Key Points
ToggleImagine a journey needing no suitcase or passport, just the air in your lungs. Holotropic breathwork offers such a trip! It can be a profound exploration, similar in many ways to plant medicine and psychedelics.
Your breath can take you on a ‘journey towards wholeness’; becoming the doorway to altered states of consciousness, helping you heal and clear blocked emotions and buried traumas, and enabling you to reclaim the parts of yourself that were unknown, lost or hidden. It can help you feel better about yourself and about your life.
Ready to explore your psyche and embark on a breath-fueled odyssey? Let’s delve into what Holotropic Breathwork is including the background and benefits, and also how to and when to practise this mind-expanding technique.
What is Holotropic Breathwork?
Holotropic breathing was developed by Dr Stan Grof and his wife Christina in the 1970s. It’s a breathwork technique that uses a combination of rapid (faster and deeper than normal) breathing, evocative music, and bodywork to alter your state of consciousness and help you delve deep into the core of your being.
What This Means For You
By using the combination of elements in this method, it can be possible to unlock the vaults of repressed emotions and experiences, access old trauma, bring to light that which was unconsciousness, and unearth and process that which is seeking release. It’s possible to become free and unburdened by the past and experience relief from anxiety and trauma through breathwork alone.
It's Transformative!
Holotropic breathing sits at the cutting edge of science and spirituality, and teaches you to use the power of your breath for transformative experiences – without any drugs. It’s also possible to feel one with all things, transcend space and time, and understand the sacredness inherent in existence! In fact, a Danish study on whether Holotropic Breathwork had any significance in the development of self-awareness found that Holotropic Breathwork can lead to significant temperament improvements, positively influencing character development and enhancing self-awareness.
What it Can Help With
It can help with depression, addictions, PTSD, anxiety, chronic stress and negative thinking, and can lead to a greater self awareness and a better outlook on life. It is a method that allows ‘heavy lifting’ in the spiritual and personal development departments.
How to Practise Holotropic Breathing
In Holotropic Breathwork, there isn’t strictly a “right” way to breathe, other than the basic instruction to “breathe deeper and faster than usual.” This means it isn’t a closely guided breathwork session, but rather a general approach to increasing airflow through your system.
Typically, after about 15 or 20 minutes, your body will naturally find its own rhythm, allowing you to continue breathing without much conscious effort.
The practise focuses on the following:
- The Session is Done Lying Down:
Begin by lying down on a mat, ensuring you’re comfortable, and with eyes closed.
- Full Deep Breaths:
Take each breath fully and deeply, filling the bottom of your lungs so that your belly expands slightly (diaphragmatic breathing).
- Continuous, Circular Breathing:
Breathe in a way that leaves no gaps between breaths. When your lungs are almost full, begin exhaling, and when they are empty, start inhaling immediately. This creates a seamless, circular breath pattern.
- Faster Than Normal:
Breathe a bit faster than you usually would, but not so fast that it creates tension. Keep your body, especially your lungs, relaxed to maintain the breathing pace comfortably over a long period.
- Mouth vs. Nose Breathing:
Most people find that breathing through the mouth helps move air quickly and supports emotional release better. However, if mouth breathing feels uncomfortable, breathing through the nose is also fine.
- Be Free and Natural:
Feel free to make any movements or sounds that come naturally.
- Timing:
You might do this rapid breathing for minutes or hours, depending on the facilitators and how you feel.
After about 15 or 20 minutes, your body will naturally find its own rhythm and way of breathing. Each person’s breathing style is unique, so allow yourself to relax into the process.
Want to try a form of fast, deep breathing? Check out our guided Superventilation Breathwork below!
How Does Holotropic Breathing Work?
The combination of elements in this method evokes a dream-like experience – what we also know as an ‘altered state of consciousness’. Upon reaching this state, it’s possible to access parts of your consciousness that are otherwise locked away and hard to reach.
“Holotropic Breathing can help you work through big emotions and experiences”.
Is the Experience Similar to Taking Psychedelics?
Yes, Holotropic breathing can create an altered state similar to the effects of psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin.The combination of breathing and music slows down the brain’s ‘default mode network’. As the default mode network, which is primarily responsible for our ego and sense of self, decreases in activity, it allows the boundaries between the self and the world to dissolve. Stanislav Grof actually developed it as a successor to his LSD-based psychedelic therapy after the legal use of LSD was suppressed in the late 1960s.
This state, where the ego is essentially out of action, can lead to something called ‘the primary mystical experience’. The Primary Mystical Experience (PME) can be similar to a psychedelic ‘trip’. The similarities that psychedelics and the PME share are as follows.
Altered States Experience
- Transcendence of time and space
- Sense of unity and interconnectedness
- Sense of sacredness
- Deeply felt positive mood
Help With Mental Health Issues
The PME phenomena is highly correlated with therapeutic outcomes such as emotional release and improved mental health. The mental health conditions (and their symptoms) that Holotropic breathing is known to help with include:
- Depression
- Substance Abuse
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Anxiety
- Negative thinking
- Chronic stress
- Tension
- Avoidance behaviours
Getting the Ego To Take a Backseat
Holotropic breathing essentially tones down the activity of the default mode network, and allows the ego to take a back seat. This network is responsible for a lot of our rigid habitual thinking as well as our obsessions and addictions. And so it flows from here that non-ordinary states of consciousness, where the network and ego are out of action can:
- Help relax the part of the brain that leads us to obsess.
- Loosen if not break the entrenched physical circuits responsible for addictive behaviour.
5 Key Features of Holotropic Breathing
- Breathing deeper than normal.
- Breathing faster than normal.
- Making the breath circular (i.e. no pauses).
- Breathing through your mouth.
- Letting your healing experience unfold.
Benefits of Holotropic Breathing
Below are 7 great reasons to practise Holotropic breathwork. This fast-breathing technique:
- Promotes the release of toxins from your bloodstream and tissue.
- Lowers blood pressure by increasing circulation.
- Boosts your immune system.
- Improves digestion by reducing stress on your liver and kidneys.
- Reduces physical and emotional stress.
- Increases mental clarity and creativity.
- Creates new neural pathways in your brain
Principles of Holotropic Breathing
These 9 key points will help you understand the principles behind Holotropic breathwork:
- Innate Healing Potential:
Groff believed that every one of us has an inherent capacity for self-healing and personal growth.
- Towards Wholeness:
Holotropic means to become whole, thus there is a holistic focus on mind, body, and spirit integration to achieve a sense of wholeness.
- Non-Directive Approach:
The Holotropic approach centres around allowing your own unique experience to unfold, so there is no specific guidance from facilitators on what you “should” experience.
- Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness:
Altered states of consciousness are used as the doorway to access the unconscious mind, stored trauma, deep-seated emotions, and deeper layers of the psyche with the intention of healing and transformation.
- Deep Breathing and Music:
Deep, rapid breathing patterns are combined with evocative music to induce non-ordinary states of consciousness, much like in shamanic tribal societies.
- Emotional and Psychological Healing:
Enables participants to access and process repressed emotions, traumatic memories, and unresolved psychological issues, often resulting in cathartic emotional releases.
- Supportive Environment:
Deep importance is placed on having a safe, supportive setting with trained facilitators who can hold space for the process to unfold.
- Holistic Approach:
Integrates elements of psychotherapy, spiritual practice, and physical bodywork, offering an approach to healing that addresses the whole person.
- Integration and Post-Session Processing:
Seen as crucial for helping participants understand and assimilate their experiences. Facilitators often lead discussions and offer guidance on incorporating insights gained into daily life.
Hooked and want to try breathwork for yourself?
What Does Holotropic Breathwork Feel Like?
The most common experience people have is emotional release. This might include waves of sadness, crying, shaking with fear, bursts of anger, needing to move your body, or wanting to express yourself verbally. With the release can come quiet, silent tears or heavy sobbing.
Can it be Stressful?
The experience of release can be a bit of a rollercoaster ride, it can also be relaxing – or even a mixture of both. For people living with anxiety and trauma it can be an opportunity to experience relief, as the unresolved emotions that have been held captive in the body and mind are dissolved. Because talking is not necessary to experience the release, it can be a deeply healing experience.
Can You Do Holotropic Breathwork Alone?
Holotropic breathwork practices are usually done in group settings but they can also be done one-on-one. In a group, a trained facilitator will oversee the session. Some people will breathe while others watch. The watchers are referred to as “sitters” and they’ll make sure that the “breathers” are comfortable and safe.
When is The Best Time to Practise?
The best time to practise holotropic breathing is when you can dedicate uninterrupted time and create a safe, comfortable environment. Typically, it’s beneficial to practise when you are well-rested and free from distractions, allowing you to fully engage in the breathing technique without external interruptions. As already mentioned, it’s more common to practise with a trained facilitator than alone.
The History of Holotropic Breathwork
Holotropic Breathwork was developed in the 1970s by Dr. Stan Grof and his late wife Christina. The Grofs’ background was in psychoanalytic therapy; a type of ‘talk therapy’ that focuses on bringing buried thoughts or feelings to the surface, and into the conscious mind.
After working with LSD as a therapeutic tool in the 1960s, Grof observed that “non-ordinary states of consciousness” induced by LSD had profound healing potential, and then explored how these altered states could affect traditional counselling or therapy.
When LSD was banned, Grof wondered if these states could be accessed naturally, without substances. His hypothesis was that they could, given that the brain already had receptors for such experiences.
Grof studied how traditional shamanic societies achieved these states. What he discovered is that rapid or deep breathing caused by panic or anxiety could actually affect the brain positively.
Through his research and experiments with volunteers at the Esalen Institute, he developed a one-day workshop using breath and music to induce healing through accessing non-ordinary states of consciousness. He called this practice ‘Holotropic Breathwork’.
The word ‘holotropic’ comes from the Greek words ‘holos’ or ‘whole’ and ‘trepein,’ which means ‘to move in the direction of something’. In essence the intention of Holotropic Breathwork is to ‘move towards wholeness.’ And thus, Holotropic Breathwork was born!
Learn more about Grof and his research on non-ordinary states, including insights gained from approximately 4,500 LSD sessions!
New to Breathwork?
Check out this article: How to Get Started With Breathwork: A Beginners Guide
Top 6 Breathwork Trainings for Spiritual Adventurers
If you’re curious and want to experience the spiritual benefits of breathwork, these FREE trainings are a great place to start:
- FREE 7-day breathwork program
- FREE 21 Day Master Your Breath Programme
- FREE Breathwork Masterclass
- FREE Live Virtual Breathwork Masterclass
- Breathless Expeditions Breakthrough Breathwork Experience
If you’re more interested in an in-person breathwork experience, check out Breathless Expedition’s nationwide Breathwork Events.
Interested in Reading More on Psychedelics & Breathwork?
You might like to read:
- Psychedelic Breathwork
- DMT, Holotropic Practices, and the Use of Breathing for Transformation
- Ayahuasca Breathwork Part 1 | Breathless Expeditions
- Part 2: Breathwork & Ayahuasca Your Guide to Preparation & Purification
- Ayahuasca Breathwork Part 3 | Breathless Expeditions
- Ayahuasca Breathwork Part 4 | Breathless Expeditions
Holotropic Breathwork: A Return to Wholeness
Holotropic Breathwork is a powerful method for accessing altered states of consciousness without substances. It provides a doorway to profound emotional and psychological healing. The technique is simple: breathe deeply and continuously, allowing your body to guide you. With roots in both ancient practices and modern science, Holotropic Breathwork offers a unique path toward self-discovery and wholeness, similar to psychedelic and plant medicine experiences.