Has Anyone Tried Holotropic Breathwork? Is It Safe?

[Eonn]

I'm interested in trying holotropic breathwork but I've heard quite a few doctors and nurses say it's not very safe. I tried it myself for about 10 minutes but couldn't  keep up; my breathing felt extremely forced and there were a lot of cramps. I'm thinking of attending a workshop sometime and would like to know what kind of experiences others have had.

 

Also, any tips on how to find these workshops? Google gives me workshops from everywhere except Ontario. I found one but it's way pricier ($175) than all the others I've seen and their website has minimal information on the technique itself and no certification date. I don't have a good feeling about that one.

Edited November 14, 2017 by Eonn

[Leo Gura]

28 minutes ago, Eonn said:

a few doctors and nurses say it's not very safe

Meanwhile same doctors and nurses hand out antidepressants and opiods like candy.

Ah... the absurdity of Western mainstream medicine.

True story: I once paid a doctor $100+ to tell me that there is no scientifically valid data to show that acne is related to diet. Then he sold me an anti-acne medicine cream which burned my face with chemicals for $200 per tube of a 2 month supply, that I was supposed to use for the rest of my life. But don't worry, he gave me a 20% off coupon because he was friendly with the manufacturer, which was located nearby. Bless his heart.

[Hafiz]

Yes, it was fun. I don't see how it could be unsafe.

[hundreth]

22 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Meanwhile same doctors and nurses hand out antidepressants and opiods like candy.

Ah... the absurdity of Western mainstream medicine.

True story: I once paid a doctor $100+ to tell me that there is no scientifically valid data to show that acne is related to diet. Then he sold me an anti-acne medicine cream which burned my face with chemicals for $200 per tube of a 2 month supply, that I was supposed to use for the rest of my life. But don't worry, he gave me a 20% off coupon because he was friendly with the manufacturer, which was located nearby. Bless his heart.

Oh my god. I had the same experience, though slightly worse. My doctor loaded me up with strong antibiotics that destroyed my immune system for years. 

He could have just told me to drink more water and lay off the sugary garbage food. 

[Leo Gura]

@hundreth I cut out dairy, whey protein, and certain meats, and nearly all my acne vanished forever.

[hundreth]

8 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

@hundreth I cut out dairy, whey protein, and certain meats, and nearly all my acne vanished forever.

For me it was sugary cereals, pastas, and soda. It's amazing how much crap I was ingesting.

[nick96]

@Eonn I experienced holotropic breathwork three times in workshops.

if you do it with trained facilitators it is extremely safe. You can search for gtt ( Grof transpersonal training ) facilitators that have been taught directly by who invented the technique to be 100  % sure. 

It can be risky to do it alone because if you reach some particular altered states these can potentionally lead you to strong experiences ( astral projection, full ego death , various mystical experiences, ... ) that can momentarily make you totally lose control for some time and potentially lead to extreme actions. 

Nevertheless, if you have a lot of repressed energy (if you are very neurotic ) , the breathwork can be very destabilizing after you have done it, leading to various symptoms . This is not bad : in fact it’s part of the healing process , but it can be hard to deal with.

If you are overall healthy you have nothing to worry about anyway. 

 

[Eonn]

On 11/14/2017 at 5:26 PM, Leo Gura said:

Meanwhile same doctors and nurses hand out antidepressants and opiods like candy.

Ah... the absurdity of Western mainstream medicine.

True story: I once paid a doctor $100+ to tell me that there is no scientifically valid data to show that acne is related to diet. Then he sold me an anti-acne medicine cream which burned my face with chemicals for $200 per tube of a 2 month supply, that I was supposed to use for the rest of my life. But don't worry, he gave me a 20% off coupon because he was friendly with the manufacturer, which was located nearby. Bless his heart.

Point taken. I had a similar experience with acne, years of treatment with a burning cream did nothing and my doctor insisted my poor diet and lack of exercise/fresh air had nothing to do with it.

A few weeks ago I stopped taking my SSRIs and other meds against my doctor's recommendations. I wanted to stop supressing whatever depressed emotions I had buried away and clear out my subconscious. Since stopping them I've felt way better, more like myself. More neurotic and my emotions have a lot more variability to them but the ups feel incredible and when I'm down it's much easier to be with myself and cry out a ton of garbage that's been haunting me for years.

 

I'm getting off topic here, but what does @Leo Gura recommend for the more powerful emotional healing techniques? I meditate and follow the self acceptance visualization daily. I'm also following a program called Transformation Mastery by RSD Julien which has helped me release emotions (mostly crying) at times but I've yet to have any breakthroughs or discover whatever my core wound/trauma/whatever is causing a scarcity paradigm is. Got any practical videos or techniques to look into? Thank ya!

[Girzo]

Bioenergotheraphy might be something that will interest you. It's similiar to the other techniques in a sense that it's goal is to help you release repressed emotions and integrate your ego while acknowledging the role of physical body in this process.

Alexander Lowen's books are a good resource on that topic.

[Leo Gura]

17 hours ago, Eonn said:

I'm getting off topic here, but what does @Leo Gura recommend for the more powerful emotional healing techniques? I meditate and follow the self acceptance visualization daily. I'm also following a program called Transformation Mastery by RSD Julien which has helped me release emotions (mostly crying) at times but I've yet to have any breakthroughs or discover whatever my core wound/trauma/whatever is causing a scarcity paradigm is. Got any practical videos or techniques to look into? Thank ya!

That's too deep and complex of a topic to address here.

Holotropic Breathwork & psychedelics are two simple and highly effective techniques, out of many others.

[Znib94]

On 11/16/2017 at 1:18 AM, nick96 said:

@Eonn I experienced holotropic breathwork three times in workshops.

if you do it with trained facilitators it is extremely safe. You can search for gtt ( Grof transpersonal training ) facilitators that have been taught directly by who invented the technique to be 100  % sure. 

It can be risky to do it alone because if you reach some particular altered states these can potentionally lead you to strong experiences ( astral projection, full ego death , various mystical experiences, ... ) that can momentarily make you totally lose control for some time and potentially lead to extreme actions. 

Nevertheless, if you have a lot of repressed energy (if you are very neurotic ) , the breathwork can be very destabilizing after you have done it, leading to various symptoms . This is not bad : in fact it’s part of the healing process , but it can be hard to deal with.

If you are overall healthy you have nothing to worry about anyway. 

 

How long is a session? I heard it's around 3 hours, but I'm not sure. I've tried to do some deep and fast breathing similar to holotropic breathing but I feel I can only do it for a couple of minutes and then I just get so... exhausted. I'm interested in signing up for a lesson, but I'm not really sure if I could go all the way

[nick96]

@Znib94

It's three hours long in workshops, the music lasts three hours. 

But if you have something coming out in the end , the session can even last longer. 

Nobody really breaths continuously all the three hours. Usually you go on breathing untill you notice that something particular happens . Either you have some sensations arising in your body, some emotion coming up or some other kind of experience.

But you should never forget to breathe. When an experience passes, go back to the breath . 

Edited November 17, 2017 by nick96

[Znib94]

@nick96 Sounds intresting. I might join one of these workshops!

[Eonn]

On 11/16/2017 at 6:11 PM, Leo Gura said:

That's too deep and complex of a topic to address here.

Holotropic Breathwork & psychedelics are two simple and highly effective techniques, out of many others.

Thank you Leo. Will be doing breathwork; I'm interested in psychedelics but I'm so neurotic/emotionally unstable as of late that I'm worried about what will happen but at the same time I really want some kind of release. When is the right time to try them, and what would you recommend to start with? I think holding off and continuing my meditation until I'm a bit calmer/present is a good idea but it's something to think about for the new year. 

 

I've tried marijuana and had a ton of negative emotions come up so despite not being a psychedelic it could be helpful for releasing emotions.

[Joker1111]

I tried breathwork in my room for about 15 min then I got back up really like I was high. I inhaled quick then sexual the most you can without stopping . At first it hurt my stomach till I got used to it. Might go back to it . I think it really opened me to insights about myself that I could reach without holotropic breathing

[WaveInTheOcean]

On ‎15‎-‎11‎-‎2017 at 10:58 PM, Leo Gura said:

@hundreth I cut out dairy, whey protein, and certain meats, and nearly all my acne vanished forever.

what about wheat? do you think spaghetthi and bread (i.e. wheat) can affect acne?

[Leo Gura]

5 hours ago, WaveInTheOcean said:

what about wheat? do you think spaghetthi and bread (i.e. wheat) can affect acne?

In my experience wheat doesn't cause acne, but I avoid it entirely for other reasons.

You have to experiment around and see what affects your body. Try cutting out all wheat for 1 month.

[carlos flores]

@Leo Gura what about corn? is it good for you?

[Buba]

I had not heard of holotropic breathing before, so, I typed in youtube, similar breathing techniques came out but not holotropic. How to do holotropic breathing?

[Elisabeth]

On 18. 11. 2017 at 10:23 AM, Eonn said:

Will be doing breathwork; I'm interested in psychedelics but I'm so neurotic/emotionally unstable as of late that I'm worried about what will happen but at the same time I really want some kind of release.

 

Please let me know how it went if you do try. I'm also contemplating holotropic breathwork, but am very afraid of my own emotional instability. I wouldn't want to step over my own boundaries and end up being destabilized in a major way -- my biggest fear is not the pain but not coping well and losing my job over it. 

I wonder if trying bit by bit at home is perhaps a better approach (despite the advice not to do it alone), like maybe try 10, 20, 40 minutes by myself and see what happens before going to a full three hour - ritual setting - expensive - group seminar, where one might be tempted to force oneself into stuff that's no good.  I can see some of the anxiety fading if I can just try and the intensity is manageable.