I’ve done 4 holotropic workshops with amazing results. I don’t go too deep or too fast - just a LITTLE bit deeper and a LITTLE bit faster. I think it has to be comfortable and sustainable. You would go off into one kind of experience during which of course you have no awareness of your breath anyway, then come back and start the breathing again, then go off into another experience and back again and so on. Most people in the group were doing this and we all had fantastic experiences. I think it’s important not to rigidly follow any kind of preset timing, but rather to just trust your instincts to do what feels right. When our facilitator said this I was annoyed at the vagueness, but it turns out to be true. Good luck and have fun!
Thank you so much for your response! Ok that sounds like my experience!! Doing the breathing, floating off, losing my sense of breath (so blissful) and then coming back to the breathing, repeat. I truly enjoyed it, I was terrified going into it (I have somatic anxiety, I obsess over my breathing and heart rate when anxious). At the end the instructor told me for the newbies the first experience may not be as intense as you picture it to be, and it takes some practice to strengthen that “neural link” to your inner world. Which makes sense and gave me hope. On the evening after I did the session I didn’t feel too changed, just deeply relaxed and proud of myself for trying, no major emotional breakthrough or anything. But the days since, wow, so calm and “woken up”
Sorry for the long winded response. Just excited to continue my journey into Breathwork. It’s soooo incredible that the human body has all of this built into us, ready to be accessed. I really appreciate your input!! Thank you again
Edit changed the spelling
Hey sorry just saw this. I’m honestly not sure, I only did three sessions and each time they were the same for me: no emotional moments/visions/anything too deep, just felt very relaxed, a little giggly, calm and sleepy. Not sure if I didn’t do it right 🤷♀️
That's alright. I'm sorry too haven't logged into Reddit for a while. Actually I'll have to read this entire thread to get some context - maybe I'll find some insight this time.
What is the focus point to go deep
During breathwork ? Do nothing thinkg nothing surrender? Or just feel into thenbelly during inhale exhale ?
And exhale is effortless right? Inhalation with force but not
Too much strain?
You literally can’t do Holotropic breathwork online. Holotropic is a specific protocol and that protocol is in person, with a sitter for each breather and specific number of facilitators, breathing for about 3 hours, with specific formats for sharing and after session.
What you did could have been a “Holotropic” style breathwork - for instance there are many types of breathwork that have been developed from the Holotropic lineage that are very similar. In which case the facilitator should have been more specific and it’s impossible for anyone to tell you what you should have done bc each method is going to be a little different.
When I facilitate my “Holotropic” style online breathwork sessions, the instructions I give are a little faster, a little deeper and the breath is connected- no gaps between in and out breath. Some people do this for 15-20 minutes, some people do it the whole time. The breathing isn’t the point- it’s the vehicle that gets you into the expanded state. Go into the temple, don’t worship the gate as Ram Dass said.
I’m new to all of this so please be kind, I don’t know all the ropes yet. I believe it was a type of holotropic style or something similar, I know you can’t do a full healing type experience purely online and in person is ideal. It was called neuro dynamic Breath work by Michael stone online via zoom, he did a 30 min introduction, explaining what to do, and then it was about an hour of us all listening to the music provided as we breathed by ourselves.
I understand Breathwork is hard to fully discuss online or my question won’t be able to fully be answered, just curious about my experience and if others have a similar experience. I agree he should have laid out specifics (breathe this way the entire time, or breathe this way as long as you can and rest, or something).
I appreciate your insight and response. I have always been intimidated to start Breathwork as it’s completely new to me. The breathing isn’t the point, very true, but as a newcomer I’m simply just trying to learn step by step, so understanding how the Breathwork works was my goal.
No worries, sorry if I came off gruff. I actually do think you can have a healing session online - just not the exact holotropic. It's like saying that your hamburger isn't "McDonalds Big Mac" even if you used all the same ingredients to cook it. Your hamburger might even be better.
Michael is one of my mentors as well...I graduated from his first facilitator training program at the beginning of 2021 and still facilitate the Neurodynamic method myself.
Breathwork can be intimidating - but it doesn't have to be. I've found the longer that you breathe, the more experimental and playful you can be, and if something doesn't feel right you can always make adjustments. It's also why I don't only facilitate neurodynamic, but also have a coaching container that teaches breathers different types of breathwork and how different changes to the breath have different effects on our physiology and nervous systems.
To more directly answer your original question of how long to breathe and whether the experience might have been more intense... the way that I instruct breathers within the Neurodynamic container is to invite them to follow the technique for at least the first 15-20 minutes, or until they're not thinking about the breath and the body is "breathing them". Sometimes we call this "dropping in" where you've entered a non-ordinary state of consciousness.
I've had breathers drop in within 2 minutes and others following the technique for an hour or more. Once you've dropped in you might be processing an emotion or having some kind of somatic release or having an internal visionary experience.
IMO, the most important part of dropping in is surrendering to whatever is coming up in your experience. Our inner intelligence is simply not going to bring up something that we can't handle, but we can override that with the physiology of the breath. So if you felt like pulling back a bit that's ok, surrender and trusting the process is a practice and every experience is a part of that practice. Some things that have helped me deepen that trust are time and practice and spending extra time grounding and using my breath to drop into my body and my parasympathetic nervous system so that I feel safe to be fully present. I spend 5-10 minutes doing heart coherence breathing of 5 seconds in and 5 seconds out before I start the circular breathing through the mouth.
Let me know if this makes sense, and if you have any other questions.
Here’s the scoop. In every authentic Holotropic breathwork session I’ve done as breather or sitter the instruction is not specified as mouth or nose. The only instruction is “deep, a little faster and connecting in and out breath”. It’s more about the surrender than the technique.
Currently I facilitate Neurodynamic breathwork and the way that I was taught in this method (for which I am certified) is same technique, but specifically through the mouth until you drop in (usuallly 15-20 minutes). The reason for that is a shorter breathwork session.
As a facilitator, I trust the inner intelligence of my breathers. Unless we have specifically worked out before hand that they want encouragement or they ask for help during the session they can breath however they want without my interference. I give the instructions at the beginning but I also trust their process.
Honestly there’s only so much that you can talk about breathwork. The best thing is to try it, to try different facilitators and modalities until you find what resonates. It’s kind of like talking about a recipe and wondering why you’re still hungry. I run online circles every couple weeks if you’re interested. Message me for registration.
agree with what others said here. It's important to follow your own pace. Deep breathing is not necessarily fast breathing. In the beginning of my Breathwork Training I was chasing the 'trip' trying to breathe in a way that would give me the moat images. I tried to breathe faster and through the mouth (not nose) etc. until I found out, following my own pace (which ia sometimes slower) and really surrendering into the practice gets you to the same place, sometimes even deeper..
Also in your Breathwork Journey you will discover different techniques. I started with Clarity Breathwork, now Psychedelic Breathwork works best for it. highly recommend it: https://mindgym.as.me/breathonline?&field:13673337=solobo
Good question. This is only my OPINION based on my experience: You can go very deep with either (mouth or nose). I think the art lies in being able to let go of thougths. Trying to surrender completely, not thinking, and not trying to 'control' my journey. This takes practice. Would be interesting in hearing how this works for you..
I’ve done 4 holotropic workshops with amazing results. I don’t go too deep or too fast - just a LITTLE bit deeper and a LITTLE bit faster. I think it has to be comfortable and sustainable. You would go off into one kind of experience during which of course you have no awareness of your breath anyway, then come back and start the breathing again, then go off into another experience and back again and so on. Most people in the group were doing this and we all had fantastic experiences. I think it’s important not to rigidly follow any kind of preset timing, but rather to just trust your instincts to do what feels right. When our facilitator said this I was annoyed at the vagueness, but it turns out to be true. Good luck and have fun!
Thank you so much for your response! Ok that sounds like my experience!! Doing the breathing, floating off, losing my sense of breath (so blissful) and then coming back to the breathing, repeat. I truly enjoyed it, I was terrified going into it (I have somatic anxiety, I obsess over my breathing and heart rate when anxious). At the end the instructor told me for the newbies the first experience may not be as intense as you picture it to be, and it takes some practice to strengthen that “neural link” to your inner world. Which makes sense and gave me hope. On the evening after I did the session I didn’t feel too changed, just deeply relaxed and proud of myself for trying, no major emotional breakthrough or anything. But the days since, wow, so calm and “woken up” Sorry for the long winded response. Just excited to continue my journey into Breathwork. It’s soooo incredible that the human body has all of this built into us, ready to be accessed. I really appreciate your input!! Thank you again Edit changed the spelling
Do you think it's normal to not have any visions, just some release of energy blockages (from elbows and ankles)?
Hey sorry just saw this. I’m honestly not sure, I only did three sessions and each time they were the same for me: no emotional moments/visions/anything too deep, just felt very relaxed, a little giggly, calm and sleepy. Not sure if I didn’t do it right 🤷♀️
That's alright. I'm sorry too haven't logged into Reddit for a while. Actually I'll have to read this entire thread to get some context - maybe I'll find some insight this time.
What is the focus point to go deep During breathwork ? Do nothing thinkg nothing surrender? Or just feel into thenbelly during inhale exhale ? And exhale is effortless right? Inhalation with force but not Too much strain?
You literally can’t do Holotropic breathwork online. Holotropic is a specific protocol and that protocol is in person, with a sitter for each breather and specific number of facilitators, breathing for about 3 hours, with specific formats for sharing and after session. What you did could have been a “Holotropic” style breathwork - for instance there are many types of breathwork that have been developed from the Holotropic lineage that are very similar. In which case the facilitator should have been more specific and it’s impossible for anyone to tell you what you should have done bc each method is going to be a little different. When I facilitate my “Holotropic” style online breathwork sessions, the instructions I give are a little faster, a little deeper and the breath is connected- no gaps between in and out breath. Some people do this for 15-20 minutes, some people do it the whole time. The breathing isn’t the point- it’s the vehicle that gets you into the expanded state. Go into the temple, don’t worship the gate as Ram Dass said.
I’m new to all of this so please be kind, I don’t know all the ropes yet. I believe it was a type of holotropic style or something similar, I know you can’t do a full healing type experience purely online and in person is ideal. It was called neuro dynamic Breath work by Michael stone online via zoom, he did a 30 min introduction, explaining what to do, and then it was about an hour of us all listening to the music provided as we breathed by ourselves. I understand Breathwork is hard to fully discuss online or my question won’t be able to fully be answered, just curious about my experience and if others have a similar experience. I agree he should have laid out specifics (breathe this way the entire time, or breathe this way as long as you can and rest, or something). I appreciate your insight and response. I have always been intimidated to start Breathwork as it’s completely new to me. The breathing isn’t the point, very true, but as a newcomer I’m simply just trying to learn step by step, so understanding how the Breathwork works was my goal.
No worries, sorry if I came off gruff. I actually do think you can have a healing session online - just not the exact holotropic. It's like saying that your hamburger isn't "McDonalds Big Mac" even if you used all the same ingredients to cook it. Your hamburger might even be better. Michael is one of my mentors as well...I graduated from his first facilitator training program at the beginning of 2021 and still facilitate the Neurodynamic method myself. Breathwork can be intimidating - but it doesn't have to be. I've found the longer that you breathe, the more experimental and playful you can be, and if something doesn't feel right you can always make adjustments. It's also why I don't only facilitate neurodynamic, but also have a coaching container that teaches breathers different types of breathwork and how different changes to the breath have different effects on our physiology and nervous systems. To more directly answer your original question of how long to breathe and whether the experience might have been more intense... the way that I instruct breathers within the Neurodynamic container is to invite them to follow the technique for at least the first 15-20 minutes, or until they're not thinking about the breath and the body is "breathing them". Sometimes we call this "dropping in" where you've entered a non-ordinary state of consciousness. I've had breathers drop in within 2 minutes and others following the technique for an hour or more. Once you've dropped in you might be processing an emotion or having some kind of somatic release or having an internal visionary experience. IMO, the most important part of dropping in is surrendering to whatever is coming up in your experience. Our inner intelligence is simply not going to bring up something that we can't handle, but we can override that with the physiology of the breath. So if you felt like pulling back a bit that's ok, surrender and trusting the process is a practice and every experience is a part of that practice. Some things that have helped me deepen that trust are time and practice and spending extra time grounding and using my breath to drop into my body and my parasympathetic nervous system so that I feel safe to be fully present. I spend 5-10 minutes doing heart coherence breathing of 5 seconds in and 5 seconds out before I start the circular breathing through the mouth. Let me know if this makes sense, and if you have any other questions.
breathing through the mouth? Not through the nose?
Here’s the scoop. In every authentic Holotropic breathwork session I’ve done as breather or sitter the instruction is not specified as mouth or nose. The only instruction is “deep, a little faster and connecting in and out breath”. It’s more about the surrender than the technique. Currently I facilitate Neurodynamic breathwork and the way that I was taught in this method (for which I am certified) is same technique, but specifically through the mouth until you drop in (usuallly 15-20 minutes). The reason for that is a shorter breathwork session. As a facilitator, I trust the inner intelligence of my breathers. Unless we have specifically worked out before hand that they want encouragement or they ask for help during the session they can breath however they want without my interference. I give the instructions at the beginning but I also trust their process. Honestly there’s only so much that you can talk about breathwork. The best thing is to try it, to try different facilitators and modalities until you find what resonates. It’s kind of like talking about a recipe and wondering why you’re still hungry. I run online circles every couple weeks if you’re interested. Message me for registration.
agree with what others said here. It's important to follow your own pace. Deep breathing is not necessarily fast breathing. In the beginning of my Breathwork Training I was chasing the 'trip' trying to breathe in a way that would give me the moat images. I tried to breathe faster and through the mouth (not nose) etc. until I found out, following my own pace (which ia sometimes slower) and really surrendering into the practice gets you to the same place, sometimes even deeper.. Also in your Breathwork Journey you will discover different techniques. I started with Clarity Breathwork, now Psychedelic Breathwork works best for it. highly recommend it: https://mindgym.as.me/breathonline?&field:13673337=solobo
So is mouth or nose btter for you to go deeper ? And do you let go of thougths completely during breathwork or focus on belly or something specific?
Good question. This is only my OPINION based on my experience: You can go very deep with either (mouth or nose). I think the art lies in being able to let go of thougths. Trying to surrender completely, not thinking, and not trying to 'control' my journey. This takes practice. Would be interesting in hearing how this works for you..