Why Do We Yawn During Breathwork? What Science Knows—and What Remains a Mystery
One of the more curious experiences people often notice during breathwork is yawning.
Sometimes it's a single yawn. Other times, people find themselves yawning repeatedly during the first several minutes of a session. I've also observed this in meditation, yoga, somatic therapy, bodywork, and during the opening stages of a psychedelic journey.
Despite how common this phenomenon is, there isn't a clear scientific explanation for why yawning occurs at the beginning of so many healing and contemplative practices. While the research doesn't directly address these settings, studies on the neuroscience and physiology of yawning offer several intriguing clues.
Yawning Often Occurs During Transitions
One of the more compelling observations from research is that yawning occurs most frequently during transitions between states of arousal, such as before falling asleep and shortly after waking.
This feels particularly relevant to contemplative and therapeutic practices.
Whether we're beginning a conscious connected breathing practice, entering meditation, or settling into a therapeutic process, we're often moving from one mode of consciousness into another. The beginning of a breathwork journey is, in many ways, a transition—a gradual shift from the activity of ordinary life toward a more inward, receptive state.
It seems reasonable that yawning might accompany this shift.
More Than Just Opening the Mouth
A yawn isn't simply an inhale.
Physiologically, it is a coordinated movement involving many muscles throughout the respiratory system and upper body. The diaphragm, intercostal muscles, jaw, face, neck, and throat all participate in a broad stretching pattern.
In that sense, yawning resembles a coordinated respiratory stretch.
As we begin breathing more consciously, the respiratory system becomes more active. The chest expands differently. The diaphragm moves more fully. Muscles that have been relatively quiet throughout the day begin participating in a new way. It's possible that yawning simply reflects this widespread activation and stretching of the respiratory apparatus.
Whether this is the primary explanation remains unknown, but it is certainly plausible.
A Neurochemical Process
Yawning is also surprisingly complex from a neurological perspective.
Researchers have identified numerous neurotransmitters and neuropeptides involved in the yawning response—including dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, acetylcholine, and nitric oxide—suggesting that yawning reflects a surprisingly complex interaction between multiple brain regions and signaling pathways.
Rather than being controlled by a single "yawning center," yawning appears to emerge from a network of systems involved in arousal, attention, autonomic regulation, motivation, and social behavior.
Taken together, these findings suggest that yawning is far more than a simple mechanical reflex. It reflects coordinated changes occurring throughout the nervous system and brain.
Is Yawning a Sign of Relaxation?
Many people assume yawning means the nervous system is "switching into parasympathetic mode."
There may be some truth to that, but the picture is more nuanced.
Interestingly, heart rate actually rises briefly during a yawn. Researchers believe yawning may temporarily increase alertness even while accompanying shifts toward calmer states. This helps explain why we yawn not only before sleep, but also when we're trying to stay awake during a long drive or a lecture.
Rather than being simply a sign of relaxation or sleepiness, yawning may help regulate our level of arousal, moving us toward an optimal state of awareness.
In breathwork, this may be exactly what's happening: not falling asleep, but settling into a different quality of presence.
Other Proposed Explanations
Over the years, researchers have proposed numerous theories for why humans yawn.
Some evidence suggests yawning may help cool the brain by increasing blood flow and facilitating heat exchange through the sinuses.
Yawning also helps equalize pressure in the middle ear by opening the eustachian tubes, which many people notice during changes in altitude.
Frequent yawning can also occur in a variety of medical contexts, including sleep deprivation, certain medications (particularly SSRIs), migraines, neurological conditions, and occasionally during episodes of hyperventilation. These situations likely involve different physiological mechanisms than the spontaneous yawning commonly observed during contemplative practices.
These mechanisms may explain yawning in some situations, though they seem less likely to account for why yawning appears so consistently across meditation, breathwork, yoga, and plant medicine ceremonies.
An Energetic Perspective
Beyond physiology, many contemplative traditions have long viewed yawning as a form of release.
Much like a spontaneous sigh, trembling, tears, or shaking, a yawn often feels like something unwinding. There are even therapeutic practices that intentionally invite conscious yawning to promote relaxation and reduce muscular tension.
Whether we describe this through the language of energy, autonomic regulation, or neurophysiology may depend on our framework.
Regardless of the explanation, many people experience yawning as a gentle softening, a signal that the body is letting go of unnecessary effort.
Facilitation Observations
After years of facilitating breathwork, I've come to appreciate the quiet patterns that emerge across so many different journeys.
One of those patterns is yawning. Again and again, I've witnessed it arise during the opening moments of breathwork, and just as consistently during the beginning of plant medicine ceremonies—those early moments when people seem to be crossing a threshold from the ordinary pace of daily life into a more inward, receptive state.
Perhaps the common denominator isn't simply the breathing itself.
Perhaps it's the transition.
Whatever the underlying mechanism, yawning seems to accompany the movement from one way of being into another.
And perhaps that's enough.
We don't always need to know exactly why something is happening to recognize that something meaningful may be unfolding.
References
Gallup, A. C., & Gallup, G. G., Jr. (2022/2023).
The Neuropharmacology of Yawning.
European Journal of Neuroscience.
Wani, P. D., & Agarwal, M. (2025).
The Science of Yawning: Exploring Its Physiology, Evolutionary Role, and Behavioral Impact.
Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.
Krestel, H., Bassetti, C. L., & Walusinski, O. (2018).
Yawning—Its Anatomy, Chemistry, Role, and Pathological Considerations.
Progress in Neurobiology.
Guggisberg, A. G., Mathis, J., Schnider, A., & Hess, C. W. (2010).
Why Do We Yawn?
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.
Provine, R. R. (1986).
Yawning as a Stereotyped Action Pattern and Releasing Stimulus.
Ethology.
The content on this website is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. Breathwork facilitators are not licensed healthcare providers unless otherwise stated.
Always consult a qualified medical or mental health professional regarding any health concerns or before beginning new wellness practices. Participation in breathwork is voluntary and should be approached with personal awareness and responsibility.
© Kaisora Breathwork. All rights reserved.