Discover Why Breathwork Might Not Have Worked for You
Question from Sarah:
Hi there! I love your page and all of the information you share about breathwork and Im curious – does breathwork work for everybody? I ask, because I was reading about how breathwork helped you the most out of all of the other modalities you have tried. I myself have tried what feels like every modality out there to try to release trauma and anxiety. I have also done meditations to try to connect with my body and mind and become more spiritual. So far, no luck.
The couple of breathwork sessions that I did were circular breathing and I felt like I just never got anywhere. I feel broken in the way that I can’t feel feelings, except for negative ones. I’ve been trying to find a way to tap into my subconscious to find unconscious beliefs, and change my life. I was wondering if it takes many sessions of breathwork to actually experience some thing for someone like me.? I’m so exhausted from trying so many modalities and feeling “broken”, like I just have that brain that can’t process or connect. Any recommendations or experiences you know of like mine. – Sarah
Answer to Does Breathwork Work for Everybody?:
Hi Sarah thank you for reaching out and for sharing so openly with me. Firstly I’d like to say you are not broken! You are whole. You are complete. And you are perfectly imperfect, as all humans are 🙂
Secondly, I’d like to ask how long your breathwork sessions were? And did the facilitator create a safe space and spend at least 15 minutes explaining to you how to do the circular breathing technique, how to control its depths, what might happen, and the importance of surrendering to whatever wants to unfold and feeling all feelings completely without judgment?
In my experience, the answer to does breathwork work for everybody is a resounding yes, but certain conditions must be met. People don’t go as deep either because they joined a breathwork where the session was simply not long enough for them to fully drop into the altered state, or because the breathwork facilitator failed to explain everything completely so the breather did not feel empowered and safe enough to fully drop in.
I recommend doing circular breathing for an hour or longer, so you want to find a breathwork session that is at least 90 minutes to allow time before to explain the process, 60 minutes of circular breathing, and time to come back, share, and ground. Also, make sure you choose a Breathwork facilitator that is certified by the Global Professional Breathwork Alliance (GPBA), as they uphold the highest standards for Breathwork Facilitator trainings. Any facilitator that is certified by them should be adept at creating a safe container and explaining everything comprehensively.
I also notice a direct correlation between the depths and pace of breathing and the depth of the journey. The breath is the medicine, so if you are not taking in enough medicine it’s more like a microdose experience than a full-blown journey. So you really want to make it feel like breath ‘work’ especially in the first 10 or so minutes to help you drop in.
There will be a lot of resistance at this time and that is completely normal. Allow it to be there, and breathe more in spite of it. I’m not saying to start out at 200% because you don’t want to burn out, but you do want to make sure you’re breaths are deep fully body belly-expanding breaths, keep your mouth wide open like you’re biting into a fruit, and really make sure there is no pause between the inhale and exhale. As the music builds in pace and tempo, build your breath, breathe a bit faster and even deeper. Also, know you are safe and all the sensations (including tetany) are a part of the journey. Fear and anxiety can also get in the way of dropping in and prevent you from fully breathing, but with an adept facilitator, you can help to circumvent both of those hindrances.
Worth noting, I have noticed some people who tend to be highly anxious in life, will be scared when the tingling or tetany starts to set in, and will dial back the breath and won’t get as deep of an experience on their first session. But then after doing that session, they feel more confident and are able to go in deeper on the second one. In my experience, the only other thing that may cause breathwork not to work are contraindications that prevent you from fully breathing.
Does Breathwork Work For Everybody – Summary
Breathwork works for everyone and it will work for you, so long as:
- The session is long enough for you to enter into an altered state and spend some time there (ideally you want 60 minutes allocated to circular breathing)
- The session is led by a qualified Breathwork facilitator who explains the process thoroughly so you feel safe and empowered to reach your greatest depths
- You commit to breathing deep full body, connected breaths, and you increase the pace of your breathing to match the pace of the music as you progress towards the peak of the session (the halfway-through point)
- You feel safe and understand that you have both the accelerator and the break throughout the journey and that all sensations are natural and will subside when the session is over
- You surrender and allow whatever wants to unfold, and welcome all emotions without judgment
- You do not have a breathwork contraindication that interferes with the pace and depth of your breathing
So those are all the notes I have for you. So long as these conditions are met, it should not take several sessions to experience the power of circular breathwork, you should be able to drop in right away. I really believe breathwork is a profound and life-changing modality, and it works for everyone if they are given the right tools, provided with a safe container, and are willing to breathe deep, connected breaths. I also wrote an article about how to get the most out of a breathwork session which may be supportive: https://unitybreathwork.com/breathwork-journey-interference/
If you enjoyed this article and would like to book a private or group Breathwork Session with me, you can reach out here.
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