Before the big day.
PREPARATORY READING
Welcome! Your Breathwork Day is almost here!
There’s SO much to cover (especially if this is your first time), and I want to offer you the opportunity to get a head start on the most important components I think you should know going in. You can read and absorb the information at your preferred rate and on your own time before the big day, which will allow us to dive into the actual work much quicker (since this is a “condensed” day)! I will cover some light Breathwork theory, the principles that come together and make it work, as well as different types of experience you could have.
THEORY
Breathwork provides you an opportunity to experience an expanded state of awareness by allowing you the opportunity to shut down your inner chatterbox and find connection with a deep and sacred part of your innermost self. Your body holds so much wisdom, and it’s constantly trying to break through all of the excess noise of the mind so that you can see…know…remember…release…and thrive! Life has conditioned so many of us to become experts at finding countless avenues to “get in our own way” that it takes such a profound and powerful modality to coax us towards surrender and release.
The benefits this modality yields are vast, but a common thread reported from my clients is receiving profound insights to issues in their lives, improving their relationships with their friends and family, feeling less isolated and more connected to the world, and, with consistent practice, being more present (which makes it possible to make the best choices for themselves and their families on a moment-to-moment basis!).
PRINCIPALS
At its core, Breathwork is all about surrender and trust (to no one else besides yourself!) so that you can experience the only successful pathway where issues, blocks, trauma, and healing are concerned…you simply have to move through it. It’s unreal how much pent-up energy resides within us, and energy wants to move through and out of you. And the process of release looks different from person to person, but your body knows what it needs if you will just allow it to do its beautiful thing.
So whether you find yourself grunting, yelling, wanting to push/pull/punch/kick, know that it’s right. It’s what is supposed to happen for you, so try not to judge it (that’s your pesky chatterbox again, trying to get a seat at the table). Let it be what it’s supposed to be. Once you do, you will experience something incredible, which is the realization that your spirit, your essence, the innermost part of your sacred self is wired to regenerate so that it can strive for “wholeness.”
MUSIC
I cannot understate the vital and transformative role that music plays in this journey, and I have spared no expense in my study, training, and continual application of utilizing music as my co-facilitator as much as humanly possible. It’s an intricate and scientific process that requires extensive knowledge of sound and music therapy, decibel and hertz output and frequency, as well as precise pitch and tones to reach specific parts of the brain at specific moments in the process to encourage neuroplasticity and a true sense of completion.
In short, music will quite literally be your guide and it will seamlessly navigate you between all of the phases and take you exactly where you need to go and when. It really is as simple breathing and following the music. Therefore, I have spent hours upon hours customizing, mixing, editing, and curating all of the music myself. It’s that important! I’m incredibly honored and humbled with the feedback I continue to receive over the musical component of my sessions, and I hope it’s the same for you!
EXPERIENCES
Many types of experiences are possible in your session, yet none are better or worse than the others. Each time you do Breathwork, it will be a completely different experience depending on what is up for processing at the time of the session, so it is important not to compare to prior experiences. Most of the experiences that my clients report fall into the following categories:
1) SENSORY EXPERIENCE
You might feel hot, then cold, then hot again. Your body might feel completely numb. Also, there is a physiological principle that in order to get the best release, it is best to first create maximum tension in the body part in question. For example, if you want to relax your whole body as much as possible, the best way is to first tense up all of your muscles to the maximum degree and then let go of all of the tension. In Breathwork, sometimes the body will try to do this on its own. So, you might feel that your whole body is completely stiff and tense and cannot move at all.
You also might get what is called tetany where your hands or toes get very stiff and sometimes can be painful. Your hands might look like claws with your fingers completely stiffened. This is actually a very healing experience where your body is taking energy that has been stuck in your hands or body is creating maximum tension which will then turn into an amazing release. The basic direction if you get tetany is to just let it be as tense is it wants to be in order to get the best release possible. If the tetany gets painful, it is always best to try and finish the release, but if it gets to be too much, you can always slow down the breathing and the tetany will subside in a short period of time.
2) BIOGRAPHICAL EXPERIENCE
Some people report having a visual experience of something that happened to them in their past which, at the time, they felt overwhelmed and did not allow themselves to fully experience the emotions involved. If that happens, the direction is to let yourself fully experience whatever emotion comes up and allowing it to fully express and release. If your body wants to cry, let it cry. If your body wants to release anger, let your body make whatever sound wants to come out (screaming, growling, moaning, etc). You will find that in some cases, things that have been stuck in your body or psyche and have been running your lives unconsciously for years, will be released and make an amazing difference in your life.
3) PERINATAL EXPERIENCE
Psychiatrists used to think that when we are born, we are a blank slate. The reason for that is when we are a fetus, our brains are not myelinated enough to form word or explicit memories. However, we now know that from the time we are conceived, we do form body or implicit memories. This is fascinating process which has inspired me to continue researching and I teach workshops just on this subject alone! So don’t be surprised if you feel the urge to push and to birth something. It’s beautifully primal and so many of my clients have reported that their perinatal experiences in Breathwork remain their most meaningful.
4) TRANSPERSONAL EXPERIENCE
The best way to describe this type of experience is something you generally would never have/think/feel in your normal workaday life with your chatterbox online and activated. Some of the most common sensations my clients report are feeling like they are floating in the stars, feeling more connected to everything, moving into/being absorbed by a loving God, or even seeing what is happening in different parts of the world with a friend/relative and then calling later and finding out that that is exactly what was happening at that moment! This is also where you may receive insights into issues that have been plaguing them and holding them back in their lives.
5) YOGIC SLEEP STATE
Everyone will end their session by organically entering into this state. If you could see it from my vantage, it simply looks like the entire room is fast asleep. However, it’s not actually sleep you’re experiencing. It’s deep, and profound relaxation that causes you to completely lose track of time and space as enlightenment continues
IN CLOSING
My ultimate goal is to provide regular opportunities to guide you into a state of surrender so that your body can finally take over and do what it does best… release that which is weighing you down and open up space to invite miracles IN! By doing breathwork on a regular basis, you will actually be strengthening and rewiring your neural pathways with a newfound ability to access this inner wisdom with greater ease and regularity. And before you ask, “regular” looks different from person to person depending on your goals and current state of being. Some have found that weekly or every other week has made a tremendous difference in their lives, while others see it as something to do as an occasional “tune-up.” However, I can confidently say that once a month is pretty much a failsafe for the majority of people!
That’s plenty for now! I’ll see you soon!