Breathwork

Breathwork is a kind of alternative therapy that uses breath awareness and conscious breathing exercises and technique to bring about growth, change and well being in the body, mind and spirit. Breathwork is a kind of holistic healing technique that is complimentary to all other approaches to health care.

What is Breathwork?

Breathwork in physical terms means the learning of proper breathing exercises and techniques that maximize the physical potential of the body. They make an individual more alert and more aware of his or her body. In a spiritual sense it is a method to approach the psyche through the body by controlling breathing.

It is an invaluable tool for growth on the spiritual path, for personal healing and as a form of psychotherapy. Breath awareness acts as a primary catalyst for us to get in touch with the inner world of our psyche. All humans have some amount of unconscious trauma that restricts their growth in life. Whether the trauma is caused due to unconscious conditioning, the birthing process or emotional unhappiness – it can all be accessed using breathwork.

Breathwork helps release individuals from the grip of past traumas and frees them to lead a fulfilling life and focus on self-actualization.

Breathwork has developed rapidly over the past two decades. Rebirthing, Conscious Breathing, Holotropic Breathwork, Vivation, Transformational Breathwork, Yoga, Pranayama, Tai Chi, Chi Kung are all various techniques of breathwork.

Breathwork is thus a simple, safe, gentle and proven technique to access not only the inner physical self but also the higher spiritual self.

Rebirthing Breathwork

Rebirthing breathwork is a technique that uses circular breath or conscious connected breathing to bring in more life force energy, or what the Chinese call ‘Chi’, into the body. The extra energy helps unlock emotions that may have resulted from severe traumas that have been suppressed. It can even go back as far as birth trauma. Hence the term ‘rebirthing’.

A Rebirther is a trained person who is your guide and coach as you learn the breathing techniques. By expelling toxins – both mental and physical – from the body using the excess energy, the individual becomes open to love, joy, health and prosperity.

A rebirthing session generally lasts 2 hours where 1 hour is devoted to the circular breathing alone. It can take anywhere between ten to twenty sessions for an individual to rebirth himself or herself.

Holotropic Breathwork

Holotropic breathwork is a psychotherapeutic breathwork technique devised by Stanislav Grof. The word holotropic has Greek origins and literally means moving towards wholeness.

This technique combines deep breathing exercises with relaxation and evocative music in a supportive setting. An individual may have many experiences during holotropic breathwork but the experiences are not the purpose of holotropic breathwork. The aim is to move the individual towards a more holistic feeling of self.

Holotropic breathwork works on the philosophy that when the mind and body enter the holotropic state via controlled breathing techniques, the inner wisdom uses the opportunity to access spiritual, emotional, mental and physical feelings and to affect change. Thus, holotropic breathwork believes that we are our own best healers and each of us possesses an Inner Healer. The Inner Healer is capable of great feats when left to do its work in non-ordinary states of consciousness.

Holotropic breathwork is generally carried out in groups rather than individually. Holotropic practitioners believe that holotropic breathwork is not a technique so much as it is a safe and simple setting where breathers can delve into their own Inner Self.

Vivation

Vivation is a method that teaches you how to be happy. Happiness is a skill and as with any other skill it can be learned and you can get better at it. The problem lies in our continuous belief that things need to change for us to be happy. The present scenario or situation is not conducive to our happiness.

The truth is in fact, that we need to be happy no matter what. In accepting what is rather than longing for what should be, lies happiness. This does not mean of course that one should be complacent and not look for change. However, what happens five minutes or five days later does not change what is right now. So being happy right now means accepting what is.

Every time an individual shifts focus from ‘what isn’t there that should be’ to ‘what is there that is useful’ he or she experiences a radical change in effectiveness. Vivation is the process or method that can help individuals make this shift from wanting what isn’t to enjoying what is.

Vivation works at the feeling level and teaches us to integrate even so called negative feelings so that the experience becomes positive. By helping us change our relationship to a feeling about some particular event or person, vivation can help us change our relationship to the event or person itself!

Vivation uses specific breathing skills to connect us with the good that is present in our feelings. The breathing itself does not cause the result. The integration is caused by exploring and accepting the feeling. The breathing is a tool to develop a rapport with the feeling.

Vivation involves circular breathing, complete relaxation, awareness in detail and integration into ecstasy. Vivation professionals can help you learn these skills.

Application of Breathwork

The increased energy available to the body via breathwork is the source of healing. Breathwork is effective in helping individuals overcome many ailments. In addition to overcoming physical limitations, the true application of breathwork has been found to be in the realm of the unconscious mind.

Breathwork is used to help individuals free their minds from stress, worry, anxiety, fear and negative response to trauma. By releasing the negative, breathwork makes space for positive feelings of love, joy and happiness.

Breathwork is a holistic healing technique that is compatible with any other technique. Indeed, it can help enhance the positive effects of other alternative therapies like Qigong, Yoga and Meditation.

Breathwork is thus the key to peak performance, optimum health and ultimate potential.