Breathwork
There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled. There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled. You feel it, don’t you?
— Rumi
What’s so special about breathwork?
First of all, the way you breathe determines the way you live.
Is your breath shallow, disconnected, and unconscious, or deep, full, and aware? Simply paying attention to the natural breath, without judgement or a need to control, is where breathwork begins.
The breath is the only physiological function that is both unconscious and conscious.
Our unconscious breath rules our lives. It is intertwined with our nervous system, guiding the way we feel, behave, and express ourselves.
When we breathe consciously, it becomes a powerful tool. A single breath can instantly alter our physiology. Try taking a deep breath into the belly, and a long exhale. Observe.
The breath can also expand consciousness, allowing access to more subtle layers of reality.
Cultures across the world have worked with the breath for millennia, to alter physical and mental states, access deeper layers of the subconscious, enter trance, and connect with a divine sense of the universe.
Breathwork is about self-empowerment.
Breathwork experiences can expand consciousness and quiet the ego mind in a similar way to psychedelic experiences. However, breathwork experiences are not assisted by any external substance, so the power is all within you.
In essence, breathwork reconnects us with our inner wisdom.
The respiratory system is composed of the words re- and -spirit, expressing the breath as a symbol of returning to spirit, of reconnecting with life.
Breathwork can release emotions or energy stuck in the body, allow insights to arise, and lead to significant shifts in perspective. In essence, breathwork reconnects us with our inner wisdom and our true self, which lies underneath all layers of conditioning. By working through these layers, we can live a life aligned with who we really are and access the gifts we are meant to share.
What happens during a breathwork session?
During a breathwork session, you practice a style of deep circular breathing designed to enter an expanded state of awareness. In this state, deep physical and emotional healing processes may arise. This style of breathing involves an evocative music journey and is based on principles of Neurodynamic Breathwork, Holotropic Breathwork, and transpersonal psychology.
If you are new to breathwork, you will be guided through a comprehensive introductory talk. Then you lie down, close your eyes, and the journey begins.
The two key principles of breathwork are trust and surrender.
The best advice during a breathwork session is to trust the process. The more you trust in your inner wisdom to guide you, the more you are able to let go of the rational mind. By trusting in your innate intelligence, you give yourself permission to surrender into the experience.
Common experiences during a breathwork session include:
Sensory experiences. Sensations such as tingling, cramps, tension, heat, cold, and numbness are all possible. These are all forms of physical release. If any tension arises, it is useful to amplify the tension by breathing into it, thus allowing it to process and release. What you resist persists, and the way past is through.
Emotional experiences. Physical sensations often reveal underlying emotions that are stored in the body, but have been suppressed or remained unnoticed. During a session, you have permission to feel and express the full spectrum of the human experience, from anger to grief to joy to pleasure, and everything in between.
Biographical experiences. Memories may emerge from any point in your life, or from beyond your own life into what some may interpret as past life or ancestral memories. Biographical material often points toward unprocessed emotions ready to be released, or triggers insights around key life moments or decisions.
Perinatal experiences. It is possible to relive a part of your own birth process. This can take many forms, such as a blissful oceanic experience of being in the womb, or a feeling of fighting your way through the birth canal to be reborn. These tend to be empowering, healing, and life-changing experiences.
Transpersonal experiences. Transpersonal refers to transcending the self, and these experiences can take many forms. Dreamlike visions, becoming one with the universe, identifying with a plant or animal, and receiving insights or information are all examples of transpersonal experiences.
Yoga nidra states. Yoga nidra, or yogic sleep, is a profound state of rest and relaxation in which you lose track of time and space. This is closer to a trance state than a deep sleep. Often you return after the session feeling deeply rested, restored, and aware.
What happens after a breathwork session?
After a breathwork session, you are slowly guided back to the present moment. This is a time for softness, tea, snacks, and gently being with yourself. There is time for sharing experiences if you feel like it, or journaling for yourself if that feels better.
If you are breathing in a group, you will have a longer time to draw, paint, collage, or express your experience in another way before you attempt to express it in words. You may treasure the ineffability of the experience and choose to share very little verbally, or you may find it important to speak aloud an experience in detail. Both are welcome.
The prolonged effects of breathwork generally can’t quite be grasped in words. Oftentimes, particularly after continued practice or after a retreat, there is a feeling of something shifting in yourself, in your life, or in how you relate to your everyday life.
Some common experiences following a breathwork session or retreat include:
heightened creativity / sexual / life force energy
increased self awareness
greater presence
more self-love, self-compassion, and self-acceptance
a sense of empowerment
heightened connection with nature
feeling a weight lifted / something released
more fun / playfulness in life!
Some potentially less comfortable experiences include:
increased sensitivity
a sense of fatigue / needing to rest
difficult or suppressed emotions rising
things that aren’t serving you in life becoming clear
Giving yourself time and space for integration is crucial.
Integration allows you to cultivate the gifts from your experience and opens opportunities for sustained growth and transformation.
