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Holotropic Breathwork is a powerful technique of self-exploration. It combines insights from consciousness research, spiritual practices, and depth psychology. The composite word, Holotropic, literally means "oriented toward wholeness" or "moving in the direction of wholeness" (from the Greek "holos", whole, and "trepin", moving toward or in the direction of something. This suggests that in our everyday state of soncsciousness we identify with only a small fraction of who we really are. The best way of explaining what holotropic means is to refer to the Hindu distinction between "namarupa" (the name and shape that we have in our everyday existence) and "Atman-Brahman" (our deepest identity which is commensurate with the cosmic creative principle). In holotropic states of consciousness, we can transcend the narrow boundaries of the body ego and reclaim our full identity. We can experientially identify with anything that is part of creation and even with the creative principle itself. Read Stan Grof's two newest books: WHEN THE IMPOSSIBLE HAPPENS, Sounds True; and THE ULTIMATE JOURNEY, CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE MYSTERY OF DEATH, from MAPS, release May 2006.
"Holotropic experiences play an important role in shamanic initiatory crises, healing ceremonies of native cultures, aboriginal rites of passage, and systematic spiritual practice, such as various forms of yoga, Buddhist or Taoist meditaion, Sufi dhikers, Kabbalistic exercises, or the Christian Jesus Prayer (hesychasm). They have also been described in the literature on the ancient mysteries of death and rebirth conducted in the Mediterranean area and other parts of the world in the names of Inanna and Tammuz, Isis and Osiris, Dionysus, Attis, Addonis, Mithra, Wotan, and many other deities. In everyday life, holotropic experiences can occur in near-death situations or spontanwously, without any obvious trigger. They can also be induced by powerful forms of experiential therapy developed in the second half of the twentieth century." (Excerpt from When the Impossible Happens, by Stanislav Grof.)
The basis of this breathwork is the mobilization of the spontaneous healing potential of the psyche in non-ordinary states of consciousness. Breathwork assists in inducing non-ordindary states by breathing and evocative music. Focused bodywork, safety and mandala drawing are other important elements of the process. During sessions, participants work in dyads and alternate in the roles of experiencers and sitters. Holotropic Breathwork mediates access to all levels of the human experience; including pre-and-peri-natal conditioning, unfinished issues from postnatal biography, sequences of psychological death and rebirth, and the entire spectrum of transpersonal phenomena. It is a subtle, experiential, non-intellectual process. The theory and practice of Holotropic Breathwork is described in the books by Stanislav Grof, M.D.:Beyond The Brain, The Adventure Of Self Discovery and The Holotropic Mind.
Frida and Thomas Other important books on Holotropic Breathwork have been written by Kylea Taylor: Exploring Holotropic Breathwork, Selected Articles from a Decade of the Inner Door; The Breathwork Experience (Exploration and Healing in Nonordinary States of Consciousness); and, The Ethics of Caring (Honoring the Web of Life in Our Professional Healing Relationships). (Hanford Mead Publishers, PO Box 8051, Santa Cruz, CA 95061-8051. (831) 459-6855. email:HanMead@HanfordMead.com
Post Session Breathwork Mandala Thomas authored several of the articles in Exploring Holotropic Breathwork. He offered large group monthly breathwork workshops following his 1989 basic and advanced certification up until 2002. Today, he serves as guest facilitator, mentor in breathwork marketing to other certified practitioners and conducts breathwork at Change of Heart Center for individual sessions and groups of up to 4 people.
Thomas Merton Brightman with
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