Holotropic Breathwork, Second Edition

Stanislav Grof, MD, is a psychiatrist with over sixty years of experience in research of non-ordinary states of consciousness and one of the founders and chief theoreticians of transpersonal psychology. Christina Grof, PhDhc (1941–2014), was founder of the Spiritual Emergence Network (SEN). Together, they developed holotropic breathwork, an innovative form of experiential psychotherapy that Grof® Legacy Training is practicing and teaching worldwide under the name Grof® breathwork. For more information, visit www.grof-legacy-training.com.

FOREWORD
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

1. Historical Roots of Holotropic Breathwork
Sigmund Freud and the dawn of depth psychology
Humanistic psychology and experiential therapies
The advent of psychedelic therapy
Abraham Maslow, Anthony Sutich, and the birth of transpersonal psychology

2. Theoretical Foundations of Holotropic Breathwork
Holotropic states of consciousness
Dimensions of the human psyche
The nature, function, and architecture of emotional and psychosomatic disorders
Effective therapeutic mechanisms
Strategy of psychotherapy and self-exploration
The role of spirituality in human life
The nature of reality: Psyche, cosmos, and consciousness

3. Essential Components of Holotropic Breathwork
The healing power of breath
The therapeutic potential of music
The use of releasing bodywork
Supportive and nourishing physical contact
Mandala drawing: The expressive power of art

4. The Practice of Holotropic Breathwork
Use of holotropic breathwork in individual sessions and groups
Setting and interpersonal support system
Theoretical preparation of participants
Screening for physical and emotional contraindications
Practical instructions for breathwork sessions
Preparation for the session and the relaxation exercise
Conducting holotropic breathwork sessions
The spectrum of holotropic experiences
The role of the facilitators
Mandala drawing and the processing groups

5. Integration of the Breathwork Experience and Follow-Up Work
Creating conditions for optimal integration
Easing the transition to everyday life
Conducting follow-up interviews
Using various methods complementing holotropic breathwork

6. Trials and Tribulations of Holotropic Breathwork Facilitators
Encounter with the military junta in Buenos Aires
Competing with the exhibition of Doberman pinschers
Culture-bound challenges for holotropic breathwork facilitators
Technological ordeals in holotropic breathwork sessions
The pisspot, oinking piglets, and smoldering Kleenexes
Supreme ordeal Down Under
Conducting holotropic breathwork in adversarial settings

7. Therapeutic Potential of Holotropic Breathwork
Healing of emotional and psychosomatic disorders
Favorable effect on physical diseases
Effect on personality, worldview, life strategy, and hierarchy of values
Potential for healing of cultural wounds and historical conflict resolution

8. Therapeutic Mechanisms Operating in Holotropic Breathwork
Intensification of conventional therapeutic mechanisms
Dynamic shifts in the psyche’s governing systems
The therapeutic potential of the death-rebirth process
The therapeutic mechanisms on the transpersonal level
Healing as a movement toward wholeness

9. Physiological Mechanisms Involved in Holotropic Breathwork
Biochemical and physiological changes
Holotropic breathwork and the “hyperventilation syndrome”
Psychodynamics of psychosomatic disorders

10. Past, Present, and Future of Holotropic Breathwork
History of holotropic breathwork
Holotropic breathwork and the academic community
Benefits of the holotropic perspective
Holotropic states of consciousness and the current global crisis
The global psychedelic Renaissance and Grof ® Breathwork

APPENDIX 1: Special Situations and Interventions in Holotropic Breathwork Sessions
APPENDIX 2: Holotropic Breathwork and Other Breathing Techniques
APPENDIX 3: About Grof® Legacy Training
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX