What is rebirthing?

A quick summary 

More and more people are describing Rebirthing Breathwork as the 'psychotherapeutic and body-mind healing modality of the 21st century' for a reason. Rebirthing Breathwork has been in development and refinement over the last four decades now since its rediscovery by a doctor of psychotherapy in the Czech Republic and an advanced spiritual teacher in the USA.

It is based on a particular style of breathing which must be facilitated and guided by an experienced and trained professional to be effective. It is not a breathing practice you 'learn' from a book or at the end of a 'yoga class'.

It is approximately 60 minutes of intense, energetic breathing through the mouth connecting the inhale with the exhale. This is followed by 30 minutes of gentler breathing and mental/ emotional processing work using inner voice dialogue, inner child work, soul retrieval and other leading edge ' psycho-therapeutic ' modalities. 

The result is a powerful recharging and cleansing of all the systems and most importantly, the breaking down of the barriers/ defenses between the conscious and the unconscious mind. This results in the becoming aware of and releasing of deeply rooted, powerful negative emotions associated with memories of incidents where personality-forming beliefs were made and lodged in the physical body. 

These personality-forming beliefs and negative emotions, for many people, unless released at this fundamental level can cause the following symptoms:

• Muscle / Organ ailments, pains and disease (our physical body is a memory bank of our past) 
• Anxiety and 'Stress' (anxiety and stress are merely symptoms of deeper emotions)
• Tiredness and lack of vitality (the old, un-dealt-with emotions block your energy channels)
• Insomnia or other sleep disturbances including sleeping lots yet still feeling tired
• Recurring patterns of argument and conflict in relationships. Even lack of relationships. 
• Low self esteem and poor self image. Low Self Worth that can result in money 'worth' issues
• Constant merry-go-round type thinking. ie LACK OF INNER PEACE & SERENITY

Rebirthing Breathwork works at a level of the unconscious where traditional forms of counselling and therapy do not go:

• The first 3 years of life (infancy)
• The birth experience 
• The womb/ inter-uterine experience and
• Conception, in-between lives & past lives

It is during these fundamental experiences that our personality has its foundations laid down. It is at this deep level of unconscious mind where emotions and thoughts are usually transmuted into physical disease or behaviour that sabotages our chances of attaining wellness on all levels from physical, emotional & mental health to relationship health. 

It is a modality that encompasses all philosophies and systems of thought, religion and healing because we know nowadays that no one system or philosophy of health & wellness has all the answers. We all need to discover the jig-saw pieces to the puzzle of our particular case of wellness (or lack of). This is why Rebirthing Breathwork works very well in conjunction with other more physical angled approaches to health such as diet, body work, herbs and energetic approaches such as homeopathy and naturopathy.

More about rebirthing

Beyond conception and expression using the human language is Rebirthing. This is because Rebirthing, also referred to as Breathwork or Transpersonal Breathwork, is a profoundly potent, experiential healing technique. It has been described as...

• the psychotherapeutic modality of the 21st century
• a biological experience of 'God' - as so much prana or chi surges through your system you feel almost 'full' of lifeforce/God
• psychotherapy meets deep meditation
• the MahaYoga of the West
• the ultimate regression technique (as people can re-experience birth and in-the-womb memories during sessions).

....and the list goes on. The common thread seems to be that is has greatly excited, transformed or challenged almost everyone who has come across it since it was rediscovered in the late 60's to early 70's.

All this from a breathing technique?

Yes and more, because Rebirthing is no ordinary, run-of-the-mill breathing technique you can learn from a book. It is not a quiet, slow and gentle breath meditation. What I term the more potent form of Rebirthing, often referred to as the 'Holotropic' style, involves approximately 90 minutes of mouth-only breathing, connecting the inhale with the exhale (this is known as conscious connected breathing). The focus is on expanding the top part of the lungs and chest, and can only by done effectively and thoroughly with the support of a qualified professional. After you experience a session you will understand why! To try and explain it I will draw the distinctions between the two main categories of breathing and Rebirthing:

Integrative Rebirthing

The first is called Integrative Rebirthing, which focuses on conscious connected breathing only through the nose. The long-term aim of this style is to learn to breathe in more energy than air, because when we breathe we not only take in oxygen, we inhale what the Yogis call 'prana'. This energy is directed to blockages in the physical and energy bodies, hence dissolving them. After a simple initial training in the distinctions of this Rebirthing style, it can be done at home on your own. This Breathwork is Transcendental in nature. Transcendental because it enables you to rise above the stress and pain of the physical body and the physical plane of existence. This occurs because the nasal cavities are designed to direct the bulk of the prana to the higher mental and spiritual chakras. This results in your consciousness becoming established there and enables you to rise above but not necessarily deal with the issues on the physical plane. The average duration of this style of Rebirthing, also sometimes known as an air purification, is also 90 minutes.

Cathartic Rebirthing

The second is usually called Cathartic (or 'Holotropic' style) Rebirthing, which focuses on conscious connected breathing only through the mouth. The aim of this style is to tap very deeply held psychological trauma trapped in the bodymind. This is only accomplished and done properly and thoroughly with the support of a trained professional who has the skills and experience necessary to lead you into uncovering deeply buried memories and traumas. This Breathwork is Transformative in nature. Transformative because the mouth cavity is designed to direct the bulk of the prana into the lower chakras - the throat, heart, solar plexus and most importantly the emotional and physical body chakras. The result is that your consciousness becomes momentarily established in these bodies in a way most people have never experienced. It is in the physical body that we have trapped all of our past traumas, memories and accompanying emotions. Using this type of Rebirthing enables you to re-experience and feel all of the emotions we use suppressants to avoid feeling. These 'suppressants' include alcohol, too much food, drugs, shopping addiction, relationship/dating/sex addiction, and workaholism. But by letting yourself feel these emotions you actually heal them and addictions can begin to drop off automatically. The white knuckle, willful approach is not necessary. It is in feeling these emotions that you heal them. This is an example of why this style of Rebirthing is Transformative in nature.

Both styles of Rebirthing are valid, with each being appropriate at different points in a one's inner process. If you liken an issue or a blockage to a slab of concrete, in my experience using nasal breathing is the equivalent of getting a hammer and chisel to break the concrete down over time.

The mouth breathing on the other hand, is the equivalent of using a sledgehammer - you only need a few hits to break the concrete apart. I therefore always recommend seeing a trained professional for approximately 3 - 12 sessions for the more 'Cathartic' style of Rebirthing. This way you can deal with the main bulk of emotional mass first, before you use the 'anywhere and anytime' integrative nasal breathing style on your own.

[back to top]

What happens during a Rebirthing Session?

A Rebirthing session begins with an intention setting period, usually about 30 minutes. This means there is a focus/ goal for the session(s) and the Rebirther and client have a chance to get to know one another. After the initial consultation, this time is still set aside each session and is used to discuss the progress and integration of the client's issues since the previous session.

The next part is the actual breathing, 'Rebirthing' session. Usually this is done lying down (but can be done sitting or even standing up for periods) and entails approximately 90 minutes of conscious connected breathing through the mouth, focusing on filling the lungs all the way up to the top of the chest. The Rebirther supports the client through this process by being the 'breath coach', encouraging optimal breathing (at a certain depth and speed) for what you need at that time.

There is no such thing as a 'typical or average' Rebirthing session, but usually a person goes through some or all of the following; a build up of energy - tingling, vibrating and surging of lifeforce through the physical and energy bodies. This energy starts to build up and focus itself in the physical/ energy bodies where the body holds the current blockage or issue. The full extent of tension in that part of the body makes itself known. This tension may include cramp like pains as the physical body starts to release the anchoring points of the trapped emotion. The body may also begin trembling, tremouring and shaking as the physical muscles that have been holding onto the trauma or old hurts start to release. Sometimes mild to intense heat or cold is experienced as the energy sweeps through the body. The most intense form of tension is called tetany and is typically experienced in the muscles of the face and hands, which go through a momentary locking up before the major emotional release occurs.

Sometimes people experience periods of sleepiness, which borders on unconsciousness. This is the normal reaction of our defenses, trying to spare us the old pain that the conscious connected breathing is bringing to the surface. (This is the same as what happens in the case of physical trauma when people go unconscious to block out the pain and fear of an accident for example). The real 'gold' of these sessions is without a doubt the emotional release that occurs. Tapping the old emotions that block our energy is usually the ultimate goal of these sessions, and people can experience these emotions momentarily or for the duration of the session.

After the emotional release the next main goal is uncovering the childhood memories. This is where we made most of the decisions about life and ourselves, that can still run our decision-making processes as adults, and thus dictate our actions in life. I would call the uncovering of these memories the 'Mental Processing' part of the session, which occurs usually after about 60 minutes of the intense mouth breathing. During this part I utilise a whole range of mental/ psychotherapeutic healing techniques including Inner Child Work, NLP, Voice Dialogue, Dysfunctional Pattern Clearing, Past Life Regression, Soul Retrieval and various other conscious counselling gems.

After this the client rests for 10 minutes or so, letting the energy integrate and experiences a period of what is usually referred to by my clients as 'bliss'. For most people this is their first taste of the true goal of meditation.

Another 20 minutes or so is used at the end of each session to de-brief. During this time you make the connection between your initial intention and the memory/ beliefs uncovered in the session. It is also a time to share your experience, ask questions, have things explained to you, and so forth.

[back to top]

Copyright © Jaan Jerabek 2004.    Website handcrafted with love by Conscious Design