How to Attend Breathwork School

Breathwork (altering one's breathing to attain a heightened mental state) is becoming more and more popular as people look for alternative ways to manage stress, relieve pain and deal with repressed memories. Becoming a breathwork practitioner may be a lucrative path for people who like to help others. In order to become a practitioner or facilitator, one needs to attend a breathwork school. Follow these steps to find out how.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer with Internet access

Learn About Breathwork

1. Know that breathwork is a psychotherapeutic technique developed by Stanislav Grof, Ph.D. and Christina Grof. Through deliberate hyperventilation, Dr. Grof observed that his subjects' experiences fell into the following areas: sensory and somatic, biographical and individual unconscious, perinatal and the transpersonal.
2. Understand the connection between breathwork and the birthing process. The four steps of the birthing process are amniotic universe, cosmic engulfment, death versus rebirth struggle and death versus rebirth experience. These are the stages a breather attempts to experience under the guidance of a breathwork facilitator.
3. Learn more about breathwork by visiting the Association for Holotropic Breathwork International Web site (see Resources below).

Find a Breathwork School

4. Find a professional breathwork facilitator and ask him or her about his or her training and/or certification. You can find breathwork practitioners through online listings in the Transformational Breathwork Directory (see Resources below).
5. Visit a breathwork school's Web site to enroll. Flames of Change is an example of a school that offers breathwork training (see Resources below). Here, you can read about what's covered in each course, as well as compare different courses of study.
6. Enroll in and attend the breathwork school of your choice.

Tips & Warnings

• Since there's no formal or official certification process for breathwork, you can choose the program whose length and cost best meet your needs. Schools will offer programs that range in length, difficulty, materials required and cost. Tuition will vary from an affordable week-long class to fees comparable to college tuition for a 3-year program.
• Breathwork involves the deliberate hyperventilation of the breathers in the class. This sometimes leads to hypoxia (the lack of oxygen). Additionally, some of those who attend are not prepared for the thoughts and images that appear while they are in a heightened state of mind. Make sure you choose a school that will prepare you for these instances.
• If you experience extreme difficulty in breathing or hallucinations due to a lack of oxygen, seek professional medical help immediately.
• Before you start any alternative medical technique, be aware that many have not been scientifically evaluated. Often, only limited information is available about their safety and effectiveness. Each state and each discipline has its own rules about how alternative medicine practitioners can be professionally licensed. If you decide to visit one, choose one licensed by a recognized national organization. Consult your primary health care provider about your decision first. Keep your doctor informed about the alternative medical technique you undertake.