EXPLORE BREATHWORK
WHAT IS BREATHWORK?
The core principles that guide everything we do in breathwork include “Trust The Process” and “Surrender As Deeply As Possible”. Trust that we can handle whatever comes up and that it is exactly what we need at this moment in our journey towards wholeness. Our inner healer or inner guidance wouldn’t bring anything up that we are not ready for.
By trusting this inner intelligence that is inherent in all of us, we are also surrendering to it. We learn to work with whatever comes up and happens during the ceremony. The way past is through, not around. What ever we resist, persists. We also learn to honor the dark as well as the light, the degree we suppress pain is also the degree to which we suppress joy. Breathwork reflects live. With this knowledge, we can bring our breathwork experience back to our day to day life and integrate what we learn.
The experience is different for everybody, and the depth of the experience depends on the willingness to let go of the ego mind and of all expectations.
The idea is to get out of the left side of the brain, the frontal cortex or default mode network. We let go of the mental chatter in order to tap into this power within. By doing this we can access states of expanded consciousness and start working on old trauma, limitations and issues that we might face in our life and that are holding us back.
Similar to meditation, if our mind chatters persist, the idea is to stop resisting, start observing and dive deep within ourselves. Feeling and embracing any emotions that come up lets us accept whatever is happening.
Breathwork can be used on its own as a regular practice or as an addition to other mindfulness practices like meditation and yoga. It is also an ideal tool and can be used in preparation and/or integration for work with Entheogens.
HOW IT WORKS
Allow about 2 hours for a breathwork session. I will start with a 20-30 minutes introduction talk where I will be explaining the theory and principles of breathwork, explain the breathing technique, give you some suggestions, and talk about what kind of experience you may have. After the introduction talk, I am open to any questions that may arise. Then, there will be a couple minutes break to use the bathroom, set up the space and get in a comfortable position for the actual breathwork.
Then I will do a short relaxation meditation, guide you into the breath, followed by a 60 min music set.
Once the music starts, there is no facilitator guidance, the whole experience is guided form within. I will be available through chat if there is a problem, or if a breather has trouble dropping into the process and connecting with the breath. I can give some suggestions to assist the process. But most of the time, people will drop in without much effort.
The whole experience is a closed eye experience. You can either wear an eye mask or breathe in a darkened room. It can be done either laying down on a bed or mat, or sitting up, depending on your personal preference. In both cases it is beneficial to have a straight back and neck to allow maximum ease of airflow.
At the end of the breathwork session I will guide you back out of the experience and give you some time to come back. Then there is time to share the experience for whoever feels called to do so. Sharing is highly recommended as it helps you process your experience and helps with the integration. Even if you don’t feel like sharing your experience, listening to others will help you understand and validate our own process.
“The greatest gift you can give somebody is your own personal development. I used to say, “If you will take care of me, I will take care of you. “Now I say, I will take care of me for you, if you will take care of you for me.”
– Jim Rohn –
Contraindications
Breathwork is safe, but there are certain medical conditions for which it is not considered safe to participate. If you have any of the following conditions do not participate in breathwork.
- Children under the age of 18 may not participate without prior consent of their parents of legal guardians
- Pregnancy
- High blood pressure that is not controlled with medication
- Cardiovascular diseases, prior heart attack, history of strokes or aneurysm
- Epilepsy or seizures
- If you are taking blood thinning medications
- Osteoporosis
- Detached retina
- Glaucoma
- Bipolar disorder or Schizophrenia
- PTSD you might experience old trauma which can be highly valuable, but only with the appropriate support
- Recent surgery that is not fully healed
- Asthma, you can breath but need to have an inhaler with you
- Prior physical injuries that are not fully healed and could be re-injured through intense
- movement.
- Any other medical, psychiatric or physical conditions which would impair or affect ability to engage in activities involving intense physical and/or emotional release.
WHAT CAN HAPPEN WITH BREATHWORK?
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Through circular diaphragmatic breathing or controlled hyperventilation, we take in more oxygen than normal and the amount of CO2 in the body decreases. As a result, the pH levels in the body increase, the blood turns alkaline. As the ratio of CO2 and O2 influences several critical functions in the body, this can have a positive influence on the heart rate, blood pressure and the immune system, resulting in more vitality, energy and an overall healthier life.
The effect of the increased pH level is a change of the brain activity. There is less activity in the frontal cortex, the default network mode. This is the part of the brain that is responsible for the mental construct of the self and the ego. By slowing down the activity in the default network mode, the ego mind dissolves and we can access and connect with our deepest core, our inner wisdom, the power within. When the mind stops the old narrative of self-doubt and fear, we can dive into the well of endless possibilities that is flowing through us . It emerges out of stillness and is generally overheard due to the constant mind chatter of the ego mind.
By quieting down the thinking mind, the psyche is able to start healing itself. When we connect to our inner wisdom, we can bring unconscious material to the surface and examine how the unconscious has been influencing our actions and lives. By tuning into our body, pains and tensions, we learn to listen to our body and examine what it has to tell us. Stuck emotions get released and help us look at our traumas from a different angle. We learn to acknowledge and accept and see the gifts we received. This helps us get out of our victim mentality and start taking full charge over our actions and reactions. We learn that we have a choice and that it is up to us, to either stay small and hold back, or take full responsibility over our feelings and our life.
The change in the body, brain and emotions help us to raise our energy and we start vibrating at a higher frequency. WE regain trust in ourselves and with that, a trust in life. As a result we start feeling a connection to all of life, initiate a spiritual awakening and move closer to wholeness.
WAYS TO WORK WITH ME
PRIVATE
BREATHWORKPRIVATE BREATHWORK
For your convenience I offer Private breathwork either in person or online
Intimacy, personal attention, deeper support
1-1 breathwork sessions are an intimate and powerful experience where you are guided to access deep inner states, shift old energy and transform your mind. These sessions can be facilitated in person or online.
GROUP
BREATHWORKOnline group breathwork ceremonies can be extremely powerful and the sharing circle at the end helps integrate one's own experience.
Online group breathwork is a powerful way to experience healing and real-time transformation. Sharing after the ceremony with the other breathers helps integrate and ground your experience.
RELEARN TO
BREATHEOnline group breathwork ceremonies can be extremely powerful and the sharing circle at the end helps integrate one's own experience.
Online group breathwork is a powerful way to experience healing and real-time transformation. Sharing after the ceremony with the other breathers helps integrate and ground your experience.
Once a week, online group sessions at the same time
Breathwork is a modality, used for deep inner exploration, personal growth, healing and discovering our true potential. Through breathwork we can bring more awareness and presence into our lives by expanding our consciousness and learn more about our unconscious thinking patterns that hold us back. In a way it is similar to meditation, but results can be achieved much more quickly.
It is also possible to access expanded states of consciousness similar to the work with entheogens. For many, the experience of breathwork can be just as powerful and transformative as the experience with plant medicine.
By quieting down our thinking mind we can access an inner intelligence that is present in all of us, all the time. By regularly exercising breathwork, we strengthen our neural pathways that help us connect to this inner intelligence.
My first training was in Neurodynamic Breathwork.
Neurodynamic Breathwork, developed by Michael Stone, is a heritage of Holotropic Breathwork, Holotropic Breathwork was developed by Stanislaf Groth over a period of 20 years, after LSD became Illegal in the USA. The word holotropic comes from the Greek meaning “ moving towards wholeness.”
During Breathwork, we listen to a carefully crafted music set while using a deep breathing technique to slow down the thinking mind chatter and eventually get out of it. The whole process, once the music starts, is solely guided from within. The role of the facilitator is to guide breathers into the process, hold space for them, and ensure their safety.