Breathwork for Beginners - 3 Tips for Starting Out
Michael Ebbinghaus • November 15, 2021
What is Breathwork and Why Should You Do It?
One of the consequences of the modern era has been the destruction of our relationship with the breath. This tool for greater physical and mental health overlooked in this wake-coffee-commute culture is always at hand.
Historically breathwork has been developed as the practice of pranayama in India. Breathwork has the capacity not just to make us physically stronger but mentally more resilient. Think of it as the body’s reset button. It requires no product, no pill, no substance, only breath and discipline. With the seat of our consciousness hijacked by the total war for our attention, utilizing the breath as a means of altering that consciousness gives us a powerful means with which to retaliate. By consciously altering our state through the breath we can prevent ourselves from mindlessly falling into patterns of habitual behavior.
Breath is sacred. Pneuma
is the spirit. Without it life cannot occur. It brings the outside in and the inside out.
Most breaths we take are mediated by the body, by the unconscious, yet it is one of the few unconscious processes that we can assume conscious control over. The breath, then, is a gateway for expanding consciousness. Whether the objective is to dive into the mystery of the self, to mitigate stress, or to increase athletic performance, active engagement with the breath will yield tremendous results.
The Issue
We are not a society that encourages our citizens to move. We hoist up the public health campaigns and dream up the gym ads while inundating our spaces with hyper-palatable, non-nutritive food and teach our children that being good students means sitting still and listening to teacher, habits that will follow them into adulthood. We awake to groom and feed, sitting our way through our occupations. We attempt to combat the steady stillness with vigorous one-hour workouts that are only mildly effective in correcting our forward head posture and stressful lives. Consistent low-intensity movement throughout the day would be more ideal. What occurs in the prolonged silences of our bodies is the solidification of our form. We cease to be warm and fluid, growing stiff, stagnant, and hunched. If we examine the sitting position, we will find a particular pressure put on the diaphragm as the shoulders and head slump forward and our abdominal cavity collapses. It is the belly, not the chest, that is responsible for the life-giving air, and it is the belly that is crunched into a wedge. We deprive ourselves of breath, and we deprive ourselves of pneuma. Our bodies do not expand, but collapse. The flesh does not remain fluid but turns to stone and pain.
"Deepening the breath brings oxygen, but it also brings confidence."
The collapse of our diaphragmatic space makes us more likely to hunch and maintain poor posture. Over time this can affect the manner in which our skeleton shapes itself. Posture becomes fascia, fascia pulls on bone. It not only makes us look but feel defeated. Slumped shoulders, limp spine, and downward head is nature’s way of communicating that we are not a threat. This is a disastrous position. Engaging with the breath strengthens the diaphragm as well as the accessory breathing muscles like the obliques and intercostal muscles, bolstering our base. As we strengthen these muscles, we pull more air into that space, expanding the tissue and making bends at the waist less natural. Deepening the breath brings oxygen, but it also brings confidence.
The Solution
Working with the breath is excellent if the body has not been worked for a long time. Many begin straight at the level of the physical body and do themselves a disservice with consistent mouth-breathing. Utilizing breathwork requires no specialized equipment or membership fees. It can be done by anyone with a working set of lungs. It yields returns in all aspects of physical training, no matter if one is an advanced athlete or just beginning their journey.
"The breath can become a medium for exploring the Self, of receiving visions and insights, and of connecting to our archetypal energy."
When we are caught in a moment, it is easy to be reflexive – not to respond but to react. Reconnecting to the breath offers us the space to pause - as engagement with certain exercises such as full yogic breathing
leads to subtle put perceptible shifts in consciousness.
Think of what the body does when it is suddenly exposed to cold water or is startled. Gasp! The body knows. It prepares itself to deal with this new situation, and this is precisely what we fail so often to do. We don’t treat the situation as new; we treat it as a template. The more unconsciously we live the likelier we are to do this. Nothing stops the flow of our normal state of consciousness quite like altering the normal state of our consciousness.
The next time we find ourselves in a negative spiral of depression, are enraged at something over which we have no control, or are just feeling plain shitty, engage with the breath, see what the new condition is like. Respond, don’t react.
These subtle alterations, useful for our day-to-day, can become expansive alterations in consciousness if we continue to engage with and deepen our practice. The breath can become a medium for exploring the Self, of receiving visions and insights, and of connecting to our archetypal energy.
Practices found in kundalini yoga
and the holotropic breathwork
of Drs. Grof and Grof are lauded for their ability to induce mystical experience, heal trauma, and expand our being. This is just a continuation of the theme: the breath has the capacity to remove us from our familiar state of consciousness: assumptions fall away and direct experience becomes the only compass. All our trauma-response patterns and other ritualized forms of behavior receive the scrutiny they deserve, and this comes with increased capacity to let go of senescent parts of the self and contact and heal the wounds within.
Engagement with the breath undoes the trauma that our bodies have suffered in the face of our cultural demands. It is the mediator between conscious and unconscious, a piece of advanced technology we’ve largely become ignorant of. Body and mind are linked, as well as mind, body, and environment. No matter what our condition, a breathwork practice will improve posture as well as physical and mental health and performance. What’s best is it is a tool that lies within reach for the entirety of our lives. So get breathin’.
Resources
Below are a few resources that can help you get started. I particularly appreciate Michael Bijker's channel on YouTube.
Provides simple descriptions and variations of breathwork exercises and poses.
This is a 40-minute practice that takes you through 4 different breathing techniques. Condense this practice for a morning ritual.
Michael provides some excellent education around advanced breathing practices and combines them with yoga postures for a breathwork session geared towards entering alternate states of consciousness or mind-body states.
The Sentient Soul
Explore how propaganda, consumerism, and lost perennial wisdom shape our world—and why awakening collective consciousness is urgent today.
What is Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy? Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) is a modality that uses low dose ketamine alongside talk therapy to access non-ordinary states of consciousness, helping clients process trauma, depression, and anxiety in a new and deeper way. One of the most common complaints about traditional psychotherapy is that it can take a very long time for unconscious material to surface, even after a solid relationship has formed with your therapist. While there are techniques we utilize in our practice that do not require substances (e.g. dreamwork, sentence completion, automatic writing/drawing, etc.), the introduction of intentional medicine work can reliably shift one into an altered state of consciousness, catalyzing access to unconscious material. After a brief introductory period, you will take ketamine under supervision from your therapist either in-office or virtually in the comfort of your own home. The therapist will guide you to take your own journey as well as direct you towards areas that might benefit from exploration in an alternate perspective. Learn more What is Ketamine? Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic acting primarily on the glutamate neurotransmitter system. This differentiates it from the traditional psychedelics like LSD and psychedelic mushrooms which are much more prominent in the serotonin system. Ketamine increases neural plasticity, meaning that the brain becomes more flexible to change, open to new insights and behaviors. Ketamine has been used for over 50 years as a surgical anesthetic. It has no impact on the respiratory system, making it one of the most safe and effective medicines available. It is classified as a WHO top 10 essential medicine, and it is so safe that it is still the anesthetic of choice for children. It is a schedule III medication approved for off-label use in assisted psychotherapy, meaning a healthcare professional must be supervising in some capacity. Screening is essential, see below for more information. How KAP Works One of the things we like to stress is that the medicine is taking you to a place within yourself. It is not the ketamine "doing" anything other than relaxing your emotional defenses and allowing for exploration of consciousness. That said, you will feel a degree of relaxation in your body as well as your mind, which allows things which we keep buried to come up to the surface. By shifting into an alternate state of consciousness, we are able to sublimate many of the barriers we have in place that remain opaque to us. Oftentimes simply allowing this material to surface creates greater harmony, and you ma find yourself saying "Oh - this is what I've been afraid of for so long? It's not so big and scary after all." This is not always the case, of course. The nature of what is hidden can also be very painful, which is why the presence of the therapist as well as the therapeutic relationship is imperative when first working with alternate states of consciousness and healing trauma. What Does KAP Treat? Ketamine's claim to fame comes from its potent and immediate anti-depressive effect . While this requires lifestyle change and further exploration - greatly benefitted by depth psychotherapy - this can be incredibly helpful to those experiencing treatment resistant depression. It does this primarily through breaking up rigid neural networks (enhanced neuroplasticity), limiting one's ability to ruminate. Ketamine for depression can be powerful, indeed. In a meta-analysis of over 2,500 patients, it was found that 45% of people had significant drops in clinical depressions inventories, with 30% in remission. The benefits were often sustained at 6-month follow up. Ketamine-assisted therapy can be helpful for those who experience post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD . The clinical evidence here is quite strong, with multiple meta-analyses and an open label study showing durable and significant reductions in PTSD symptoms in as many as 69% of respondents and up to six-months' follow up. Ketamine for trauma is widely studied and efficacious. Anxiety is also significantly reduced after brief KAP treatments. In a glimpse, ketamine can treat: Treatment-resistant depression PTSD and trauma-related symptoms Anxiety and existential distress Addiction and maladaptive coping Spiritual exploration or life transitions What Does Treatment Look Like At Ebb & Flow Depth Psychotherapy, we believe in the importance of a strong therapeutic relationship to help sustain the positive effects from ketamine treatment. To this end, prior to any medicine session, there are 6-8 preparation sessions (this can be reduced to 2-4 if you are already working with another therapist). From there, we will conduct two initial dosing sessions with an integration session in between each. We would then conduct another 6-8 dosing sessions, also with an integration session in between each. Our Approach During each session, you will be gently guided into your body utilizing a simple meditation or, if preferred, ambient music. We utilize sublingual lozenges, tablets which will be dissolved and swished in the mouth for 10-12 minutes, then spit out. This offers a psycholytic approach rather than a psychedelic approach. We prefer the psycholytic approach for two main reasons: 1) This helps to make ketamine-assisted psychotherapy more affordable, as the presence of a medical professional such as an RN is not needed as they are in IM (intramuscular) or IV (intravenous) injections. 2) Psychedelic ketamine therapy can be effective, but in our hustle and bustle world, the subtle work often gets overlooked, and it is the subtle work that carries us the farthest. If you’re seeking a full psychedelic experience, I often recommend doing so on your own time and terms, ideally in nature or a supportive setting. There are few practitioners I would trust to guide me through such an experience, and they come at an extraordinary financial cost more often than not. With psycholytic ketamine therapy, we are nudging gently and entering into an altered state but not breaking open the doors of reality. Through the experience and through the journey you've taken thus far, which includes your triumphs and your traumas, we will expand not only on who you are but who you are meant to be. Your exuberant and mature presence is sorely needed in this world, and it requires reconciliation of our darker nature and highest aspirations. Who is KAP for? Ask yourself now: "Am I in a place where I am ready for deep self-exploration?" "Am I open to the idea of letting go of things which both pain and comfort me?" "Can I remain off of substances and away from process addictions (such as pornography, over-eating/bingeing and purging, sex, etc.) for at least three days?" You may not be ready for KAP if: Are experiencing active psychosis or mania Have untreated Bipolar I or II disorder Have a personal or family history of schizophrenia Are currently struggling with active substance dependence If you are in a grounded place and ready to make shifts in your life, KAP may offer the support you've been looking for. Ketamine Therapy In Austin, TX - How to Get Started Contact me today for your free consultation to see if ketamine assisted depth psychotherapy might be right for you. Myself and the fine clinicians over at Journey Clinical are ready to help you find deeper meaning in life and be the change in the world you wish to see. We conduct ketamine-assisted therapy in Austin, Texas as well as virtually all over the state. Reach out to us today!
