When the U.S. cracked down on drugs in the 1970s, the effort dried up most funding and research into psychedelic substances — which only in the past few years have regained momentum in the field of psychotherapy. In the ’70s, rather than shut down all his work, one psychedelic researcher at Johns Hopkins University, Stan Grof, turned his attention to another potential avenue for attaining non-ordinary states of consciousness: breathing.
Grof, alongside his wife at the time, Christina Grof, developed the term Holotropic Breathwork for this technique, which loosely translates as “moving toward wholeness.” The practice in experiential psychotherapy emerged in the 1980s as a tool for self-exploration and inner healing, and has certified teaches who now facilitate it around the world. The framework integrates music with modern consciousness research, psychology and Eastern spiritual practices, according to the Grof Transpersonal Training program.
Many people today teach this intense breathing practice, and other similar techniques that preceded it, such as kundalini yoga or pranayama. But questions remain about the science behind what exactly is happening in the mind and body while practitioners lie on the floor and breathe persistently in rapid patterns. And some clinicians have raised concerns about the safety, and risks, in a field with limited peer-reviewed studies.
