Holotropic Breathwork is a psychotherapeutic approach developed by Stanislav Grof, M.D. which allows access to nonordinary states of consciousness. It was developed as an adjunct to LSD psychotherapy and has mostly replaced the latter due to the legal problems concerning the clinical use of LSD. The method combines deliberately hyperventilating and relaxation while listening to evocative music in a supportive setting. The state of consciousness thus brought forward is said to activate the natural inner healing process of the individual's psyche, bringing him or her a particular set of internal experiences. This method is based upon Stanislav Grof's 50 years of intensive study of "nonordinary states of consciousness."

Additional elements of the process include "focused energy release work" and mandala drawing or other art techniques, such as working with clay. Holotropic Breathwork is usually done in groups, although individual sessions are done. Within the groups, people work in pairs and alternate in the roles of experiencer and "sitter". The sitter's role is simply to be available to assist the breather, not to interfere or interrupt the process. The same is true for trained facilitators, who are available as helpers if necessary.

"Holotropic Breathwork" is a trademark.

Importance of our birth process

One small aspect of Grof's extensive theorem is the belief that there is a connection between the actions in our lives and our experiences in the birth process. In his book "The Holotropic Mind", Grof separated this process into 4 stages. These stages are known as the Perinatal Matrices, and they are defined as follows:

1. Amniotic Universe - The womb. The only world that life knows at this point. Blissfull feelings of peace and joy (paradise).
2. Cosmic Engulfment; No Exit - Equilibrium disturbed; contractions begins. Unbearable feeling of being stuck in hell with no way of escaping.
3. Death versus Rebirth Struggle - Second clinical stage of childbirth; intense struggle for survival.
4. Death versus Rebirth Experience - The child is born. Intense ecstatic feelings of liberation and love. New world begins.

Holotropic breathing and rebirthing

Holotropic breathing has some similarities to rebirthing, but was developed independently. There is an Association for Holotropic Breathwork International and an extensive training and certification program for facilitators. There are currently more than 1000 trained facilitators located throughout the world.

Critics of Holotropic Breathwork

Holotropic Breathwork has been subject to significant criticism. In October 1993 the Scottish Charities Office published a report into the practice, having received complaints concerning its implementation at the Findhorn Foundation, a registered charity. The report was written by Anthony Busuttil (Regius Professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Edinburgh), and its adverse findings caused the Findhorn Foundation to suspend its breathwork programme. On 14 October, The Scotsman published an article entitled 'New Age Meditation Course Cancelled on Medical Advice'. The article reported several critical comments concerning Holotropic Breathwork as a form of therapy, made by Dr Linda Watt of Leverndale Psychiatric Hospital in Glasgow. Dr Watt was particularly concerned that the hyperventilation technique could cause seizure or lead to psychosis in vulnerable people. The controversy at the Findhorn Foundation has been well documented by Stephen Castro in Hypocrisy and Dissent within the Findhorn Foundation: Towards a Sociology of a New Age Community (New Media Books, 1996).

Author Kate Thomas sounds a strong warning concerning the nature of the forces unleashed by Holotropic Breathwork, and claims that breathwork facilitators are not adequately qualified to deal with them: "It is well known to breathworkers that the content of experiential sessions often spills over into the daily life of the participant in the form of acute disturbance and disorientation - and sometimes leads to breakdown ..." (The Kundalini Phenomenon: The Need for Insight and Spiritual Authenticity, New Media Books, 2000).

In an appendix entitled "On Holotropic Breathwork", Kevin Shepherd (Minds and Sociocultures: An Analysis of Religious and Dissenting Movements, Volume One: Zoroastrianism and the Indian Religions, Philosophical Press, 1995) claims that this procedure should never be promoted to the general public. He recognizes its application in extreme cases of intractable psychiatric illness, but avows that its effects should never be confused with spiritual experience: "Hyperventilation is an artificial means of inducing hypoxaemia (i.e., a lack of oxygen to the brain) ... The physiological condition of hypoxaemia is known to have caused hallucinations ... The general denominator here is one of dysfunction, not spiritual expansion or perception" (946). Shepherd likens the breathwork experience to "a very excitatory and unpredictable form of 'shamanism' which involves a serious deception about the nature of spirituality. Drastically altered moods are so often not illumined states of mind, but uncontrolled or primitive states of mind and emotion in which the subject may act irresponsibly" (946).

External links

• Holotropic Breathwork - Stanislav Grof's website
• Association for Holotropic Breathwork International

Alternative medicine | Energy therapies | New Age | Parapsychology | Psychotherapy

Holotropes Atmen | Oddychanie holotropowe | Холотропное дыхание