Reviews of The Breathwork Experience
Review in The California Therapist Vol 18:6:72-73 Nov/Dec 2006
The Breathwork Experience: Exploration and Healing in Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness By Kylea Taylor
Reviewed by Mariabruna Sirabella, MS
I recently recommended The Breathwork Experience to a client who had come to therapy for support in the pursuit of a new career. A few weeks into the process he was surprised by the surfacing of intense feelings of shame and guilt about childhood traumatic experiences he had managed to keep under locked doors until then. As therapy progressed, he became increasingly aware of how much of his energy had been kidnapped by the effort of keeping those doors locked, and how his uncertainties about his ability to reach his goals were not related to lack of organizational or leadership skills, but rather, to the fear of the darkness lurking behind those doors. One day, after stretching out on the couch, he spontaneously shifted his breathing patterns. I held a reassuring and knowing space for him while he navigated the dark waters of both fear and somatic memories. He was startled by the physicality of his process and welcomed the opportunity to read about it. “How did you know that this is exactly what I needed to read?” was his comment at our next appointment. “I could hear myself speak in some of the testimonies. Reading this book was an amplification of your words of hope. The more I let go, the more energy I have for my life and I even feel closer to my partner. I have a way to go, but now I have less fear.”
I am confident in recommending Taylor’s book to appropriate clients, knowing how well the comprehensive description of what to expect in a Breathwork workshop, and the detailed explanation of the process of healing trauma, will satisfy their curiosity and concerns. Taylor’s book is a clear, concise, and well-documented introduction to the therapeutic value of addressing dissociated and unconscious material under the guidance of facilitators trained in accessing Nonordianry States of Consciousness (NSC). It also provides a map for those who, having already experienced Breathwork, are interested in the philosophy and theory behind this powerful door into inner territories. While Kylea Taylor, MFT, does not claim that Breathwork, and in particular Holotropic Breathwork (HB), is the best or only way to access inner material, her book clearly shows that this deceptively simple approach is undeniably an effective avenue to deepen and enhance one’s personal inner work—an avenue that has freed, empowered and enriched the personal and spiritual lives of thousands in 36 countries. The discussion of the transpersonal and perinatal theories of Stanislav Grof, M.D., the developer[*] of HB, offers further explanations of why Breathwork heals trauma and assists in the recovery from addictions.
The chapters about PTSD, childhood sexual abuse, and recovery from addictions, are especially useful to clients who are struggling with the fear of confronting the pain encapsulated in their memories, or have a sense of hopelessness about their ability to overcome the impact of trauma. The chapters deftly build up, layer after layer, a verbal portrayal of an experience that is hardly describable by language. The intense emotional and physical experiences that often accompany the remembrance and the processing of trauma are validated, explained, and normalized. The testimonies that complement the theoretical explanation document with detailed clarity the successful encounters with the lingering “inner demons” of past traumatic experiences, and express the resulting profound sense of release and the joy of newly found inner freedom. The book also lists different “schools” of Breathwork and other related resources.
Although, as a therapist, I may be tempted to find certain small parts of the book repetitive, I recognize how such repetitions provide reassurance for the uninitiated readers’ doubts, and offer answers to their potential questions. I also welcome being reminded of the importance of staying open to surprises, tuned to the information that transpires from a change in the breathing pattern, a facial expression, a body movement, a shifting of the eyes, as well as to trust my clients’ perceptions of what is helpful. Taylor and HB assert that, after all, we are our own best healer.
In spite of being over 10 years old already, this quick read is still an excellent resource, useful to clinicians who work with trauma and addiction, to facilitators of Breathwork at any school, to those using Shamanic techniques, deep relaxation and visualizations with transformative goals, to those seeking NS through movement or isolation, as well as those who experience NSC spontaneously. For the clinician whose curiosity is stimulated by this primer, a remarkable anthology of 144 essays by 85 authors can be found in a second volume Exploring Holotropic Breathwork, masterfully edited by Kylea Taylor and published by Hanford Mead in 2003. Both volumes are well-organized, easily accessible, and have references worth adding to a therapist’s bibliography list, as well as to the list of adjunctive therapeutic resources for clients.
*[Christina Grof was the co-developer of Holotropic Breathwork with her husband, Stanislav Grof.]
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TCM Review
Oct 12, 2007
The Breathwork Experience
by Kylea Taylor
Hanford Mead Publishers
ISBN: 0-9643158-0-7
Non-fiction, Health, Alternative Healing
Reviewed by Dr. Tami Brady
I recently heard about Holotropic Breathwork, rebirthing, and other associated non-ordinary states on consciousness from an online alternative healing forum. It seems like an interesting concept. A way to allow the body and mind to let go of whatever obstacles it’s holding onto so that healing can naturally occur. I wanted to learn a bit more so I started looking for more resources.
The Breathwork Experience by Kylea Taylor is the foremost guide to Holotropic Breathwork. The book intuitively covers all of the answers that those new to this methodology would ask: what is it, how does it work, what happens during a session, can I do it alone, etc. The author also cleared up a lot of confusion that I had about the qualifications that I should look for in a good facilitator, extremely important being as the process requires such openness and willingness to experience what should occur. Now, I am armed with knowledge and some further resources about Holotropic Breathwork and other programs.
Stanislav and Christina Grof
Stanislav Grof, M.D.:
Drawing on many years of rich therapeutic experience and on intimate personal knowledge of nonordinary states of consciousness, Kylea Taylor has created an invaluable guidebook for practitioners, clients, and students of consciousness. Written in a clear and captivating style, The Breathwork Experience is a gold mine of important professional information as well as profound life's wisdom.
- Stanislav Grof, M.D. author of The Future of Psychology, The Holotropic Mind, The Adventure of Self-Discovery, Manuals for Living and Dying, Beyond the Brain, and co-author of The Stormy Search for the Self.
Christina Grof:
In The Breathwork Experience, Kylea Taylor has done a masterful job of drawing together facts, case histories, personal and professional strategies -- just about anything that might arise during the practice of breathwork. Kylea writes with intelligence, heart, humor, and the wisdom that only comes through experience. This is an important contribution.
- Christina Grof, author of The Thirst for Wholeness and co-author of The Stormy Search for the Self.
Joy Manne:
This is an essential book for everyone who has an interest in breathwork, whether they are client or practitioner, whether the breathwork they are interested in is Holotropic, Rebirthing, Conscious Breathing Techniques or any other form that has a therapeutic outcome or that gives access to altered states of consciousness. Everything relevant is simply and sufficiently explained. This is a wise book. Its tone is compassionate and nonjudgmental.
- Joy Manne, author of Soul Therapy, from a review in The Therapist
Gunnel Minett:
I hope Kylea Taylor will forgive me for saying so, but although the book is about Holotropic Breathwork, it is an excellent textbook for Rebirthers. It covers all the aspects of a breathwork session from: who is suitable to do breathwork; what physical and psychological sensations may occur during a session; the role of the "rebirther" or sitter as they are called in this context; psychological background in the form of Grof's COEX system and matrices; to its wider scope of being a spiritual path.
As I said the book is not about Rebirthing, it is about Holotropic Breathwork. This leads to the other interesting aspect of the book; to compare the similarities in the two techniques. Reading a "different version" of my work, immediately raised the eternal question of what exactly causes the reactions in a breathwork session. Being trained by Leonard Orr myself, I put rather a lot of emphasis on guiding the breathing pattern during a session. I do this to avoid "uncontrolled hyperventilation", or "unnecessary and useless" pumping of air, that leads the client nowhere. I try to guide the client to the "inner breathing", the moment when we start to breathe both energy and air, i.e., when we use the breathing that has a significant and beneficiary effect. In the typical Holotropic session, however, the emphasis seems to be more on creating the right environment, with the help of music, etc. Nevertheless the results seem almost identical for both techniques!
Being used to a lot of questions and statements about the dangers involved in breathwork, it is also interesting to read all the positive explanations of hyperventilation, why it occurs and how it can be transformed into healing energy.
Another obvious reflection after having read the book, is how important it is to bring all of us breathworkers together in the form of the International Breathwork Foundation or other similar organisations. In the preface Kylea talks about her difficulties finding books on breathwork. She says that when she first looked around in 1984, she couldn't find an introductory book on breathwork and when she looked again ten years later, the situation still hadn't changed.
- Gunnel Minett, author of Breath & Spirit and former General Secretary of the International Breathwork Foundation, from a review in Breathe magazine (August 1996).
Selene Vega:
[The Breathwork Experience] provides a down-to-earth explanation of the process and theory of breathwork and answers many of the questions that might come to mind in those who are just beginning their breathwork journey, as well as deepening the experience of those who have been working with this technique for a while.... Personal accounts are sprinkled throughout the book, grounding the theoretical information in the experiences of the diverse participants in this work.
- Selene Vega, co-author of Wheels of Life, from a review published in the Spiritual Emergency Newsletter
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