breathwork

The breathwork I guide takes its roots in the work of Dr Stanislav Grof (Holotropic Breathwork) and Michael Stone (NeuroDynamic Breathwork – NDB). It is a science supported process for personal growth. NDB is a breathing technique that uses a connected, rhythmic breathing pattern set to a backdrop of evocative music to promote emotional healing and self-awareness. The practice encourages individuals to access deeper psychological states, release suppressed emotions, and explore non-ordinary states of consciousness by intentionally altering blood chemistry and deactivating the analytical parts of the brain. It helps rewire the brain by strengthening the neural pathways to your inner healer and body’s wisdom.

In breathwork, you are able to access an expanded state of awareness, get your monkey mind out of the way, and connect with your inner intelligence. This is the same amazing intelligence that allows our bodies to take care of all of our internal body processes every second of every day to keep us alive. We just do not normally have a conscious connection to it or it is just a very weak internal voice that is rarely loud enough to make itself heard. Unlike most breathwork modalities out there, NeuroDynamic Breathwork® uses the approach of radical self-empowerment: it is a self-guided, non-intrusive experience in which a skilled facilitator creates sacred safe space. This allows you to meet your own inner self, access your own inner wisdom, and tap into your own inner healing potential, thus developing self trust, self-confidence, and self-reliance. 

With breathwork, the inhale and exhale are connected, meaning there is no pause between the in-breath and the out-breath. Breathing is typically deeper and faster than normal, and these alterations cause CO2 levels to drop and the blood to become more alkaline. This, in turn, reduces activity in a specific part of the brain called the Default Mode Network (DMN). The DMN is responsible for the mental constructs of self and ego. When this area of the brain is quiet, we gain access to the subconscious mind and to unconscious material that we don’t normally have access to. This is really important because our subconscious mind is essentially running our lives without our conscious awareness.

Breathwork is safe for most people. However intense breathwork can produce dizziness, strong emotions, or physiological shifts — and there are some contraindications, such as aneurysms, asthma (please have your inhaler available during your session), cardiovascular disease and/or irregularities including prior heart attack, detached retina, epilepsy, glaucoma, high blood pressure that is not controlled with medication, history of strokes or seizures, osteoporosis (advanced), pregnancy, prescription blood thinning/anti-clotting medications such as coumadin, psychiatric contraindications such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia (prior diagnosis by a health professional), hospitalization for any psychiatric condition or emotional crisis in past 10 years such as an attempted suicide or nervous breakdown. 

Please e-mail me at contact@intothelife.pl if you are at all unsure whether one or more of the above apply to you. By booking you confirm that you have read our contraindications and are not experiencing any listed conditions that would make breathwork unsafe for you. This practice is not a substitute for medical care or psychiatric treatment.