Just Breathe
We breathe more than 20,000 times a day, often without giving it much thought. Breath is our bodies first language, connecting us to the outside world when we first enter it, linking us with both life and health, as well as the converse of illness and death. It allows us to speak, laugh, and sing, and reflects our state of mind. By adjusting our breath, we are able to create different sensations. When we are anxious it becomes rapid, paused, or uneven, leading to physical and mental blocks. When we are calm, it slows enough to reach a quiet and peaceful state of meditation and reflection. Breath is unique as both an automatic and controllable process. It’s well-known that our lungs breathe in air, then extract the oxygen to fuel our cells and provide the basic bodily functions required for survival. What is less prevalent is the idea that through controlled breathing, we can reach a different state of awareness, bridging the gap between the conscious and unconscious mind.
The first time I witnessed the transformations of breathwork, I was 18, sitting on the floor of a mud hut in Kenya. Too intimated to partake myself, I was allowed to observe as a medicine man guided a group of locals through a series of inhalations and exhalations to the sound of live, intensive drumming. The hut was dark, lit only by candles, and the group was led by a healer who would take turns visiting each participant, gently placing his hands on or near them as needed. He held a gourd filled with porcupine quills and would shake it to the sound of the beat as he moved both smoke and sound through the space. A process was unfolding in front of me, but because I had no understanding or explanation for it, I wrote it off at the time as another magical and mysterious African experience.
It wasn’t until years later that I became familiar with transpersonal psychology and the work of Dr. Stan Grof and his innovative understanding of non-ordinary states of consciousness. He is known for his clinical research that looks at the healing and therapeutic potentials of psychedelic substances, while also being able to identify natural means to reach similar altered states of awareness. Together with his late wife, they coined the term Holotropic Breathwork: a breathing practice to influence a person’s mental, emotional or physical state. As Grof explains, “Holotropic Breathwork is a powerful approach to self-exploration and personal empowerment that relies on our innate inner wisdom and its capacity to move us toward positive transformation and wholeness. Acknowledging, accessing and supporting the inner healing intelligence and impulse in each individual is the essential cornerstone of this approach.”
From the Greek holos meaning whole, and trepein meaning moving in the direction of something, the word holotropic means literally “moving toward wholeness”. The link between breath and life is echoed throughout many cultures; from the Hindu idea of prana (breath, life force) to Chinese chi (vital life force) to Greek pneuma (breath of life), and certain African tribes call it num (vital energy). Breath is also a way to connect with the spirit world, and the word "spirit" comes from the Latin spiritus, meaning breath. Societies throughout history have considered breath to be a powerful healer with spiritual significance, often seen more as a spiritual practice than a therapeutic one. ‘Breathwork’ has become a whole field of self-discovery in itself and is an umbrella term for all of the varying approaches to self-inquiry through the breath. There are many different styles of breathwork that vary in intensity and duration, with Holotropic being one of the foundational practices, from which other modalities have emerged. Regardless of which specific practice you choose, Breathwork has the ability to regulate your state of mind and activate a transpersonal experience that is becoming increasingly widespread today.
How Does It Work?
The process itself is fairly simple, yet requires active engagement. All that is required is breathing at a deep, fast, and rhythmic rate, combined with evocative, loud music that is played in a comfortable setting. The landscape of the music is significant as it leads you through the various stages of the process, paired with a relevant soundtrack. A trusted facilitator provides support and comfort by guiding your breaths as well as assisting you if you have any concerns throughout the process.
From a scientific standpoint, an altered balance occurs in your body between carbon dioxide and oxygen, hyper-oxygenating your blood. This induces a trance-like state in which the conscious mind quiets, allowing the subconscious to do a little rewiring. The natural inner healing process of your psyche also becomes activated through a variety of personal and internal experiences. Blockages are often released as we tap into the autonomic nervous system, further allowing additional relaxation, detoxification, and clarity to emerge.
Sessions can be held individually or in a group, and both are powerful in their unique ways. The collective energy of the group amplifies the healing of the container, taps into coherence on a larger scale, and also provides anonymity among several other participants. Individual Breathwork offers a beautiful opportunity to lean into your vulnerability and confront your shadows, while allowing a witness to hold space for your transformation. There is an additional empowering layer of validation that emerges when we feel safe and seen by another, further increasing awareness and understanding of the authentic self.
The intensity and content of each person’s experience are unique as it is a reflection of their individual process. Some recurring themes may exist, but no two sessions are ever the same. I have had experiences that are dark and heavy where I cried and released intense emotions. Other experiences have been more uplifting and visionary, where I have been visited by people who have passed on and have also sensed a tingling euphoria, bringing about new insights and self-understanding. What has remained constant through the sessions I have participated in is an ability to move beyond my ego, accessing my awareness on a deeper level. I often operate from a logical place of reason, and this allows me to tune out the chatter of my own mind that otherwise tends to distract or alter my perceptions. I am able to open up and feel, getting out of my thoughts and into my body in a different capacity. From this place, I no longer need to use my mind to make sense of my experience and can allow myself to be fully present with the rising and falling of each breath.
How It Fits Into Therapeutic Practice
Working as a psychotherapist who utilizes a variety of somatic practices, I have noticed that breathwork can help us get unstuck in the paces we can’t always reach through more traditional or cognitive methods. As we only have access to 20% of conscious thought, the remaining 80% of our subconscious requires alternative methods for understanding and processing. Breathwork allows us to access a state of awareness that we tend to keep guarded from our therapists—and even ourselves. We can release buried emotions or memories that we might otherwise fear facing, may not even be aware of or perhaps not have skills to describe. What we may struggle to find words for, our bodies have the ability to process and release in a different capacity.
By getting out of our own way, we allow space for the natural healing process to unfold. Most of our daily activities tend to distract and pull us further away from ourselves. This movement into our bodies allows us to authentically reconnect and open up to new possibilities. The reward for leaning into your own vulnerability is an increased sense of awareness and trust, a fresh perspective, increased creativity, and a new toolkit for clearing past traumas from both your psyche and body. The beauty of it is that even in an altered state, you can come out of it at any time, setting it apart from the feared state of hyperventilation. This reduces intimidation or fear with the process, knowing there’s no potentially long-term commitment to an uncomfortable journey. You decide the length and depth of your own experience.
I am constantly blown away by the powerful ability to transform perception simply by consciously controlling my own breath. Even when an intention is set for a session, the body will go where it needs to go, tapping into its own innate ability to heal. When we lean into the energetic flow of this process, our breath becomes an incredible tool for renewal. We can view it as survival or transformation, exploring the varied meanings we assign to the air we breathe. Breath is a way to remind us of our deeper intentions. Breath is a way to face fears or challenges and to feel or process emotions from a grounded place. Breath is a way to release the old and welcome the new. Breath improves cellular functioning, including circulation, digestion, coordination, and mental focus. Breath is at the core of spiritual inspiration and visionary activation. And breathing is an interactive process as well as a way of relating to the world. It allows us to be present with ourselves and each other. Knowing that these traditions and processes occur across all people in all places provides a perspective and connection that can also make us feel less alone in our shared desire to live, breathe and awaken. We are connected by the air we breathe, regardless of the meaning we assign to it. “Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile.” (Thich Nhat Hanh)