Holotropic breathwork questions

[Federico del pueblo]

So you lie there doing the hyperventilation for a prolonged time.

What's the minimum? I'd guess an hour but maybe more.

But what do you do then? 

Do you simply stop and see what comes up? Or do you do some breath holds and then continue the holotropic breathing and do more breath holds?

Or do you meditate?

Should you contemplate or just look within or will it be completely obvious once you've surpassed some threshold? 

Thanks!

[Federico del pueblo]

Come on guys.

[Ulax]

@Federico del pueblo Probably worth joining a specific subreddit and/or facebook group that is about holotropic breathwork. then ask your question there as well

[Federico del pueblo]

@Ulax good idea. Thanks!

[Ulax]

@Federico del pueblo You're welcome mate. All the best with it

[Butters]

Have you already tried? An hour seems really long. 

[Jodistrict]

The facilitator of my Holotropic Breathwork session told us that if it’s not facilitated by them, it’s not Holotropic Breathing.  So you are actually doing some king of shamanic breathing.  The Holotropic Breathing session lasts 3 hours.   An important part of the Holotropic session is the music which is played loud.  The music begins with intense drumming.   After about 45 minutes your body naturally breaths to the drumming.   The breathing is not forced.  It follows the rhythms of the music and the body decides when to hold the breath. 

Edited July 18, 2023 by Jodistrict

[Forza-Spirito]

21 hours ago, Federico del pueblo said:

What's the minimum? I'd guess an hour but maybe more.

An hour is already long , I practiced from a minimum of 20 minutes to a maximum of one hour and forty minutes; I think the effect is subjective and it depends on how you breathe

 

21 hours ago, Federico del pueblo said:

But what do you do then?

I think the practice itself produces an altered state in which it is easier to have mystical experiences, but you can contemplate a specific question if you want; it's different from meditation because the mind remains more active, I usually see images with particular colors that I don't experience in any other way and so I contemplate those.

 

21 hours ago, Federico del pueblo said:

Do you simply stop and see what comes up?

I don' t do the breath holds like in the wimhof method, It's distracting for me, But I take breaks if I'm tired and resume breathing when the effect subsides.

 

[OBEler]

I tried it today. After finishing breathing about 30 minutes I hold my breath like wimhof then the real interesting part begins. 

Very relaxing, some elements of ketamine. It's better than wimhof I think in terms of spirituality

Edited July 20, 2023 by OBEler

[Hugo Oliveira]

Holotropic requires Holotropic facilitators and the whole Holotropic setting.

If you want something deeper than WH and easier than Holotropic I recommend Soma breath. You can access the daily dose on Spotify or look for guided sessions online for free. 

Try to understand the methods and breathwork protocols that work best for you. 

[Jodistrict]

Holotropic Beathing can also result in intense experiences and trauma release.  The facilitators are trained to guide you through these experiences so that you have a healing experience instead of being retraumatized.

Edited July 21, 2023 by Jodistrict

[flowboy]

On 17/07/2023 at 7:47 PM, Federico del pueblo said:

So you lie there doing the hyperventilation for a prolonged time.

What's the minimum? I'd guess an hour but maybe more.

But what do you do then? 

Do you simply stop and see what comes up? Or do you do some breath holds and then continue the holotropic breathing and do more breath holds?

Or do you meditate?

Should you contemplate or just look within or will it be completely obvious once you've surpassed some threshold? 

Thanks!

I don't know the ins and outs of what is officially considered holotropic breathwork, but I've been in some retreats and workshops that involved breathwork.

I've also facilitated breathwork once at a retreat I organised with @meadow.

People tend to get what they need to get out of it if they just keep doing it for 30-60 minutes.

I'd compare it to psychedelics - it takes you where it wants to take you. BUT you can use guidance and suggestions from a competent person if you wish. That's all extra though.

Practically the question of "where do I take this now" never really came up for me when doing breathwork, because of the profoundly altered state of mind. It's an experience that you can just surrender to, just remember to keep going. That's 80% of the value of breathwork guidance, is reminders to keep going and not forget.

If you're not feeling profoundly altered 10-15 minutes in, your breath is not going deeply enough into your chest and belly. It's necessary to really exaggerate it in the beginning, until autopilot takes over.

And nose breathing is fine, even better, if you get good air flow there.

Good luck!

Edited July 21, 2023 by flowboy

[Federico del pueblo]

46 minutes ago, flowboy said:

I don't know the ins and outs of what is officially considered holotropic breathwork, but I've been in some retreats and workshops that involved breathwork.

I've also facilitated breathwork once at a retreat I organised with @meadow.

People tend to get what they need to get out of it if they just keep doing it for 30-60 minutes.

I'd compare it to psychedelics - it takes you where it wants to take you. BUT you can use guidance and suggestions from a competent person if you wish. That's all extra though.

Practically the question of "where do I take this now" never really came up for me when doing breathwork, because of the profoundly altered state of mind. It's an experience that you can just surrender to, just remember to keep going. That's 80% of the value of breathwork guidance, is reminders to keep going and not forget.

If you're not feeling profoundly altered 10-15 minutes in, your breath is not going deeply enough into your chest and belly. It's necessary to really exaggerate it in the beginning, until autopilot takes over.

And nose breathing is fine, even better, if you get good air flow there.

Good luck!

Thanks buddy!

Great post!