Holotropic Breathwork

A New Approach to Self-Exploration and Therapy

By: Stanislav Grof, Christina Grof, Jack Kornfield - foreword

Narrated by: Paul Brion

The definitive overview of this transformative breathwork.

In this long awaited book, Stanislav Grof and Christina Grof describe their groundbreaking new form of self-exploration and psychotherapy: Holotropic Breathwork.

Holotropic means "moving toward wholeness," from the Greek holos (whole) and trepein (moving in the direction of). The breathwork utilizes the remarkable healing and transformative potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness. These states engender a rich array of experiences with unique healing potential - reliving childhood memories, infancy, birth and prenatal life, and elements from the historical and archetypal realms of the collective unconscious.

Induced by very simple means - a combination of accelerated breathing, evocative music, and bodywork in a safe and supportive setting - Holotropic Breathwork integrates the insights from modern consciousness research, depth psychology, transpersonal psychology, anthropology, Eastern spiritual practices, and mystical traditions.

The Grofs' work with holotropic states of consciousness has introduced revolutionary changes to psychiatry, psychology, and psychotherapy. Written in a clear, easily understandable style, this indispensable book summarizes their remarkable insights.

©2010 State University of New York (P)2020 Tantor

Fascinating

Great book, fascinating work. For me, the narrator’s voice was computer-like and annoying. Would rather read this than listen.

Loved it all!

I loved this audiobook and the narrator’s voice. I’m so glad I was able to find this. This will absolutely enhance my breathwork facilitation and practice.

Great information

How do I explain the color yellow to a blind person?
The book talks about what happens when we go deep into our psyche.
No words can ever really express experience.
We can try our best though.
To think that this is an instruction book is laughable,
It takes wise people with experience to help us dive deep.

I wish I knew this earlier

At 1.2x (where I listen to all my audiobooks) the narrator reminded me of Tuvok from Voyager. The background and theory make sense and in fact I've known the theory for quite some time. What I did NOT know was that by merely breathing differently, I could access buried incidents. Given the thoroughness of this book, I feel confident I can master the technique and run with it without too much trouble.

The big question is would I have enough hutzpa to force myself to keep breathing through a past death? Although if you can help it, emotional traumas can be much more accessible. Now, I just need to see some YouTube videos of the process.

I can't begin to imagine how much better my life would have turned out had I known this technique when I was in my 20s. Sigh, I guess that I wasn't ready to hear the truth yet. Well, now that I am, it's time to radically and fundamentally transform my life. "To the journey!"

When ready

This may be one of the most important bodies of work that humans have the opportunity to participate in. Because ultimately, it puts the self-reliance, empowerment, and capacity for healing in the charge of the seeker.

Another valuable and self-empowering resource. Highly recommended.

Critical thinkers and medical professionals can go straight to chapter 9 and listen to the end to have several Dogma’s challenged—in a good way. Then circle back to the start of the book.

Inspirational!

Incredibly broad and deep exploration of holotropic breathwork, it’s history and application. Simply listening to audio has led to a number of personal insights. I’m looking forward to having a chance to experience holotropic breathwork soon.

Hard to listen to

The narrator’s voice is so deep that it was kinda muffled for the entire book which was super frustrating. I also was hoping to learn more about how to conduct these sessions but it’s more like case study examples. Not worth the time for me personally, but I’m sure others may enjoy it if the case study vibe is more for you.

Not really what I was looking for

Not what I was looking for but it was interesting as it was closer

Did not learn anything about the topic of this book

This book does not really teach in how to do this type of breathing, which is all I wanted to get out of the book. Waste of money.