Neo-Shamanic Breathwork
Moving Toward Wholeness
Neo-Shaminic Breathwork is a process of breathing that allows us to enter into a non-ordinary state of consciousness. In this state, we have access to biographical, perinatal, and transpersonal experiences that we likely otherwise could not access. It is in this state that our inner healer can discover our innate wisdom and transform experiences and traumas in ways other modalities may not be able to do.
The process itself is quite simple. It combines accelerated, rhythmic breathing with evocative music in a sacred space. The experience of each breather is unique as his or her own internal experiences come forth.
There is an endless list of things humans have done throughout history to take themselves into what we would call non-ordinary states. Some of these include fasting, sweat lodges, vision quests, sight and sound deprivation, near death experiences, and psychotropic plants and medicines. The potential for a spiritual experience and emotional release happens with these methods. Breathwork is an experiential modality offering a drug-free experience that can also result in emotional release and a deeper understanding of one’s psyche.
Neo-Shamanic Breathwork is done in the tradition of Holotropic Breathwork which was invented in 1976 by Czech psychiatrist Dr. Stanislav Grof and his wife Christina. The word holotropic literally means “moving toward wholeness” and is derived from the conjunction of the Greek words holos, meaning “whole”, and trepein, meaning “to move in the direction of something”. Dr. Grof is well-known for his research into LSD, for pioneering psychedelic therapy, and helping us understand the the cartography of the human psyche including in part the perinatal unconscious. Neo-Shamanic Breathwork adds concepts from Jungian psychology, symbolism and mythology to this experiential process to bring a greater depth of understanding of our experience.
“Each of us can manifest the properties of a field of consciousness that transcends space, time, and linear causality.” -Stanislav Grof,M.D., PhD
Elisa first experienced Holotropic Breathwork in 2017 and immediately understood its transformative and healing potential. She became certified as a Neo-Shamanic Breathwork facilitator by one of Stan Grof’s first students, James Frazier. James studied directly under Dr. Grof and was in the first group to be certified by Dr. Grof to practice breathwork. Over the years James has become one of the most experienced breathwork practitioners in the country. James’s mission is to combine the best of Shamanic wisdom and sensibilities, especially the use of non-ordinary states of awareness, for the purposes of healing and spiritual experiences using the insights concerning the human psyche that have been discovered and mapped by depth psychologists, including C.G. Jung, Dr. Edward Edinger, Marie Louise von Franz, and Dr. Robert Moore. James’s two year Neo-Shamanic Training program provides practitioners with the necessary knowledge to guide their clients into a deep healing process safely and effectively.
“I believe it is essential for our planetary future to develop tools that can change the consciousness which created the crisis we are in”
-Stanislav Grof,M.D., PhD