Holotropic Breathwork as a Therapeutic Intervention for Survivors of Trauma: An Autoethnographic Case Study

The author describes attending a Holotropic Breathwork workshop led by Stanislav Grof at a transpersonal psychology conference in Moscow in June 2010. Holotropic Breathwork is a ritualized process that uses breath work to access heightened states of consciousness, allowing individuals to express energies that facilitate deep inner healing and realignment of trauma, paralleling the humanistic concept of self-actualization. The practice is often conducted in large groups where participants alternate between roles.

Study at a glance

Abstract

In June, 2010, I was presenting a paper at an international transpersonal psychology conference in Moscow.1 As part of the experience I had elected to attend a two day Holotropic Breathwork (HB) workshop led by Stanislav Grof, one of the founders of transpersonal psychology.2 As a simple ritualised process, HB harnesses the innate capacity for individuals to realise their potential for deep inner healing through the expression of energies that lead to the realignment and/or correction of trauma.3 Paralleling the humanistic concept of self-actualising, it assumes that willing participation in breath work will permit access to a heightened state of consciousness allowing a spontaneous response to ‘the wisdom of whatever emerges.’4 HB is often facilitated in large groups sub-divided into paired participants alternating between the roles