Healing with Holotropic Breathwork

[Anila Wadhera]

Hello Everyone,

I want to know how can holotropic Breathwork if at all,help in physical,emotional and mental healing?

Thanks & Regards,
Anila
India

[Ken Sloan]

Hi Anila,
Thanks for your interest in Holotropic Breathwork and your important question.
As you can read in the profiles of many of the people on this site, this work does provide for many people valuable healing of various types. You can also read in the RESEARCH section about studies that have demonstrated that this work has benefits for people with problems of various types. In the FAQs under ABOUT HB there is also more about this.

But I understand your question to be not IF it can heal, but HOW it does what it does. (If I have not understood you right, just let me know!)

There are probably as many ways of expressing in words what Holotropic Breathwork does as there are people who have tried it, and over time it changes for each person. But the following is my personal response to your question.

In my view, Holotropic Breathwork's beneficial effects are due to many factors, some of which are:

Holotropic Breathwork Relies on Each Person's Own Inner Resources
Your own inner wisdom and resources establish the content and direction of a breathwork session. We are the results of millions of years of intelligent evolution, and posses amazing powers to store difficult patterns of experiences until we are able to safely work through and integrate those experiences. The paradox of our personal development and species development is that only by integrating difficult experiences can we truly grow. And only we, at a deep level of our beings, know what those experiences are and when we are ready to work with them.
Holotropic Breathwork Connects what had Seemed Separate
Separation of any kind generates fear, whether we are separated from our mothers when we are small, from our own bodies, or other kinds of separation. But although we are all different, we are not in our deepest beings separate. It is difficult to explain, but breathwork experiences help us reconnect with what we have cut off, helping to release fear and to experience the joy of connection. This has a positive effect on our daily lives.
Holotropic Breathwork is a Group Experience in a Safe Space
Human beings are deeply social animals, but for many of us we have lost our access to "healing community". Instead, our experience of community may be just the reverse - the traumatizing community. So this work acts a a corrective for us, helping us to learn to experience and speak our own truth, and listen and respect the truths of others. This in itself can be very healing for our social selves.
Holotropic Breathwork is Body-Centered
What one experiences in Holotropic Breathwork, as well as other body-centered approaches, is that there is deep wisdom in the body. The body imprints and carries forward various kinds of trauma, or patterns of action or inaction This held trauma or retained patterns can lead to physical contractions in musculature and constrictions in blood flow, and subsequent disease. By releasing these held body traumas we can reduce our propensity for certain "held stress" diseases or conditions.

These are some of the ways that come to mind at least.

Thanks again for your question.
Namaste,
ken