Breathwork is a process that increases our ability to feel and resolve the effects of our past. It involves breathing in a full, free manner guided by a trained breathworker. The result is an increase in the level of physical and spiritual energy in our body, thus cleansing the many tensions held there. By learning to breathe consciously and fully, we discover and release the core issues now held in our mind and emotions.
This process was developed it in the early 1970s and named rebirthing by metaphysical teacher Leonard Orr when both he and his first clients relived their births while engaged in the breathing. Rebirthing has since undergone many changes to become a more holistic process, addressing our entire childhood and life experience. Thus, many practitioners have stopped using the term rebirthing and embraced the name breathwork. However, understanding the birth experience is still one of the valuable results of breathwork.
Breathwork’s contributions to psychology and personal growth include helping us to understand the effects our birth has had on individual self-esteem, relationships and family dynamics, as well as more specific issues like the addictive process and abuse. Breathworkers assist their clients with a wide variety of counseling tools and perspectives including the breathing process, as well as a general discussion of feelings and family knowledge that helps to get a picture of what occurred at the time of their birth. Our background is with many nontraditional ideas and approaches to healing, and we have learned to value and respect some of the more traditional ideas and tools as well.
A key to all personal healing is to learn to feel again. As a result of early life being too traumatic or intense for us to stay “present,” we learned to numb ourselves to avoid feelings. Some of us used substances and behaviors to accomplish this; others just used behaviors. It is our feeling that virtually all of us have this issue. We call it addiction—the habit of not feeling or not being present. This is a slightly broader definition of addiction than you may be used to, but the inability to feel and be present is an addiction in that it’s a habit that we don’t know how to change and we subconsciously think we need it to survive. Our culture has supported this greatly by suggesting that the source of happiness is outside of us, in things. The subconscious communication is that these things would “fix” our pain. You don’t need to be drug-addicted to avoid feeling in a materialistic and sexualized society. There are millions of ways to avoid feeling and not be present with yourself. Breathwork is the most powerful healing tool we’ve ever experienced. It gives tremendous support in learning to feel and be present. After doing the process for a while, breathing becomes a moment-by-moment ritual for feeling, healing, and disengaging control. It’s very all-encompassing and can assist in all aspects of personal growth. It offers a major contribution to psychology in that it provides a nonverbal way to heal and it takes most people way beyond more verbal and cognitive therapies. It also results in such powerful emotional and spiritual releases that it addresses one’s whole process, from releasing traumas to healing relationships.
Breathwork sessions are two hours in length and consist of counseling and the breathing process. We recommend weekly sessions for the first 10 to 20 sessions. After about 10 sessions, most people can get value from doing breathing sessions on their own, and can start to see their breathworker less often. We also recommend people train to become a breathworker at any point in their process, as it enhances their personal process and assists them in learning more about breathwork. We also offer weekend intensives on relationships which are very breathwork-based and provide a group environment to support individual healing.
Breathwork Questions and Answers
What is breathwork?
Breathwork is a breathing process that increases our ability to feel and resolve the effects of our past. It involves being guided by a trained breathworker to breathe in a full, free manner resulting in an increase in the level of physical and spiritual energy in the body. The breathing process cleanses the tension stored in the body, bringing the physical and emotional origins back into consciousness where they can be healed.
What is a session like?
Every session with a breathworker involves both counseling and the breathing process. Your breathworker will help you to contact your true feelings about both current and past issues, and resolve the associated unconscious beliefs. The breathing process assists this journey by increasing your physical and spiritual energy, enabling you to surrender to feelings and open the unconscious mind so past experiences can be released. Breathwork leaves you with an incredible sense of peace, aliveness, and authentic self-worth.
Why do I need a facilitator?
A breathworker is a professionally trained counselor who guides your breath in a way that enables the process to occur. S/he also guides and supports you through the variety of feelings, thoughts, and body sensations that you may experience during a session.
How many sessions should I do?
Breathwork can be used for either short or long term counseling. We recommend one session per week. The purpose of this is to build a trusting relationship with your facilitator and to maintain that relationship frequently enough to realize and integrate the cumulative results. In most people’s experience, a relatively short-term commitment to the process brings long-term and life-transforming results. Often, after only 15 to 20 sessions, you will be able to start getting results from doing breathing sessions on your own. However, there will always be value in continuing sessions with a professional breathworker. You can also attend trainings and learn to trade breathwork sessions with other breathwork trainees.
How does breathwork relate to childbirth?
Breathwork does not directly relate to childbirth, but if both partners are resolved with their own birth and family issues, they will be more able to give birth without complication and to be better parents. Since birth has a major impact on our lives, breathworkers tend to be advocates of gentle childbirth practices.
Why did you change the name from “rebirthing” to “breathwork”?
Since the breathing process was about more than childbirth, the name rebirthing has always been a source of confusion. Breathworkers have used different names, such as “conscious breathing”, as far back as 1980. The term rebirthing has occasionally been used by other practitioners to describe completely different processes that do not even involve breathing. This took tragic proportions in 2001 when therapists in Colorado killed an 11-year-old girl while forcing her through a tunnel of blankets and pillows. These therapists called their process “rebirthing” even though it had no connection to rebirthing as it was commonly practiced. Rebirthing as a restrictive therapy, (forcing people through a birth canal or by sitting on people) has since been made illegal in a few states. Rebirthing as breathwork remains legal under these laws but more and more practitioners have changed the name to avoid any confusion.
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