Breathwork

Why do Neurodynamic Breathwork™?

“The Answers Lie Within”

During Neurodynamic Breathwork™ we engage in a deep breathing technique creating a chemical change in the body which suppresses areas of the brain which control the ego (default mode network DMN)* and we connect with parts of ourselves which we normally suppress. In this state where the ego is less active, access is allowed to areas which normally suppress emotions and dense, stored energies. (Learn about the Physiology of Breathwork by founder of Neurodynamic Breathwork, Michael Stone.)

During the process we connect with a part of ourselves (our Inner Wisdom) which allows for the release of trapped energies and emotions, revealing access to wisdom and guidance. We are able to access an expanded state or awareness, get our “monkey mind” out of the way, and connect with our inner intelligence. This is a radical self-empowering modality which not only brings emotional healing and personal/spiritual growth, but also has great physical benefits.

*(The Default Mode Network (DMN) is a structure in the brain responsible for our sense of self, or the Ego. It links the executive function of the brain that is responsible for reasoning and decision making to centers for emotion and deep memory.)

Why do I need a facilitator to do Neurodynamic Breathwork?

This particular method of breathing causes chemical changes in the body which affect the activity in the brain by shutting down the ego mind, releasing suppressed emotions and dense energies. At times you might feel very vulnerable, anxious and overwhelmed during a session. It is therefore not only valuable, but also important to be supported and encouraged through the process by a facilitator in a safe environment. This breathing method is powerful in healing the psyche and changing old stuck programs and their destructive influence on our lives. One can relive previous traumatic events during the release and have very clear insights. Guidance to completion and integration of such deep work is important in making change possible.

What happens during Breathwork facilitation?

The 2 hour journey is supported by dynamic music in a safe space.

  • There will be a short introductory talk
  • Followed by a 50 minute Breathwork session listening to specifically chosen evocative music.
  • Afterwards there will be time for sharing your experience with the facilitator or in the group if you feel motivated to do so. When participating in a group it is good to listen to others experiences to learn what is possible.

Unlike most other forms of breathwork, the facilitator does not direct or guide your breathwork journey, but trusts the wisdom of your inner healer to best manage your individual experience, whatever is needed for your healing and transformation. The Inner Healer is inherent love and always moves towards growth, healing and expansion. It never harms. In his book The Power Within Tav Sparks says: ‘Breathing brings into our awareness what is relevant for our transformation. Consciousness or awareness itself, is a function of the Inner Healer’. We re-connect with the source of wisdom within us, our inner healer, higher consciousness or life giving force which gives us breath. When we feel challenged by life we are stuck in repeating patterns .Deep healing in a holistic way is an empowering and trans-formative experience through the discovery of our authenticity, creativity and intuition. Ultimately this journey will lead to clarity, insight and guidance.

When we are overwhelmed by an experience, the nervous system protect us by disconnecting us from the full emotional embodiment of the experience. Thereby storing some of the emotional energy created by the overwhelming or traumatic event in memory in fascia. While it is not experienced, it is active and keeps us back in time until fully expressed and digested.

When we are overwhelmed by an experience, the nervous system protect us by disconnecting us from the full emotional embodiment of the experience. Thereby storing some of the emotional energy created by the overwhelming or traumatic event in memory in fascia. While it is not experienced, it is active and keeps us back in time until fully expressed and digested.


Simrad: ‘Suffering is related to love and loss. The greatest sources of our sufferings are the lies we tell ourselves. We need to be honest with ourselves. We can never get better without feeling what we feel and knowing what we know. Healing depends on experiencing with your body.’


If we still have active energy of past events in the form of emotions then we prevent and resist that life force to be expressed. And so it is passed on through generations.


When that active memory is triggered later, our autonomic nervous system calls up that programming and we go in a fight and flight or rest/digest response (Dr Porges Poly Vagal Theory) as a way to protect through defense.


This is a disconnect from ourselves in the moment. We can keep that re-activeness alive or we can choose to release it in a safe space and time. Dense energy blocks the flow of life-force, creating psychological and physiological symptoms.


During Breathwork or Energy Healing Facilitation we give ourselves permission to fully engage with blocked energies and thereby experience, express and release. The experience could have been of a child who did not feel safe and supported to express anger, as it was not socially accepted. This charged emotion (active memory) could create a fear of speaking his/her truth in order to meet their primal need for acceptance and belonging. Subconsciously the psyche will continuously suppress and store anger in order to honor this need and survive. Sadly he could also consequently develop a distrust and blame in self due to the self betrayal. The possibilities causing these traumatic experiences are endless, but there is no need to know the story to engage with it. The Inner Healer brings up from the subconscious mind that which is most relevant.


Energy needs to flow constantly for perfect health in our thoughts, emotions and body. When there is no resistance, we have the flexibility to spontaneously adapt to our environment and experience the sense of freedom in all areas of our lives. Without the stored active memory, we have the potential to create a new and different reality in every moment without getting stuck in lack.

What to expect in my experience?

Sensory experiences are stuck or dense energies from stress and trauma which start to release. This may manifest as temperature changes in your body, numbness, pain or awareness of sexual energy (which is a reproductive energy with empowering healing ability). There can be physical movement in the form of tremors, dancing or shaking.

The second type of experience is a biographical experience. Some people report having a visual experience of something that happened to them in their past which, at the time, they felt overwhelmed and did not allow themselves to fully experience the emotions involved. Emotions of joy, sadness, anger, fear can be experienced.

The third type of experience is a perinatal experience. Psychiatrists used to think that when we are born, we are a blank slate. The reason for that is when we are a fetus our brains are not myelinated enough to form explicit memories. However, we now know now that from the time we are conceived, we do form implicit memories. During expanded states of awareness we can experience any of the 4 phases, each of which has its own characteristics and energies.

The fourth type of experience is Transpersonal journeys like past life experiences, dreamlike visions, or connecting to archetypal energies can be experienced. This is beyond the personal; an experience that you would generally never have in normal everyday life with your thinking mind in control. For example, people report feeling like they are floating in the stars or feeling more connected to everything.

The fifth type of experience is a Yogic Sleep State where even though it may look from the outside that you are asleep, but are actually in a deep profound relaxation. This is an amazing feeling where you generally will go into what some would call an enlightenment type of experience where you completely lose track of time, space and later just feel very relaxed and present.

How to prepare for my session?

It is best to eat very light, preferably plant based. If possible, even fast a few hours before. Tea and water is good, but no coffee for as long as possible before the session starts. It is not a essential to stick to these guidelines but helpful. Feel free contact me if you have further questions.

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

We ask that you agree not to mix mind-expanding drugs and/or alcohol with breathwork.  Breathwork is meant to stand on its own and part of the benefit of the experience is that you start to gain more confidence that you have all of the answers within and do not need substances to access this wonderful inner guidance that everybody has.

Space set up

  • Privacy where you could sit or lie down undisturbed
  • Space to move around safely if you need to
  • Headphones or Earphones (you want to be able to have immersive sound but not distorted)
  • Hard wired connection or good reception Wi-Fi.
  • Eye mask seeing that it is an internal experience
  • Bottle water
  • Tissues
  • Lip balm
  • Pillows if you feel it may assist in releasing anger or sound
  • Comfortable clothing
  • A friend in the room if you feel that will make you feel more comfortable and safe to go deep
  • An open mind, no expectation 

Please read the contra-indications in full before booking

the sanctuary breathwork cropped 3 faded

Contra-Indications

Please contact me if you are at all unsure whether one or more of the below apply to you.

If either you have had an aneurysm or if more than one person in your immediate family (parent, child or sibling) has had one. – In breathwork, while many times the participant just lies or sits quietly with all of the processing being internal, there are also times when the participant spontaneously starts moving around and/or vocalizing while emotional material is being released which could place the arteries of the brain under strain. If you have already had an aneurysm, this type of experience may put you at increased risk of having another. In most cases, brain aneurysms are not hereditary, and there is generally only a single case in a family. Occasionally, however, an individual with a brain aneurysm will have other family members who are affected. When two or more first-degree relatives (parent, child, or sibling) have proven aneurysms, these are called “familial aneurysms.” Individuals in these families may be at higher risk of developing aneurysms than the general population. See this article for details.

Please have your inhaler available when you breathe -If you have asthma, you are welcome to breathe, but your must have your inhaler available as sometimes, during breathwork, in cases of psychosomatic illnesses such as asthma, your psyche may actually intensify the symptoms as it is trying to ameliorate the condition.

Cardiovascular disease and/or irregularities including prior heart attack strong emotional release and/or physical movement can put stress on the cardio system

Detached Retina breathing faster and deeper reduces intraocular pressure. This increases the risk of having permanent vision damage for a person with a detached retina. Click here for more information.

There is a slightly increased chance of having a seizure during breathwork due to the faster deeper breathing.

Sometimes, during an intense process, the breather may stress and strain internally, which could temporarily increase intraocular pressure which would make the symptoms of glaucoma worse. In addition, if, after a session, you have blurred vision, it could be a symptom of an undiagnosed case of glaucoma and you should get your eyes examined before continuing breathwork.

High Blood Pressure that is not controlled with medication-strong emotional release and/or intense physical movement can exacerbate high blood pressure issues, raising it even higher than it is.

History of strokes or seizures

Osteoporosis that is serious enough whereby moving around actively could cause physical damage to your body.

In breathwork, the deeper breathing creates certain physiological changes in your body, including making your blood more alkaline. This is the same blood that goes through the fetus. Since there have, to our knowledge, never been any studies on the impact of this on the health of the fetus, we do not allow pregnant women to do breathwork. In addition, later in pregnancy, if a breather has a “rebirthing” style of experience, it could trigger premature contractions.

Prescription blood thinning/anti-clotting medications
sometimes breathers move around quite actively during breathwork. If he/she were to, for example, bang their head on something and create an internal bleed their body would find it difficult and/or impossible to heal the bleed through its standard healing mechanism of clotting.

(Prior diagnosis by a health professional) –
If you have bipolar disorder, breathwork could trigger a manic episode.

Hospitalization for any psychiatric condition or emotional crisis in past 10 years such as an attempted suicide or nervous breakdown (see details by clicking on arrow at left) –
If this is the case, we ask that you contact us before breathing and get written approval. We want to make sure that you are grounded enough to handle any of the intense emotional or physical releases that may occur during your breathwork session

Many participants have had profound healing experiences in regards to PTSD. However, if you have a severe case and are under a therapist’s care, we ask that you get his or her approval to participate so we are sure that you are grounded enough to handle what might come up during the session, including possibly reliving the experience which caused the PTSD in order to release it out of your system.

Any other medical, psychiatric or physical conditions which would impair or affect ability to engage in activities involving intense physical and/or emotional release.
One possible example might be a neurological issue or disease.

By clicking on the button below, I acknowledge that I have read and understand the contra-indications

Possibilities as a healing program

  • 1 1/2 to 2 hour session (Energetic Release or Breathwork) remotely or in person. After a pre-talk we go into session to do the release work and discuss integration option afterwards. R1200.00
  • Included -Daily Reflection and aftercare material available as support for your integration. This provides valuable information as support for integration and for a follow up session. 
  • Optional support – 1 Hour follow up session to establish achievable actions steps to shift old programing and create desired results  (remote or in person). R700.00
  • Plus Ongoing Online Breathwork sessions to regularly explore this as a self empowering practice in the comfort of your home. Different payment options available
 
 
 
 
 

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