In AEQ breathing, the main emphasis is on clearly explaining how suppressing behavior or preventing spontaneous or authentic behavior in childhood or later in life negatively affects breathing, and how such environmental coercion—to behave in a certain way in order to be accepted or not rejected—chronically alters the rhythm and pattern of breathing. The person then perceives this breathing as their “normal” breathing. They are unable to change it, or if they try, they usually stop quite quickly. The problem arises when unhealthy breathing, internalized as normal, is changed on the subconscious level to healthier breathing without understanding the underlying reasons for why proper breathing ceased. In that case, learning healthier breathing becomes very unhealthy. The more correctly one breathes, the greater the internal distress—without understanding why, as they’re simply following instructions that make logical sense.
The point is that proper (effective and dynamic) breathing was, at a certain point in life (usually early childhood), not possible, welcomed, or allowed. Due to external pressure, we changed our breathing pattern into an improper one. AEQ breathing is based on the understanding that the person learning it becomes increasingly aware of this and understands that changing breathing from unhealthy to healthy is a long-term process, directly tied to increasing emotional maturity.
If a person does not increase emotional maturity but begins breathing differently, they will experience different energy levels and internal sensations. They will have more energy due to more correct breathing, but because of insufficient emotional maturity, they won’t know how to handle or manage this energy. This can lead to anxiety, irritability, overheating, and internal discomfort. Eventually, they may start seeing themselves as problematic or “too much,” which dramatically reduces motivation to continue learning proper breathing—regardless of the method.
Healthy breathing is adapted to the situation a person is in. In a calm environment, breathing is slow, soft, and relaxed. In situations requiring fight or flight, breathing changes accordingly—becoming faster, more determined, deeper, and stronger to generate sufficient energy and support within the abdominal and chest cavities, enabling the person to feel their actual power and respond appropriately by fighting, fleeing, or freezing when the situation is extreme, breathing in fear to prevent inappropriate physical responses or emotional outbursts.
According to the AEQ method, healthy breathing is dynamic and adapted to the current needs. That means not breathing quickly while sleeping or breathing slowly when running from a bear—just to name two extremes. To breathe like this requires good awareness and control of muscle tone, along with awareness of one’s current breathing state.
Another important point: if a person has chronically tense muscles in their torso, they cannot breathe properly, even if they strongly wish to. This is because the tonus of these muscles is not functioning optimally. For instance, the back cannot relax during exhalation, and the abdomen cannot release during inhalation because it is chronically tight. Thus, breathing remains chronically dysfunctional because the vital torso structures involved in breathing are misused.
If the abdominal cavity stores deeply suppressed emotions that are not allowed to be expressed, the tension in the diaphragm increases to create a kind of wall that holds high pressure inside the abdomen, preventing it from rising into the chest or head. One can remain in such powerlessness for years without even realizing it, or only occasionally becoming aware of it. Such a diaphragm cannot function optimally.
The diaphragm is the main breathing muscle. Its role is to change the shape of the abdominal and thoracic cavities. Changing the shape of the thoracic cavity is necessary to alter pressure inside it, which is essential to move air. That is, to decrease pressure in the chest to inhale, or increase it to exhale. Breathing is gas exchange, and gas movement is directly related to pressure changes. Gases move from higher to lower pressure.
So, when you exhale and push the diaphragm up, lung volume decreases, increasing lung pressure. Since the pressure inside the lungs becomes higher than the external environment, air flows out. Conversely, during inhalation, the diaphragm pulls down toward the pelvis, expanding the chest cavity, decreasing internal pressure below the atmospheric level, and air enters the lungs. That’s the diaphragm’s function.
Abdominal muscles play a crucial role in breathing because they determine how much the shape of the abdominal cavity changes during inhalation. The link is that only by changing the shape of the abdominal cavity can the thoracic cavity volume effectively change. If the abdominal shape doesn’t change, thoracic volume and pressure don’t change either—air can’t move in or out. This is a highly effective strategy for suppressing emotions, spontaneity, and remaining in powerlessness.
