Meanwhile, What is Holotropic Breathwork?
The term holotropic is derived from Greek roots, holos, meaning “whole” and trepein, meaning “toturn, lead, guide”. Thus, Holotropic Breathwork may be defined as “breathwork that leads to or turns us toward wholeness”.Holotropic Breathwork combines accelerated breathing with evocative music and close one-on-one supervision in order to access insight and healing in non-ordinary states of consciousness. Holotropic Breathwork is presented by facilitators certified by Grof Transpersonal Training. With the eyes closed and lying on a mat, each person uses their own breathing – supported by the music -- to enter a non-ordinary state of consciousness. Holotropic breathing is faster and deeper than usual; generally no other specific instructions are given before or during the session as to the rate, pattern, and nature of breathing. The experience is entirely internal and largely non-verbal, without interventions.
Stanislav Grof, M.D. and his wife, Christina Grof, developed this powerful and natural technique in the mid-1970's from modern consciousness research and their study of ancient spiritual systems.
Dr. Grof is a psychiatrist with more than forty years of experience of research in psychotherapy and non-ordinary states of consciousness. His early research was at the Psychiatric Research Institute in Prague, where he was Principal Investigator of a program systematically exploring the heuristic and therapeutic potential of LSD and other psychedelic substances. Later, Dr. Grof conducted psychedelic research as Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University and Chief of Psychiatric Research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. He also spent fourteen years as Scholar-in-Residence at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.
With the ban on the use of LSD for research purposes in the late 1960s, the Grofs developed Holotropic Breathwork as a powerful drug-free way to access non-ordinary states of consciousness. They began facilitating workshops in 1976 and offered their first structured training programs in 1987. Together they have facilitated Holotropic Breathwork sessions for more than 25,000 people from 1987-1994.
Dr. Grof is a psychiatrist with more than forty years of experience of research in psychotherapy and non-ordinary states of consciousness. His early research was at the Psychiatric Research Institute in Prague, where he was Principal Investigator of a program systematically exploring the heuristic and therapeutic potential of LSD and other psychedelic substances. Later, Dr. Grof conducted psychedelic research as Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University and Chief of Psychiatric Research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. He also spent fourteen years as Scholar-in-Residence at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.
With the ban on the use of LSD for research purposes in the late 1960s, the Grofs developed Holotropic Breathwork as a powerful drug-free way to access non-ordinary states of consciousness. They began facilitating workshops in 1976 and offered their first structured training programs in 1987. Together they have facilitated Holotropic Breathwork sessions for more than 25,000 people from 1987-1994.
Dr. Grof is one of the founders (with Abraham Maslow) and chief theoreticians of transpersonal psychology, and he is the founding President of the International Transpersonal Association. Stanislav Grof and his staff in the Grof Transpersonal Training have trained almost a thousand certified practitioners of Holotropic Breathwork, who are now practicing in many countries around the world.
By the way, Stan Grof has a new book, Holotropic Breathwork: A New Approach to Self-Exploration and Therapy to be published by SUNY Press in Fall of 2010. Having seen an advance copy of the manuscript, I can say it's highly informative on the practice and makes an excellent read. If you're interested, they are already taking pre-orders at http://www.holotropic.com/booksnmusic.shtml. To learn more about Holotropic Breathwork in general, you can visit www.ahbi.org and click on the FAQs.
Please join in with comments and questions. I look forward to building this group to explore the powerful link between Depth Psychology and Holotropic Breathwork.
Replies
Thanks for your post on Holotropic Breathwork! I watched 2012 Time for a Change: Stan Grof from Reality Sandwich. It was a fascinating window into Stan Grof's important work.
Shara