Welcome to the information page on Holotropic Breathwork.
Please note that this workshop will be led by Grof Trained Holotropic Breathwork Facilitators including lead facilitator Michael Stone (who is on staff with Grof Transpersonal Training) but Stan himself will not be there.
The key experiential approach I now use to induce non-ordinary states of consciousness and gain access to the unconscious and superconscious psyche is Holotropic Breathwork, which I have developed jointly with Christina over the last fifteen years. This seemingly simple process, combining breathing, evocative music and other forms of sound, body work, and artistic expression, has an extraordinary potential for opening the way for exploring the entire spectrum of the inner world.
-Dr. Stanislav Grof
At this breathwork retreat, there will be two Holotropic Breathwork breathing sessions (see Schedule), one on Saturday and one on Sunday. For one of the breathing sessions you will play the role of the “breather”, for the other session, you will play the role of the “sitter”.
Breath is life. The first and the last breath are the two extremes between which our human existence moves. The Hindu word for breath, prana, is synonymous with life energy. Each of us has our own breath patterns, each has subconscious tricks of how to avoid certain experiences that may be threatening to the unconscious, by simply changing the breathing rhythm. That’s why ancient schools like yoga as well as modern psychotherapies use breath as a path to bring harmony back to body and soul.
In Stan Grof Holotropic Breathwork workshops, most participants are able to gain direct access to their own innate drive towards wholeness to create a personalized transformational breathwork experience for themselves. They report getting profound experiences of insight and clarity through breathwork regarding what is holding them back in their lives from being fully present and self expressed. Just as your body will instinctually move to heal a cut, your psyche also will instinctually guide you towards integration and personal growth – if you allow it to. This process is primarily guided by your “inner intelligence”, your natural drive towards wholeness, healing and integration.
In the Holotropic Breathwork workshop, when you surrender to the breath, you are brought out of your “left brain thinking mind” to the level of direct experience in a way that allows you to get beneath and below your own identity/ego and access this innate drive towards integration in a very powerful way. This brings you a personalized experience that can result in more joy and freedom in personal relationships, resolution of childhood trauma, a transpersonal satori type of breathwork/breathing experience of union with the universe, more clarity regarding the purpose and meaning of your life, a sense of being more grounded and centered in your life, and a more profound sense of connection to the world around you.
Through a multi-year process of exploration with thousands of people, using principles based on insights from modern consciousness research, his personal experience with LSD psychotherapy back in the 60’s, and historical spiritual practices, Dr. Stanislav Grof has brought together elements that include holotropic breathing, creative self-expression, focused bodywork (if needed), group processing/sharing a specially designed three hour musical journey and an integration talk at the end of the workshop that allows most participants to access the powerful transformational capabilities of the psyche available when they are in expanded states of awareness/non-ordinary state of consciousness. All of the above elements are very important to produce the desired result and to have participants have a complete experience. He named this process “Holotropic Breathwork” (Holotropic coming from the Greek “moving towards wholeness”). In addition, as per one of the underlying principles of interpersonal neurobiology, an important part of any process of this type is that participants feel “safe, secure and seen”. In Holotropic Breathwork workshops, a safe, secure and supportive setting and process is created by a seasoned group of Grof Certified Holotropic Breathwork Facilitators who have gone through a rigorous multi-year training and certification program. This unique combination allows most participants to experience an expanded state of awareness that allows the transformational breathwork experience that is perfect for them at this time in their lives.
On this website you will find information about the venue and all of the ancillary activities that will be available at the event including Mandala Drawing, Mandala Collage, a visit to the Integratron, and Yoga With Jason and relaxing in the swimming pool and hot tub. For Facilitator Bios, Click Here.
To see our cancellation policy, Click Here
Note: Since each participant has an individual journey that is self-guided by their “inner intelligence”, there is no way to predict exactly what participants’ experiences will be like. Every participant’s experience will be different. Since your experience is, in essence, self-guided by your “inner intelligence”, Holotropic Breathwork LA cannot guarantee any specific type of experience or any experience at all. To see our refund policy, Click Here.