightforward, visualization deserves deeper exploration. This isn't just about generic positive thinking (NOT a fan of ominous/toxic positivity over here). It's about effective visualization to break momentum tunnels, which is specific and multi-sensory.

Here's a practical example: If you find yourself in a momentum tunnel of anxiety before social interactions, simply telling yourself "I'll be confident" or "I am confident" rarely works against the powerful momentum of established patterns (this is why I believe "I am" affirmational statements are not always the best approach - people often have to do some subconscious reprogramming first before these statements can be effective).

Instead, try this:

Close your eyes and take three deep, conscious breaths. Then visualize yourself entering the room with your shoulders relaxed and your posture open. Feel the temperature of the air on your skin. Is it warm, cold, or neutral? Hear the gentle murmur of conversations. See yourself smiling naturally as you approach someone. Imagine the sensation of your feet firmly connected to the ground beneath you. Visualize yourself speaking from a place of authentic curiosity rather than fear.

The key is engaging all your senses and embodying the experience rather than just thinking about it. This creates new neural pathways that compete with the established momentum tunnel. When combined with breathwork, this visualization becomes even more powerful – the breath acts as an anchor, keeping you present as you build this new potential reality.

What makes visualization so effective is that it allows you to experience a different trajectory before physically living it. You're essentially creating an energetic blueprint that challenges the existing momentum pattern. Each time you practice this kind of detailed, embodied visualization, you weaken the walls of your tunnel and begin carving a new path forward (ie. mapping new neural pathways).

It doesn't happen overnight. It does take practice, and patience. But man, that feeling of FREEDOM once you start to feel the chains of your program loosening - there's just nothing in the world to compare that feeling to.

This journey through my own momentum tunnels has deepened my understanding of why the breathwork I facilitate is so effective at pattern disruption. The specific technique I practice and am trained to facilitate in—a derivative of Holotropic breathwork—works directly with the nervous system to create the neurological and energetic space needed for transformation.

And so, going forward, I plan to implement what I have learned into not only my practice, but into the work I do with my clients as well. What fascinates me most is how, believe it or not, different breath patterns can be tailored to address specific types of momentum tunnels we find ourselves trapped in.

Here are some examples of a few different breath patterns that may be used to address different momentum tunnels:

• Slow, extended exhales activate the parasympathetic nervous system (rest & digest), which interrupts anxiety-based programs, or momentum tunnels. Specific Examples: Vishama Vritti (uneven breath with emphasis on exhale) or Chandra Bhedana (moon piercing breath).

• Rhythmic, connected breathing to break through emotional numbness tunnels by increasing energy flow, blood flow and circulation, and bodily awareness. Specific Examples: Ujjayi breath (oceanic breathing), as well as Sama Vritti (equal, or perfect breath).

• Breath retention (Kumbhaka) techniques to disrupt overthinking tunnels by creating gaps in mental chatter (essentially quieting the mind in rapid time).

• Fast, energetic breathing to address lethargy and depression tunnels by increasing vitality, generating heat, and breaking stagnation. Specific Examples: Agni Pran (Breath of Fire) or Bhastrika Pranayama (bellows breath).

• Alternate nostril breathing (Anuloma Viloma) to balance polarized thinking tunnels by harmonizing the hemispheres of the brain. On a metaphysical level, this also means harmonizing the feminine (right brain), and masculine (left brain) energies within the body.

• Kapalabhati (Skull-Shining Breath) to disrupt stagnant energy patterns through rapid cleansing breaths, oxygenating the brain and body before creating a natural reset point of calm - particularly effective for breaking through inertia-based tunnels where energy feels stuck or depleted.

These breathing techniques, which are just a few examples, can of course be transformational on their own, and most importantly in my opinion, provide temporary relief from whatever the disrupting program is (which can be very helpful in on-the-spot moments). But when combined with a trained facilitator who can guide visualization simultaneously, they can provide exponential transformation, and often can lead to the breaking of these programs altogether.

I want to be clear that while I am trained in a specific method (a derivative of Holotropic breathwork), I adapt my approach to each client's needs. Different momentum tunnels call for different breath patterns, and my training has equipped me with a diverse toolkit of breathing techniques and ways to adapt the method. I carefully select/curate the most appropriate practice based on what will best serve each client's unique situation and goals. No two client's are approached the same: every person's journey is uniquely their own, and I honor that individuality in my approach to facilitation.

Breaking Your Own Momentum Tunnels

So - how do you go about starting to break your own momentum tunnels? Well first, you must recognize and become aware of what those momentum tunnels are.

Can you identify any limiting beliefs that regularly come up for you?

Can you trace those limiting beliefs to their origin?

This is simply a suggestion as a place you could start.

My biggest advice - just start questioning. When certain negative thoughts or belief patterns continue to come up - just keeping asking the question "why?", and try your best to be nonjudgemental and practice having compassion for yourself as you unravel the patterns and programs embedded in your subconscious.

"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate." - Carl Jung

Again I'll say - try to have compassion for yourself through this process. You are only human. You are learning, you are growing, you are evolving.

(If you find that having compassion for yourself is difficult, perhaps try a type of meditation called Loving-Kindness Meditation, or LKM, which helps practice cultivating compassion towards others and yourself - you can easily find guided sessions for free on Youtube).

And if you feel open to it - perhaps try practicing some of these above breath techniques when you catch yourself in these thought loops. Notice how you feel in your body; take note of how you feel at the beginning and at the end of the practice, even if its a 3-5 minute practice.

And then journal about it.

I personally find that journaling immediately after experiences like this helps me solidify those neural networks that are forming and helps me become more conscious of what I had just experienced.

And if you're curious about working with a facilitator through this process - I'm here. I'm always happy to schedule a free discovery call to discuss your specific situation and see if we'd be an aligned fit.

Click here to book a discovery call.

Keep following Inhexhale for more insights on using breathwork to navigate our complex emotional landscapes, heal from limiting beliefs and harmful or unhealthy patterns, and open up to a whole new you.

May your breath guide you home to yourself.

xx,

Ally