CPD18 Yoga Therapy, Breathwork, Pranayama & the Science of Breathing

(Aligned with RACGP measurable outcomes, RANZCP competencies and PACFA CPD standards, Yoga Australia and Meditation Australia Guidelines)

1. Art and Science of Yogic Breathing

• Describe key pranayama methods within a culturally respectful, academically grounded framework.
• Relate traditional breathing practices to contemporary evidence in physiology and psychophysiology.
• Examine breath related mechanisms that influence autonomic regulation, vagal tone and emotional stability.

2. Breathing for Yoga and Clinical Practice

• Demonstrate functional breathing techniques suitable for clinical, therapeutic and yoga therapy settings.
• Identify breathing errors and compensations common in stress, anxiety and trauma presentations.
• Apply safe breathwork components to support regulation and resilience.

3. Functional Breathing for Everyday Life

• Teach clients how to apply breathing strategies during stress, daily activities and recovery.
• Examine the impact of posture, biomechanics and nasal function on efficient breathing.
• Conduct simple clinical tests that assess breathing patterns and functional capacity.

4. Current Research and Physiological Foundations

• Summarise contemporary evidence for slow breathing, nasal breathing, breath retention and extended exhalation.
• Relate breathing frequency to heart rate variability, baroreflex sensitivity and improved autonomic balance.
• Examine research from leading figures such as Nestor, Balasubramanian and McKeown within scope of practice.

5. Health Benefits and Clinical Applications

• Apply breath based interventions for conditions such as anxiety, insomnia, trauma related dysregulation and chronic pain.
• Describe the effects of nitric oxide, carbon dioxide tolerance and respiratory biomechanics on wellbeing.
• Explore how pranayama may influence inflammation, sleep quality and mental health outcomes.

6. Delivery Cues for Breathing and Scientific Clarity

• Convey common myths about breathing in yoga, exercise and stress management.
• Teach safe evidence informed alternatives to ineffective or harmful breathing cues.

7. Breathwork, Mantra and Meditative Rhythm

• Apply mantra and sound based practices within a scientific framework to regulate pace and frequency of breathing.
• Describe mechanisms linking sound, salivation, parasympathetic activation and emotional soothing.

8. Integrating Breath Science into Clinical and Yoga Settings

• Deliver breath based practices safely within professional scope.
• Incorporate breathing interventions into integrative and lifestyle medicine.
• Facilitate grounded, compassionate breathwork sessions that support behavioural change and long term wellbeing.

9. Breathwork for Professional and Personal Development

• Explore psychoeducational aspects of breathwork relevant to client care.
• Engage in conscious connected breathing sessions suited to personal growth and reflective practice.
• Develop embodied awareness to enhance therapeutic presence and somatic attunement.

10. Breathing for Consciousness Exploration and Samadhi Oriented Practice

• Explore traditional yogic perspectives on breath as a pathway to refined states of awareness, to Samadhi, presented in a culturally respectful and academically grounded way.
• Examine how slow rhythmic breathing, mantra based practices and interoceptive training can enhance attentional steadiness, presence and metacognitive awareness while maintaining psychological and cultural safety.
• Apply contemplative breath based practices that support calmness, clarity and depth of awareness without equating contemplative states.

11. Breathwork for Pain Regulation and Trauma Responsive Care

• Examine how breath influences nociception, muscular guarding, autonomic activation and pain modulation within trauma responsive frameworks.
• Apply breath based techniques that support emotional regulation, somatic release and nervous system down regulation while keeping clients safely within their window of tolerance.
• Integrate breathwork, postural awareness and somatic tracking to gently unravel protective patterns linked to stress, chronic tension and trauma in the body.

Suitable for:
Psychiatrists, GPs, Psychologists, Psychotherapists, Counsellors, Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Paramedics, Mental Health Nurses, Pharmacists, Naturopaths, Indigenous practitioners, Monastics, Yoga and Meditation Therapists, and Allied Health Professionals.

Yoga Therapy, Breathwork, Pranayama & the Science of Breathing is PACFA Endorsed course and counts towards 28 hours of category A CPD.
BIYOME’s Specialty Intensive Teacher Training can be undertaken as Continuing Professional Development (CPD) with Yoga Australia and/or the Meditation Association of Australia, as well as obtaining Continuing Education (CE) recognition with Yoga Alliance. The course contact hours and non-contact hours (CPDs and CEs), allocated across Meditation Australia and the two registering yoga bodies do, however, differ. Please contact us for more information.

Should you wish to complete a full meditation certification (330 hours – 1000 hours) or yoga certification (150 hours – 1000 hours), please view this Specialty Intensive Training as an elective within our full course offerings. Details are available here.