What is Breathwork?
Breathwork is an umbrella term for lots of different types of breathing practices where we consciously take over breathing in the body. Our respiratory system is the only system in the body which is under conscious and subconscious control. It seems to be that when we consciously take over breathing, it allows our subconscious to process.
Breathwork techniques are practised worldwide and have complex historical roots but have often been developed in countries of people of the Global Majority. Breathwork, taken out of its historical context, is now a modality which has been co-opted by the wellness industry. I am interested in working collectively to bring breathwork out of the wellness industry and into the public sector, which means delivering breathwork in hospitals, schools and prisons. I believe breathwork is a really important tool for staff and patients in healthcare.
Our breath is a portal to the connection with our ‘self’. It helps us to turn inward and gain a better understanding of our inner world - also known as interoception. As well as helping us to connect with our inner landscape, it also helps to shift and move emotions through the body. Through controlling the breath, I believe we are more able to gain autonomy over our bodies and our minds.
I like to group breathwork practices under 2 broad headings: 1) Low ventilation breathwork 2) High ventilation breathwork. This is how I currently view it, however as my understanding develops over time, I am sure that this will also change. See below for more information about the different techniques I have trained in and practice. I have tried to include the history and the lineage of these techniques, however if you disagree or do see a mistake in what I have written, do write to me so I can correct this. My knowledge on these subjects is growing as I learn.
Low ventilation Breathwork Techniques
Low ventilation breathwork techniques include breathing through the nose, slowly and deeply. They help us to feel more relaxed by turning on the ‘rest and digest’ part of the nervous system and re-calibrating the breathing centre in the brain. There are a number of different techniques which come under this category including box breath and the coherent breath. One of the other main techniques in low ventilation breathwork was developed by Dr Konstantin Buteyko, who was a Ukrainian medical doctor. Buteyko studied yogic pranayama techniques and designed a program specifically to help with conditions such as sleep disorders, panic disorder, high blood pressure & asthma. However it also helps healthy people improve their overall health & heart rate variability as well as helping elite athletes perform better by helping people develop better oxygen efficiency in the body.
High ventilation Breathwork Techniques
SomaBreath:
SomaBreath is a combination of rhythmic connected breathing with breath holds which can bring us in to deep meditative states and can help us to process memories and emotion. Again this technique was developed from a few different techniques - a combination of coherence and the conscious connected breath (I willl discuss in the next paragraph) and the Wim Hof method which is a high ventilation breathing technique combined with breath holds. The Wim Hof Method comes from Tummo breathing which comes from a Tibetan Buddhist lineage. Long, conscious breath holds are not for everyone and there are some contraindications to this technique which we will go through to see if this technique is for you.
Conscious Connected Breathing:
The third style I am currently training in is conscious connected breath with a decolonial lens with Hannah Kendaru from Inspire Breathwork https://inspire-breathwork.org/ .
Conscious connected breathing comes from the lineage of Leonard Orr and Sondar Ray from Rebirthing, and Holotropic breathwork developed by Stanislav and Christina Grof. As I understand it Leonard Orr was looking for alternative ways to achieve altered states of consciousness after the war on drugs prevented further ongoing research in to the use of psychedelics, and after researching different cultures found that breathing fast and deep led people into altered states of consciousness where they could process emotion, memories and trauma. Breathing can be through the nose or the mouth over a period of 30mins - 1hr. I believe that high ventilation breathing techniques can be a very good way of maintaining emotional hygiene when used on a regular basis.
As mentioned this particular CCB training has a decolnial lens and as a white-bodied human who has been deeply institutionalised by my medical training I am currently going through a process of deep learning and unlearning. This year I have intentionally started to look at the ways that colonialism and power shows up in me and the way I practice.
I am due to finish this training program in April 2026, however from ~December 2024, I will be taking on practice clients in the conscious connected breath which is different from SomaBreath. Do contact me if you would like to be a ‘practice client’ for CCB - I will be taking on people for free.