Why Guided Breathwork Is Different to Other Healing Work You May Have Tried
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Since diving into the world of spirituality and self-growth in my mid-twenties, I’ve seen a number of healers and spiritual/alternative wellness practitioners in the hopes of getting a deeper clarity into myself, experiencing meaningful emotional shifts and getting un-stuck and into a state of flow. Keeping in mind my attitude used to be the more esoteric sounding, the better, some of the practitioners I’ve seen include:
An astrologer
A craniosacral therapist
A reiki healer
An access bars practitioner (an obscure one… I would compare it to reiki)
A tarot reader
A psychic
While I know it’s not the case for everyone, for me none of these experiences were particularly profound or powerful. I mostly left feeling slightly disappointed, or in some cases ripped off and annoyed.
Personally, someone declaring that they had removed my energetic blockages when I didn’t feel any kind of internal change was not convincing. Nor was telling me that if I wanted a deeper connection with my higher self I needed to book a follow up session (as the psychic claimed)!
While I’m still open to trying different types of healing work and believe there are gifted and skilled healers out there, I have a lot more discernment when it comes to putting my trust in any healer or specialist, especially when I’m in an emotionally vulnerable place in my life. I’m aware how people can project their assumptions onto you and tell you what they think you want to hear - or worse, tell you something that embeds a limiting belief in you.
I’m also aware that if I don’t resonate or feel emotionally safe with a person’s energy, it’s going to be hard to relax and receive the healing that they are offering.
So, where then exactly does this leave breathwork? Is a breathwork session really different to other types of healing work out there?
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Breathwork is different in an important way: it’s a self-healing modality.
No one is doing anything ‘to’ you in a guided breathwork session. You are the one who is creating the physical, emotional and energetic effects you experience in (and after) the session, and you’re doing it entirely through your own breath and intention.
The breathwork facilitator will demonstrate the breathing technique and they may offer encouraging words as you’re breathing to motivate you and help you move through the resistance that arises as you begin to go deeper. If it’s an in-person session, the facilitator may also touch certain points on your body (with your consent) to help you breathe more deeply and easily, or to provide comfort and support.
But you are the one who is doing the work by using your breath to take you out of the mind and into the body, which is where the magic lies.
Another important way a breathwork session differs from other types of healing/spiritual work is that a breathwork session doesn’t involve someone ‘giving you the answer’ by telling you what your potential, purpose or life path is. Insights and intuitive downloads naturally arise from doing breathwork (I always leave time for journalling in my sessions for this reason), but they come from you rather than from an outside source.
I find this to be more empowering as you’re not relying on someone to give you the clarity that you’re wanting or the sense of expansion that you’re innately capable of. Rather, you’re connecting directly with your own Higher Intelligence to get exactly what you need.
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While breathwork can be done on your own, a guided breathwork session can provide a sense of structure and support that makes it easier to let go and go within. This is why even as a trained breathwork teacher, I love to do guided sessions led by other teachers.
If you’re curious to try a guided breathwork session yourself, my advice to you is this:
Choose a teacher who has been professionally trained, who has integrity, and whose style and energy resonates with you. Avoid anyone who feels inauthentic or pushy.
Don’t put pressure on yourself to have a life changing experience in your first session. It can take some time to get out of your head and into your body, and your body will only give you what you’re ready for.
Remember that you are your own healer. The magic, the wisdom, the power lies within you.
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If you would like to explore our 1:1 breathwork offerings you can do so here. To try a free online guided breathwork session, check out our YouTube here on connecting to your creative power.
—Kat