brewster
Rising Star
Hi guys,
this very good and interesting post (and discussion) Holotropic Breathwork, Meditation and Reconstructing the Self[practice] : streamentry
motivated me to look into Breathwork as a home practice. Since there is really little information, I decided to keep a journal of sorts here, documenting my experiences. I'll try and keep it shortish to facilitate reading. If you have questions or advice, please go right ahead!
My Background: I have a rather ambitious, regular meditation practice (Samatha-Vipassana meditation in "TMI"-Style + some Metta techniques + some self-compassion practices). I also have rather extensive experience with psychedelics - most of these happened 10-15 years ago, since then, I only enjoyed psychonautism every few years or so. Had a very difficult trip half a year ago, from which I have mostly, but not entirely, recovered: DMT Nexus: TBM - Mercilessly intense experience
Still, I was very interested in diversifying my practice and stumbled upon Grofs's work. For a number of reasons, classic Holotropic Breathwork isn't so enticing an option for me - working with a facilitator certainly is great, but right now, it's not possible.
The Research: So, after doing some reading, I saw a lot of weird info connected with breathwork. I'm not a scientific materialist, but still, generally try to stay close to down-to-earth approaches. Was surprised to see how much rather bizarre claims are made in connection to breathwork, from adding electricity to our bloodcells to super-charging the body with lifeforce. If that works for you, fine. To me, these claims seem to appear proto-scientific, which they certainly aren't.
So, unlike with meditation where we have many great pragmatic guides, respected teachers and lively communities now, breathwork seems to be a bit of a wild west still. So, in case of doubt, I'll try and stick to Grof, even though I like for example Michael Stone, though I haven't worked with him yet.
The Concept: But then, it seemed to me that actually, things need not be too complicated. I saw a lot of warnings from Grofians not to undertake this at home, and I understand that. Still, my plan was to utilize my experience with meditation and psychedelics and take it slow, step by step. This seems to result in a manageable amount of risk. I wouldn't take a Grof-style 3h session on my own, that's for sure. But like with meditation: some people who never have meditated go full in to do 10-day-retreats, meditating many hours per day. Others start with 20 mins per day and work their way up.
So, what I'm trying to do for now: Do 2-4 sessions per month, doing circular breathing with varying accompaniments. I'll also try and utilize some of my knowledge in working with the breath, slowly ramping up the intensity of the breathing, not going full-in right away. This way, I hope to gather some experience with breathwork states and avoid conjuring up overwhelming amounts of unprocessed material.
Any comment is appreciated! Cheers.
this very good and interesting post (and discussion) Holotropic Breathwork, Meditation and Reconstructing the Self[practice] : streamentry
motivated me to look into Breathwork as a home practice. Since there is really little information, I decided to keep a journal of sorts here, documenting my experiences. I'll try and keep it shortish to facilitate reading. If you have questions or advice, please go right ahead!
My Background: I have a rather ambitious, regular meditation practice (Samatha-Vipassana meditation in "TMI"-Style + some Metta techniques + some self-compassion practices). I also have rather extensive experience with psychedelics - most of these happened 10-15 years ago, since then, I only enjoyed psychonautism every few years or so. Had a very difficult trip half a year ago, from which I have mostly, but not entirely, recovered: DMT Nexus: TBM - Mercilessly intense experience
Still, I was very interested in diversifying my practice and stumbled upon Grofs's work. For a number of reasons, classic Holotropic Breathwork isn't so enticing an option for me - working with a facilitator certainly is great, but right now, it's not possible.
The Research: So, after doing some reading, I saw a lot of weird info connected with breathwork. I'm not a scientific materialist, but still, generally try to stay close to down-to-earth approaches. Was surprised to see how much rather bizarre claims are made in connection to breathwork, from adding electricity to our bloodcells to super-charging the body with lifeforce. If that works for you, fine. To me, these claims seem to appear proto-scientific, which they certainly aren't.
So, unlike with meditation where we have many great pragmatic guides, respected teachers and lively communities now, breathwork seems to be a bit of a wild west still. So, in case of doubt, I'll try and stick to Grof, even though I like for example Michael Stone, though I haven't worked with him yet.
The Concept: But then, it seemed to me that actually, things need not be too complicated. I saw a lot of warnings from Grofians not to undertake this at home, and I understand that. Still, my plan was to utilize my experience with meditation and psychedelics and take it slow, step by step. This seems to result in a manageable amount of risk. I wouldn't take a Grof-style 3h session on my own, that's for sure. But like with meditation: some people who never have meditated go full in to do 10-day-retreats, meditating many hours per day. Others start with 20 mins per day and work their way up.
So, what I'm trying to do for now: Do 2-4 sessions per month, doing circular breathing with varying accompaniments. I'll also try and utilize some of my knowledge in working with the breath, slowly ramping up the intensity of the breathing, not going full-in right away. This way, I hope to gather some experience with breathwork states and avoid conjuring up overwhelming amounts of unprocessed material.
Any comment is appreciated! Cheers.