Study favourably compares intense breathwork to body scan meditation per The Debrief

[Laird]

Scientists Find Intense Breathwork Can Trigger Psychedelic-Like States and Lasting Psychological Changes
July 14, 2026
Tim McMillan
The Debrief

In the first randomized controlled study to directly examine breathwork-induced altered states of consciousness, researchers found that a single 90-minute session of intense, continuous breathing produced significantly stronger psychedelic-like effects than meditation, including mystical experiences, feelings of oneness, visual changes, and powerful emotional breakthroughs.

Even more intriguingly, participants reported greater psychological understanding and behavioral changes a week later.
Published in Frontiers in Psychology, the findings add to a growing body of research investigating whether deliberately altering respiration can provide a drug-free pathway into altered states of consciousness,  possibly reproducing some of the psychological effects increasingly associated with psychedelic therapy.

The study focused on conscious connected breathing, or CCB, a form of high-ventilation breathwork involving continuous breathing without pauses between inhalation and exhalation.

I haven't read the study itself (linked in that blurb). Let us know what you find if you do, especially whether or not that article represents it faithfully.