Conscious connected breathing changes your body's chemistry. That's how it works. It shifts the balance of oxygen and CO2 in the blood, drops you out of your thinking mind, and gives stuck emotion a route to the surface.
That shift is deliberate. It's designed. And for most people, it's safe.
But there are some conditions where changing the body's chemistry that way, that quickly, creates real medical risk. In those cases, conscious connected breathing isn't just uncomfortable. It's unsafe.
IMD Signature and IMD Lite both use conscious connected breathing. That means the same contraindications apply to both sessions.
Who can't do IMD Signature or Lite
You can't do these sessions if you have any of the following:
- Cardiovascular disease, including angina, previous heart attack, or stroke
- High or abnormal blood pressure (uncontrolled)
- Glaucoma or retinal detachment
- Epilepsy or seizure disorder
- Severe asthma (particularly if you've been hospitalised for it)
- Severe mental health conditions, including psychosis, bipolar disorder during a manic phase, or recent psychiatric hospitalisation
- Recent surgery (within the last 6 weeks)
- Active fractures or significant physical injuries
If you are pregnant, you also can't do conscious connected breathing. The shift in blood gases and the intensity of the breath create risk we won't take.
If you are on heavy psychiatric medication, get in touch before you book. Some medications affect the nervous system in ways that make conscious connected breathing unsafe or unpredictable. We need to know what you're on so we can make the right call.
Why these conditions are contraindications
Conscious connected breathing increases your heart rate. It changes how blood flows through the body. It drops CO2 levels in the blood, which shifts blood pH and affects how your nervous system fires.
For someone with cardiovascular disease, that shift can strain the heart or trigger a cardiac event.
For someone with glaucoma or retinal detachment, the changes in blood pressure and intracranial pressure can cause damage.
For someone with epilepsy, the drop in CO2 can lower the seizure threshold and trigger a seizure.
For someone with severe asthma, the intensity of the breath and the shift in blood gases can trigger an attack.
For someone in a manic phase or experiencing psychosis, conscious connected breathing can destabilise them further. The work brings things to the surface, and if the person is already in crisis, that's dangerous.
These aren't theoretical risks. They're based on decades of breathwork practice, somatic trauma work, and physiology research. We screen for these conditions because the risk is real.
If you're not sure, ask
If you have a medical condition that's not on the list and you're wondering whether it's safe for you to do IMD Signature or Lite, get in touch before you book.
Email us. Tell us what the condition is. We'll either clear you, ask you to get medical clearance from your doctor first, or let you know the session isn't safe for you.
Don't assume it's fine and show up. The briefing at the start of the session will ask you directly about contraindications, and if you disclose something that makes the session unsafe, you won't be able to take part. You'll have travelled, paid, and not been able to do the work.
Ask first. It saves everyone's time, and it keeps you safe.
What you can do instead
If you can't do conscious connected breathing, you can still do breathwork. You just can't do the kind that's designed for emotional release.
IMD Relax & Restore is a 40 minute down-regulation session that uses slow, regulating breath techniques. The 4-8 breath, box breath, and 4-7-8 breath. All designed to calm the body and settle the nervous system, not activate it.
Because the breath is slow and regulating, it's safe for almost everyone. Even people who can't do conscious connected breathing can usually do Relax & Restore.
You can do it in person, on the water (floating), or online. The session is fully guided, and you leave deeply relaxed.
The IMD Breathwork App also has Relax & Restore journeys you can do at home, along with short 10 minute sessions and sound tools. All safe for people who can't do the deeper release work.
Why we're strict about this
We're strict about contraindications because the work matters, and so does your safety.
Conscious connected breathing is powerful. It helps the body release emotion it's been holding for years. For most people, it's one of the most significant experiences they'll have.
But power comes with responsibility. If the work can shift your nervous system that dramatically, we have to know when it's not safe to do that.
Screening for contraindications isn't about being cautious for the sake of it. It's about making sure the people in the room can do the work without medical risk.
If you're cleared to do the session, you can go as deep as your body needs to go. If you're not cleared, we'll tell you why, and we'll point you towards the work you can do instead.
That's the deal. Safe, or we don't do it.
