Breath Therapy

Breath is the essence of life. Nothing exists in organize life without breath. At yet, many people breathe very shallowly. This reflects limitation. The breath reveals our relationship to inner (spirit) and outer (matter and form) life. We can learn to breathe deeply and also breathe a refined breath that awakens inner senses.

Three-thousand years of breath training and experience have been recorded in the Yogic scriptures. This is well-grounded research verifying the powerful, healing and transformative possibilities enabled simply by increasing attention on one’s own breath. I have training and experience in many different healing breathwork forms. I am a certified Rebirther, with experiential training in Holotropic Therapy, Yogic and Sufi breathwork practices.

• Rebirthing is a deep, connected breathing practice. The client steadily breathes a connected breath (for 45 minutes to one and one-half hours). It releases emotional memories and allows for healing energies to enter the neural pathways and cellular structures of the body.
• Holotropic Breathwork was developed by Stanislav and Christina Grof. The client is practicing hyperventilating breathwork assisted by various forms of deeply moving music (averaging 45 minutes to one and one-half hours). This is a very powerful breathing practice.
• The particular form of Yoga breathwork used in my practice is a patterned way of breathing into the belly. A client can simply use this to regulate mind and body, and it is may be given as a homework practice for relaxation. Mindfulness breathing awareness exercises are also helpful and recommended for homework when applicable.
• Sufi breathing practices are recommended for some clients. For example, the purification breaths may be given as homework to increase subtle awareness and encourage healing. The late Sufi Master, Hazrat Inayat Khan, said that “…unless the breath be made find, it cannot penetrate through the important centers of the body, and it cannot reach far enough into the innermost parts of one’s life. Breath, to a Sufi, is a bridge between him/herself and God…Once the human being has touched the depths of his/her own being by the help of the breath, then it becomes easy for him/her to become at one with all that exists on earth and in heaven.”[i]

Much of my own healing has been facilitated through deep breathwork. It opens the senses, releases and clears emotions while opening one to spiritual discovery. This knowledge is evidenced in my book,

The Revelation of the Breath: A Tribute to Its Wisdom, Power and Beauty (2009, SUNY Press). For more on this book, see the Publications menu (or click on its link on home page.

My graduate (master’s level) work also focused on The Healing Power of the Breath. During that time I researched (both experientially and academically) Eastern, Middle-Eastern and Western forms of healing breathwork. I also noted that each way of using the breath had a different intention. For example, one might be for emotional release (Rebirthing, Reichian therapy and so forth), another for opening to intense phenomena, release and inner discovery (Holotropic therapy) and another for peace and spiritual awakening (Sufi and yogic breathwork practices). Each of these differing intentions likewise produced differing results. The breath has a magic of its own.

Many of my clients participate in deep breathwork sessions. They appreciate the way it facilitates entry into deep trance states and opens them to spiritual experience. It speeds up the healing process.

I oftentimes blend the breathwork with guided trance work. During this time I am following an intuitive process based upon the client’s needs and my own inner guidance. At this time I am primarily doing large groups (due to intensity of travel schedule) so workshops need to be arranged in advance.

Email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or telephone (760) 230-0948.

[i]   The Heart of Sufism: Essential Writings of Hazrat Inayat Khan. (1999). Boston: Shambhala Press. p. 264.