Beginning to Breathe
November 24, 2018 DOI: 10.1163/9789004386563_009 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Personal narrative or theoretical chapter |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Holotropic Breathwork |
| Duration | One session |
| Key points | The author presents a personal account of a single Holotropic Breathwork session alongside the Grofs' descriptions, arguing that such breathwork is designed to safely engage with and release stored traumatic experiences. The chapter contends that research on controlled breathing and trauma remains scarce and asks whether survivors, particularly those with hidden trauma responses, can benefit from combining guided controlled breathing, relaxation, stimulating music, and artistic disclosure. |
Abstract
There has been surprisingly little research conducted concerning the relationship between controlled breathing and the emergence, release, and subsequent management of traumatic experiences. This chapter presents the author’s personal experience of Stanislav and Christina Grof’s Holotropic Breathwork. This treatment is designed to safely and intentionally engage with, accentuate, and release traumatic experiences that have been stored in the body over time and located in other areas of the survivor’s consciousness, to bring relief and to focus the healing potential of the human organism. What follows is a brief contemporaneous account that conveys the writer’s experience of one session of breath work alongside the Grofs’ formulations and descriptions of the process. This chapter will no doubt raise a number of questions, not least of which is whether trauma survivors, especially those whose responses have been hidden from consciousness, can be effectively served by simple practices that combine guided voluntary controlled breathing and relaxation, stimulating music, and artistic disclosure. For reasons of safe practice, Holotropic Breathwork is a trademarked intervention.