Tetany during breathwork is commonly characterized by cramping, tightening, tingling, numbness, or a temporary sense of paralysis. It most frequently affects the hands, often referred to as “claw hands” or “T-Rex hands” due to their distinctive shape. However, tetany can also occur in the calves, feet, or around the mouth, occasionally causing the mouth to lock into an “O” shape. This sensation is a common experience during full-length connected breathwork sessions, affecting approximately 70% to 80% of participants.
If you experience tetany in breathwork, the most important thing to remember is that there is nothing to fear! The sensation is temporary and will usually subside within a few minutes once you return to a normal breathing pattern. In some cases, tingling may persist for up to 15 minutes, but this is the longest duration we’ve seen. Rest assured, no one has ever been permanently affected or “stuck” with claw hands from a breathwork session.
Understanding tetany is essential, as a lack of awareness can create unnecessary fear and potentially hinder a breakthrough healing experience. In this article, I will explore the causes of tetany during breathwork, offer strategies to manage its intensity, provide methods to alleviate discomfort, and uncover the transformative potential hidden within these sensations.
The Physiological Explanation of Tetany
Here’s a breakdown of the physiological processes that lead to tetany during breathwork:
- Increased Ventilation: The deep, rhythmic breathing pattern of connected breathwork significantly boosts the amount of air exchanged by the lungs.
- Expulsion of CO2: Each exhalation removes more CO2 from the body compared to normal breathing.
- Reduced CO2 Levels: The excessive expulsion of CO2 leads to a decrease in its concentration in the blood.
- Increased pH (Alkalosis): The decrease in CO2 and oxygen levels leads to a temporary rise in blood pH, and this is the primary physiological cause of tetany during breathwork. 1
If Your Tetany is Intense, Check Your Breathing
Make Sure Your Exhale is Passive: Most conscious, connected breathing schools recommend focusing on the inhale while allowing the exhale to be a passive, ‘letting go’. This is important because a forceful exhale expels more CO2, leading to markedly lower C02 levels.2 So if you experience painful tetany, the first thing to check is whether you are forcing your exhale.
Make Sure You’re Not ‘ Overbreathing’: If your exhale is passive, consider the depth and speed of your breathing. As a facilitator, I often coach about 90% of my participants to breathe more deeply or quickly, while the remaining 10%, typically athletes or Type-A personalities, benefit from a gentler approach. If you fall into this 10% category, try breathing more softly and slowly, especially during the initial stages of the session. You can gradually increase the intensity as the pace of the music picks up.
Consider Your Fitness Level: There is a correlation between tetany and lung capacity. Athletes and those practicing techniques like Wim Hof often experience more rapid physiological changes because they are deeper breathers naturally. This can lead to a quicker onset of tetany and oftentimes more intense sensation then the general population. For these individuals, a softer approach is often where the breakthrough lies.
While on the topic of breathwork physiology, it’s important to address a common misconception perpetuated by some uninformed breathwork facilitators: that breathwork enhances oxygenation because it increases the amount of air you breathe in. In reality, due to the Bohr effect, connected breathwork slightly reduces the amount of oxygen released into the bloodstream, tissues, and vital organs.
Another point worth mentioning is that many people, including myself, experience tetany during their initial breathwork sessions. However, these sensations often become significantly reduced or disappear altogether in subsequent sessions. This may be due to the body adapting to the physiological changes or a growing ability to let go, accept, and surrender, which typically develops through breathwork. This point is crucial because, while physiological factors can indeed contribute to tetany during breathwork, our experience suggests that it is profoundly linked to psycho-spiritual elements as well.
The Psycho-Spiritual Explanation for Tetany During Breathwork
As mentioned earlier, tetany most often manifests in the hands, causing them to form a claw-like shape, which can symbolize holding onto something tightly. Among experienced breathwork facilitators, the general consensus is that tetany, in the absence of a forceful exhale, is a sign of resistance or the need to let go of something.
Tetany can also be a physical manifestation of underlying fears and anxieties. The more fear and anxiety a participant carries in their daily life, the more intense the tetany may feel during breathwork. This anxiety can lead to resistance to the experience, amplifying the perception of the sensations.
Interestingly, as facilitators, we can see physical tension manifesting during a session. Participants with high levels of anxiety often report feeling intense tension, even when their bodies appear less tense compared to those with lower anxiety. In these cases, the experience of tension is more a matter of fear, anxiety, resistance, and perception than of physical tension alone.
A Note On Anxiety, Panic, and Tetany During Breathwork
Anxiety and panic disorders can be contraindicated for breathwork, particularly if the facilitator is not adequately trained. This is because an inexperienced facilitator might push you beyond your window of tolerance, potentially exacerbating anxiety or panic symptoms. However, with a skilled and experienced facilitator, breathwork can offer a valuable opportunity to explore and address the underlying aspects of these conditions.
For individuals with anxiety or panic disorders, tetany during breathwork can serve as a powerful gateway to understanding what lies beneath these conditions. A knowledgeable facilitator can help guide you through these sensations, using them as a tool for deeper self-exploration and healing. By working with the intense sensations of tetany, you can uncover and address the fears, anxieties, and patterns that contribute to your panic and anxiety. This approach can lead to profound insights and lasting relief.
When Tetany Arises, Turn Within
With proper guidance, tetany can become a meaningful opportunity for personal growth and emotional healing. Rather than trying to avoid or minimize tetany, embrace it as a chance for transformation and self-discovery. View it as a gift—your body is revealing something significant for you to explore. Tetany often indicates a threshold you’re ready to cross, and your breathwork session is the perfect oppurtunity for you to do so.
If you experience intense tetany or notice a lot of fear or resistance around the sensations, ask yourself: “What is it time for me to let go of?” It could be a grudge, childhood trauma, a past relationship, a fear, self-sabotaging behavior, negative self-talk…etc.
Tetany during breathwork may also highlight a fear of letting go, losing control, or the vulnerability that comes with relinquishing control. This resistance can prevent you from fully experiencing your best life and may contribute to anxiety or depression. Addressing the emotional root of these sensations is crucial and could turn out to be one of the greatest gifts you receive on your journey.
Some also believe that tetany is a physical manifestation of being fearful or resistant to reaching out for help. Whether or not this applies to you, is another thing worth inquiring into if you experience intense tetany. It’s worth noting that tetany can vary in severity. Often, the more pronounced the sensation is (in the absence of physiological causes), the more difficulty you may have with surrendering in your daily life or reaching out for help.
Know that Your Are Safe & In Full Control – You Can Come Out at Any Time
Breathwork involves surrendering to and embracing the full spectrum of the human experience, including everything that arises during your session. With this in mind, I encourage you to continue to breathe through the tetany if you feel safe. However, it’s also crucial to remember that you are in control. If sensations or emotions become overwhelming, you can ease them by slowing down and softening your breath while keeping it connected.
If your inner wisdom signals that you’ve exceeded your threshold, you can switch to a normal breathing pattern through your nose. This adjustment usually helps the sensations subside within 1-3 minutes. Once you feel more grounded, you can return to connected breathing. This technique, known as titration, is not necessary for most people—after over 7 years of facilitation, I’ve encountered only a couple people who felt the need to switch to normal breathing. However, it’s empowering to know this option exists and it can be particularly beneficial for those dealing with severe trauma, anxiety, or panic.
Give It Time
When you inquire within, the answer may not be revealed immediately. For many people after the peak, intense tetany can transmute into a deep emotional release. However, other people have more density and/or fear of letting go to work through and for some, it may take several breathwork sessions, to move past the physical layers of the body and towards the more subtle emotional and energetic layers. However, if you stick with breathwork, and continually surrender to the sensations (as opposed to resisting them) a breakthrough will materialize when the time is right. And when it does, it is not uncommon to experience an instant dissolution of the tetany and a major life changing shift.
In the meantime, if you are finding tetany during breathwork overwhelming please don’t let it dissuade you from participating. There are steps you can take to make tetany more manageable. Below is a comprehensive list compiled from insights shared by myself and my Breathwork Facilitator mentors and peers.
Managing Tetany During Breathwork if the Sensations Become Too Intense:
- Try starting the breathwork sitting up and breathing and circling your body in a forward and back motion in tune with the exhale and inhale. – Monika Reimann
- Try a slower and gentler breathing pattern and concentrate more on breath awareness. – Rita Luna
- Include gentle movement of the hands and feet, especially when you first feel it coming on.
- Remember that you are safe and it is temporary!
- Practice not resisting the tetany and accept that it might happen. Try to surrender, let go of the fear and breathe/relax into the sensation. Trust yourself to breathe through it. – Jules Kandah Carpenter
- Occasionally tetany is exacerbated by dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, or mineral deficiencies.3 Make sure to properly hydrate on the day of your session and try eating more foods high in calcium, magnesium and potassium e.g. bananas, leafy greens, coconut water.
- Breathe into your hands or any type of material for a rapid reduction of the sensation. – Anthony Abbagnano
- Inquire into the physical sensation, locate exactly where it is in the body and ascribe how it feels e.g. sharp, hot, tense, dull etc. – Monika Reimann
- Try dancing between your edge – when it becomes too much back off and return to a normal breath or a gentler breath. Use the time to inquire and regain your determination and then go back into the full conscious connected breathing pattern when you feel ready.
Closing Thoughts on Tetany During Breathwork
I firmly believe that everything in breathwork happens for a reason, and your body’s innate wisdom will never steer you wrong. Sometimes, to release stuck energy, tension, and trauma stored in our bodies, sensations may need to intensify before they can be processed and released. If you’re experiencing tetany and are not forcing your exhale or breathing too quickly or forcefully, I encourage you to reframe your perception of it. Instead of viewing tetany as something to avoid, see it as a gift—a message from your body waiting to be decoded and embraced. Finally, if you’re experiencing tetany that is not just intense but also physically painful, you can find support with this article: What You Need to Know if You Experience Painful Tetany During or After Your Breathwork Session
May your journey be informative and fruitful 🙂
Ready to discover the incredible benefits of conscious connected breathwork for yourself? Reach out here to book an online or in-person Unity Breathwork Session, or to join us at our next Breathwork Retreat in Mexico.
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Citations:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482414/
- https://www.healthline.com/health/hypercapnia#treatment
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/23129-tetany
