What is this Holotropic Breathwork? People lying in rows on the ground breathing fast while some strange loud music goes on and they start to go into a trance of some kind. That's what it looks like to the casual observer. To be frank it looks like new age nonsense or a psychedelic episode or people being possessed by the devil. And these people start to twitch and cry and writhe and scream and of course they must be making this up or they must be on something. Or this must be some marketing gimmick like those exorcisms that you find two a dozen on Facebook… Must we spend time and membership fees on this kind of nonsense when we can very well breathe oxygen in our own home on our couch? What is the big fuss?
And yet here I am six years into Holotropic breathing, trying to tell you that this changed my life the way absolutely nothing ever has. No amount of regular meditations, counselling therapy, DBT, EFT, NLP, hypnotherapy, you name it — absolutely nothing BEGINS TO COMPARE.
What is happening here that's so special?
Breathwork is not meditation, let's get that clear. Meditation involves focusing on a certain point, be it the breathing, your thoughts, feelings of compassion, the touch of your foot on the ground — or a dot on the wall — and breathwork is not such an activity. So your mind does not need to make an effort to concentrate or to focus or to track the monkey mind and keep it out of mischief. Breathwork is WORKING on breathing. So all you have to do is breathe. But in a particular way. You breathe in a way that your entire system becomes flooded with oxygen. This takes WORK. And no you should not do this at home. Because at a certain level of oxygen saturation, a change takes place in the physiology of the brain. And it is this change that opens you up to catharsis.
What Actually Happens in a Session?
So what is happening inside a Holotropic Breathwork session?
First, you walk in, and it looks like a cross between a yoga studio and a 70s psychedelic commune. Mats, blankets, tissues, buckets (yes, buckets — we'll get to that), and facilitators with calm eyes and soft instructions.
You lie down, you are guided to start breathing — deep, connected, faster than normal. Loud music starts playing — tribal drums, evocative chants, sometimes wild classical compositions that seem to swirl you away from daily life.
Within minutes, you realise that this is not your everyday yoga breathing. Your body starts tingling — your fingers, your toes, your face. You might feel lightheaded. You might feel tears building up for no reason. You might feel laughter bubbling up from nowhere. Or terror. Or grief you buried ten years ago when your mother died. Or the deep shame you thought you'd sorted out with your therapist last year.
You keep breathing. The music gets louder. You breathe more. Your rational mind tries to grip the steering wheel — but at some point, it has to let go. That's the gift and the terror of Holotropic Breathwork: your thinking brain eventually gets out of the way and a deeper part of you takes the driver's seat. And that's when the magic happens.
Is There Any Science Behind This?
All this might sound suspiciously woo-woo. And sure, anything that puts people on the floor in trances and has them sobbing into blankets can look cultish if you don't understand what's happening. But here's where it gets interesting: the effects of Holotropic Breathwork are rooted in our biology and psychology. This is scientific.
Holotropic Breathwork was developed by Stanislav Grof, a Czech psychiatrist who pioneered LSD psychotherapy in the 1960s. When LSD was banned, Grof wanted a legal, natural way to access the same non-ordinary states of consciousness for healing. So together with his wife Christina Grof, he developed Holotropic Breathwork: holotropic means "moving toward wholeness."
The core principle is this: by deliberately over-oxygenating the body and pushing the CO₂ balance out of normal, you change the blood chemistry and the way your brain's default networks communicate.
A 2013 study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found that altered states of consciousness can arise naturally from breathwork, similar to those induced by psychedelics (Kjellgren & Taylor, 2013). Participants often describe profound insights, spontaneous emotional release, and feelings of connection to something larger than themselves.
Neuroscience research has shown that techniques like Holotropic Breathwork can lower activity in the Default Mode Network (DMN) — the part of the brain linked to our sense of ego and ordinary narrative self (Carhart-Harris et al., 2014). When this network quiets down, parts of the brain that don't normally "talk" start to communicate. This is why people experience sudden visions, memories, and deep emotional breakthroughs.
It's no coincidence that cultures all over the world — from Tibetan Tummo breathers to Sufi mystics to ancient shamans — have used intense breathing to reach altered states. This is deep human technology, ancient wisdom that has been forgotten.
But Why the Screaming and Crying?
Here's the thing: your body is a library. Everything that ever happened to you is stored in your tissues, muscles, nervous system. The brain likes to think it's the boss, but the body has a different memory.
When you do Holotropic Breathwork, you create conditions for suppressed emotions, unresolved traumas, and half-forgotten griefs to come up. Unlike talk therapy, you don't have to "figure it out" or "tell the story perfectly." The body does the work — you just keep breathing.
It's common to see people shaking, twitching, yelling, or sobbing uncontrollably. It's not a performance. It's not demonic possession. It's the nervous system literally unwinding. You know that phrase "the issues are in the tissues"? Holotropic Breathwork is like a direct line to those hidden places.
Grown men will weep. Women will rage like demons. During sessions, I laughed so hard I felt I was possessed by pure joy. I've writhed on my mat, like a snake, and curled up with my feet above me rocking like a newborn. I completely lost that demarcation between me and the rest of the universe and dissolved into one beautiful pulsating vortex like a river flowing into an ocean. I have growled, snarled and trembled tetanically and then relaxed completely into a weightless, dreamless state.
You might sweat, you might tremble, you might even feel cramps in your hands — a phenomenon called tetany, caused by changes in blood pH and CO₂ levels. It's harmless, but weird. That's why this is best done in a safe, guided space with trained facilitators.
What About the Risks?
Holotropic Breathwork is generally safe for healthy people. But there are real cautions:
People with severe cardiovascular conditions, uncontrolled hypertension, epilepsy, or major psychiatric disorders (like schizophrenia) are often advised not to participate.
Pregnant women should avoid it — you don't want intense spasms or hyperventilation while carrying a baby!
It's intense, so you need to trust your facilitator and your sitter - someone entirely focussed on watching over you. DO NOT do this at home alone.
A good practitioner will screen you carefully and never push you to do more than your body can handle.
What Can You Gain?
So why do people keep coming back for this "breathing nonsense"?
Because for many, it works when nothing else has.
In published qualitative studies (for example, Holmes et al., 1996), participants report lasting improvements in anxiety, depression, grief, addiction recovery, PTSD, and existential crises.
Breathwork can deliver the deep, wordless knowing that your therapist might spend ten years trying to coax out in talk therapy. You might find an image, a memory, or a feeling so profound it shifts your entire perspective on life. Some describe a mystical experience — meeting deceased loved ones, communing with archetypal figures, feeling at one with the universe. Whether you interpret these as your brain's creative fireworks or glimpses of something beyond, the impact is real.
My Story — Why I Keep Coming Back
If you asked me six years ago if I'd ever pay good money to breathe on the floor and howl at the ceiling, I'd have laughed. I was a skeptical, practical person. But then life cracked me open — a heartbreak, panic attacks, years of trauma bonding and therapy that felt like talking in circles. A dear friend who I now consider my guardian angel in human form- cajoled, begged, manipulated me to attending a breathwork workshop.
I remember my first session vividly: lying down in my comfy leggings, vaguely enjoying the new age playlist — and then, 30 minutes in, I was sobbing so hard my ribs hurt. I saw a baby son's face, felt grief and guilt I'd buried for twenty years, felt the words in my chest that I never said. And then something lifted.
Did it fix everything overnight? No. But it gave me a crack in the wall I'd built inside myself. It gave me a door. Every session since then has cleared another layer.
Okay, But How Do I Try This?
You don't need to join a cult or move to an ashram. Holotropic Breathwork is offered by certified facilitators around the world. There are workshops, retreats, sometimes short evening sessions.
A good facilitator will:
Take your medical history seriously.
Create a safe space — with plenty of blankets, water, tissues, music, and privacy.
Pair you with a "sitter" — someone who stays beside you to make sure you're safe while you breathe.
Help you integrate afterwards — because what comes up during a session can be big and needs gentle unpacking.
It's not cheap, because much thought has to be put into providing a safe space — but consider it an investment in your inner life.
A Word of Caution: Not a Quick Fix
Holotropic Breathwork is powerful, but it's not a magic bullet. Some people do one session and feel changed forever. Some need dozens over years. Some use it alongside therapy, bodywork, or psychedelics. It's a tool — and like any tool, it works best in skilled hands and with your sincere commitment. You HAVE TO DO THE WORK.
Why People Are Coming Back to Ancient Breathing
Modern medicine is slowly catching up to what ancient wisdom has always known: the breath is a bridge between body and mind.
Wim Hof, the "Iceman," has made cold exposure and intense breathwork famous — with studies proving his methods can influence the immune system (Kox et al., 2014).
Yoga traditions have used pranayama (controlled breathing) for thousands of years to calm the mind and move energy.
Researchers today are exploring how breathwork influences trauma processing, anxiety, and even inflammatory conditions.
Breathing is free. It's yours. And under guidance, it can open doors in your psyche you didn't know were there.
Final Thoughts
Holotropic Breathwork is not a trend. It's not hype. It's an ancient instinct packaged in a modern, structured container. It's messy. It's loud. It's inconvenient. It's breathtaking — literally.
It won't make you enlightened overnight. But it might give you a glimpse of your own raw, unedited self — and a chance to heal the bits that regular talking can't reach.
So if you ever find yourself lying on a mat, eyes closed, music booming, heart pounding, with tears rolling down your face — don't panic. You're not crazy. You're just breathing your way back home.
References
Carhart-Harris, R. L., et al. (2014). The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
Kjellgren, A., & Taylor, S. (2013). Altered states during shamanic drumming: a pilot study. Journal of Psychopharmacology.
Holmes, C. A., et al. (1996). Holotropic Breathwork: The potential role of a modified hyperventilation technique and the importance of altered states of consciousness in psychotherapy. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
Kox, M., et al. (2014). Voluntary activation of the sympathetic nervous system and attenuation of the innate immune response in humans. PNAS.
For more information on how to engage with this kind of healing modality in Sri Lanka, please contact Sandy 0777683170 or Pushy 0719977799.
