Miss Valerie L. Mojeiko

3.02.01

“ I could feel my body doing things, but I was in a trance,” said 2nd-year New College student Matt Mazzuckelli of his experience with holotropic breathwork, “All of a sudden I was hearing the intensity of the music, almost like going into a (sleep) state. Then there was nothing except for my thoughts--friends, family, and all of the things that had been going on in my life.”

Two weekends ago, fourteen New College students participated in a two-day workshop where they experienced exploration and healing in altered states of consciousness using deep, rhythmic breathing exercises. It began with a Friday night informational talk about the techniques and history of holotropic breathwork and culminated with a daylong retreat followed by free Thai Food.

The workshop was facilitated by Kylea Taylor and James Schofield, both of whom are certified practitioners of holotropic breathwork. They have been facilitating holotropic breathwork workshops together since 1988. They were taught by and have often worked side by side with the pioneers of the technique, Stanislav and Christine Grof.

“ In any ritual work, there is really a three part process. (First) is preparation, (then) is the ritual, and the third phase is integration.” explained Taylor to the circle of students in the back corner of the Sudakoff Center on Friday night, “So what we’re doing now is the preparation part.” Preparation consisted of a detailed explanation of what to expect from the ritual, talk about confidentiality and informed consent, and the history of breathwork. She told the group to be prepared for sensory experiences, biographical experiences, perinatal experiences, and yogic sleep states.

Her partner, Schofield, explained that the technique could be “essentially likened to hyperventilating” and that they would be working in pairs. Each pair would take turns playing the roles of breather and sitter. The breather would perform the breathing technique while the sitter watches him/her and provides for any bodily needs such as a drink of water or an escort to the restroom. Most, but not all, attendees of the lecture would be participating in the next day’s workshop.

The next day began with a 9:00 van ride from Hamilton Center to the house of an alum in south Sarasota. The participants de-boarded the van carrying the necessary supplies--pillows, blankets, six boxes of Kleenex (for crying), unscented wastebasket-sized garbage bags(for vomiting), sketch pads, and oil pastels.

The group began the day with a five-minute meditation. Then the participants took turns revealing the current physical state of their bodies and any life-problems which they were currently encountering. This sharing ritual served to form a bond and create a starting point for what lie ahead.

Everyone dissipated throughout the house into groups of two with enough space between groups for breathers to be able to comfortably flail their arms, if they were so inclined. The breathers lay on blankets with a sitter beside each, and Taylor led the group into a relaxation exercise, “Now focus on the breath...I want you to link the breaths together.” So began the Breathwork Experience.

Many students were extremely happy with their experience. First-year Julia Onnie-Hay reported feeling, “incredibly mentally, physically, and spiritually levelled...like I had just had a full night’s sleep, a good meal, and a substantial amount of physical exercise...even though I had just been laying on the ground.”

Many participants experienced physical effects. First-year transfer student Jimmy Burgdorf experienced strong physical effects of the breathing, “My hands got really numb...it (felt) kind of like blowing up a balloon or a big rainbow-colored worm.”

According to Mazzuckelli, “(It was) interesting to watch the physical signs of what was happening to the breather...there was a certain empathy factor...and it gave me a more thorough understanding of the experience.”

After both partners had taken turns with breathing and sitting, each person drew a mandela to represent his/her experience. Then the group assembled again and each person shared a mandela and talked about what the experience had been like. After finishing the session by closing the sacred space, the group ordered Thai food, courtesy of New College alum Rick Doblin, who had been the key person in organizing the workshop. Doblin was not in attendance at the event.

As with other methods of attaining altered states of consciousness, holotropic breathwork has received some criticisms. According to Taylor, "Mostly the criticism of holotropic breathwork comes from those who haven't done it, or from those who are frightened of deep work. Some have said that "hyperventilation" (faster and deeper breathing) brings material to the surface before it is ready to come and can cause problems. Western medical and psychological response to hyperventilation has always been to repress it by having people breathe into a paper bag or take tranquilizers rather (than) to encourage full expression and experience of whatever is happening.”

Taylor adds, “Our experience is that material seems to come to the surface when people are ready for it. People do breathwork so that material can arise. It is important for people to feel ready for that and to have a safe set and setting to go into the material fully. For that reason, we actually try to discourage people from doing breathwork if they feel in any way that it is not the right time or way for them to do deep inner exploration. It is also important for them to have support afterwards with the opportunity to integrate what has arisen."

None of the New College students who participated in the workshop have, as yet, reported a negative experience or difficulty with integration. Onnie-Hay said that she, “has discovered a form of meditation that is extremely beneficial and healing.”

According to thesis student Raj Ghoshal, “I went in as a skeptic...but now I’ll purify the Earth of non-believers. Breathwork is the way of the future.”