Before the session, you’ll receive an email with an outline of how to prepare, including a video that will explain more of the mechanics of the session and the breath. The main thing to know is, don’t worry! You’ll be guided through the entire experience, and you’ll be in control of the level of intensity you desire with every breath you take. 

We highly recommend that you create some spaciousness in your schedule following the session, as you’ll probably be in a very expanded and relaxed state. Journaling your insights, allowing time for a creative pursuit, or simply creating the space to rest and integrate are all great ways to move from your experience back into everyday life, carrying the benefits of the practice with you.

In a session, you’ll experience a few different styles of breathwork. It is not holotropic breathwork nor meant to induce a state of hyperventilation. 

We will use two specific techniques including circular, connected breath (where there is no pause between the inhale and exhale) as well as breath holds (always optional). Some of the breath will be through the mouth and some will be through the nose. You’ll be guided each step of the way.

Each technique is available at your discretion, and the primary shift that will occur for you, no matter how you breathe in the session, is how aware you are of the breath. 

You’ll get to decide how intense you want the session to be at the start of the journey and throughout the experience, you can change your mind at any time, slowing or accelerating the breath and focusing on the depth of the experience rather than the intensity.

The first half of the journey is designed to activate your nervous system and bring more oxygen into the body. The focus in this half will be on the inhale, and, much like the beginning of a hike, you’ll feel the effects of the action you are consciously taking by bringing more awareness and expansion to the breath.

The second half is created around the principle of repatterning–where you will have the opportunity to use the breath to encode your thoughts from a new state of being. You’ll use the perspective that you gain through the breath to reset your internal nervous system patterns at a new baseline. 

Finally, we’ll end with an optional mudra (a specific body and hand position) that is an ancient practice used to “seal” a state of consciousness into your body. This mudra or seal, will create a reference point to which you can return anytime you want to come back into this state of presence. The body literally carries the “coding” of these mudras, and once we practice them after being in an expanded state, our bodies will remember them beyond the mind’s ability to cognitively understand them.

If you are experiencing any of the following, check with your healthcare professional prior to signing up for a session:

High Blood Pressure (untreated)

Glaucoma or Retinal Detachment

Severe Mental Health Conditions

History of Seizures

Cardiovascular Conditions such as pacemaker, history of heart attacks or stroke

Osteoporosis 

Recent Surgery or Physical Injury

Pregnancy

*If you have asthma, please bring your inhaler with you in case you need it during the session.* 

Asthma is not a contraindication and can actually be healed by conscious breathing, and there may be times in the first half of the session where your inhaler could be a supportive tool as your body reclaims its ability to fully receive oxygen.

These contraindications are specifically for the first half of the session, where we’ll be consciously activating the nervous system. They are listed by the International Breathwork Foundation based on studies done on Holotropic Breathwork, which is a much longer and more intense practice than the one you will be guided through. 

*Please do not attend the session if you are under the influence of any mind-altering substances as it can amplify the effects in a not-so-delightful way.*

In total, you’ll be in the breathwork portion of the session for around an hour. Half of that will be an active breath and the other half a more receptive, relaxed breath. Even if this feels like a long time to your mind, trust the process, because after a few minutes of these breathing techniques, you may lose a sense of time altogether. You’ll be guided back into time to be sure you are complete within the allotted session time together, with plenty of time for reflection and integration. 

Depending on your body and your relationship with your breath, you can expect to experience a wide range of sensations across three levels:

1. Mental: At the start of the session, you may experience an amplification of thoughts, much like you would in meditation. We will be offering cues and guidance throughout the beginning of the practice, knowing that it may take a few minutes for the mind to relax and allow the breath to clear away the thought patterns.

After those first minutes, the pre-frontal cortex (or decision-making part of the brain) will calm down and you will likely experience an expanded level of awareness that may include visualization, insight, altered states of consciousness, imagination, creative impulses and aha moments you can’t reach in normal, everyday life.

2. Emotional: The breath moves into the tissues and fascia of the body, naturally releasing any stuck energy or tension that’s ready to be cleared. This might express as emotional states you’ve repressed throughout your life (perhaps it wasn’t the time for it, or perhaps your nervous system shut down those emotions out of protection or “numbing”). 

Those emotions can span the range from joy to anger, ecstasy to grief, resistance to 

embodied power…and each emotion, may feel like you’re surfing a
wave-that lasts up to 90 seconds, when fully felt. 

It can be one of the most liberating experiences to allow yourself the space for your
emotions to flow through you. Many of us have no idea how much we are carrying 

within our bodies and when we allow the full experession of our emotions in a safe 

space such as this, we come out of it feeling lighter, refreshed and clear. Many 

experience a state of peace after the waves of emotion are allowed to flow.

3. Physical: The physical sensations during breathwork can include tingling, heat or cold, trembling or shaking, stretching or expanding. These sensations can change throughout the session and most often in the first half are a release of energy that has been stuck in the tissues.

Some can experience a clenching sensation in the hands, feet or lips. This is nothing to worry about and can be easily stopped by slowing and lengthening the breath.

The second half of the session can often bring feelings of deep relaxation and opening in the body.