BREATH-WORK
Breathwork means to teach and practise breathing exercises that enhances the quality in people's life. Many theories and practises can fit within this concept. Rebirthing, Conscious Breathing, Pranayama, Chakra Breathing, Chi Gong, etc. Historically, Breathwork has been used since time immemorial for a number of reasons. For healing or preventive healthcare, widened mental perspectives, release of emotional blocks, enhanced body awareness, spiritual trance, deepened human encounters, handling stress and so on. Breathwork theories have thus been taught from many different perspectives. Physiological, religious, therapeutical and psychological. From the second half of the twentieth century the therapeutical viewpoint, with focus on personal development, has been dominant, at least in the western world. Mainly used for a deeper insight about oneself, better health and ability to alter unwanted life situations. My first experiences of Breathwork was in 1978, but it was not until a year later that I became really interested and decided to go to California to get a longer training and education in Rebirthing Breathwork. In 1980 I began working part time as a Breathworker and was one of the pioneers that introduced the technique in Sweden.
The first group of Breathworkers trained in Sweden 1986-87.
In 1986 I became a full time Breathworker and co-created (with psychologist Lena Kristina Tuulse) the first Swedish education of Breathworkers. Twenty years later more than a thousand students had taken the training. We had participants from all categories of profession that wanted to have a complement to their former training and education, or they just wanted to start a new career. Doctors, psychologists, businesspeople, housewives, unemployed, physiotherapists, rehabilitated drugusers, psychiatrists, kindergarten staff, engineers, etc. Mostly they had to pay the training themselves but approximately 10% of them were sponsored by different social institutions. For example, the unemployment office was supporting one person's new career and the public health insurance paid rehabilitation for another person. Breathwork in Sweden has thus been fairly successful in social integration and is now used in several institutions as a power tool together with other therapies. It is used in alcohol and drug treatment programs and in rehabilitation for people with burnout syndromes. It is also used in the corporate world in preventive healthcare for employees and by physiotherapists as a complement in physical rehabilitation. Breathing workshops has been given in prisons to sow a seed for a better life after the penalty is served. I have given information lectures about Breathwork for psychology students at the university and for mental hospital staff. Academic papers have been written by our students, (and sometimes by their clients), on Breathwork, both in the context of psychology and sociology.
Since 1987 I have served as a guest teacher in several different education programs in Europe and am willing to share my work and experience to anyone interested. At the moment I am a part of running two training programs. One in Sweden and one in Estonia.
For existing quality training programs around the globe, research and recommended reading, please contact http://breathworkalliance.com