49. Learnings from my first Breathwork session

This Sunday I had my first breathworksession with 4 people attending in my home. The participants had little or no prior knowledge of Breathwork. I feel an urge to share some of my learnings

SETTING THE CONTAINER

We started off with sitting down and I talked some about the benefits of breathing exercises and some new science about it. After that I talked about how the session was going to be set up. Unfortunately I forgot to do the illlustration of the first breath round of PranaSanna. So I would even spend a little more time so people have time to land and ground a little before starting the actual exercise. Maybe even a short sharing round.

BREATHING MEDITATION

I started by having the participants lying down on their mattresses and asked them to take deep breaths. I guided them on a short breathing meditation, where the followed the breath down into the belly and also told them to feel different body parts. We only did this for maybe 5 min and here I think it is a great idea to spend time. To really feel the breath in the body and also do soft, letting go exhaling. To take time here can be good for the participants to feel their own breathinghrythm. I feel that I also can emphasize more that they trust their body so they don’t get caught up in thoughts if they are doing it right or not. This is really to get the kinaesthetic feel of the body and let the mind rest.

PRANASANNA

I put on music chosen for the Breathwork (Thank you David) and started the first round. Immediately I noticed that the participants had a hard time to fully fill their bodies up with the breath. I choose to do the actual breathing with the participants to show them on their way. My sense is that I went to fast into the escalation of the breathing. I think that my learning is to stay with circular breathing for a long time and maybe do a few rapid breathings and holdings in the end. The participants had an even harder time to following me in the rapid breathing parts so as a result they also had a hard time holding their breaths for a longer period of time. I also find that when I hold my breath it is even more important to sink my consciousness into my body because if I am stuck in my head I will soon scary myself with ”I am not breathing, I gotta breath now!!”.

INTEGRATION PHASE

I think we spent maybe 15-20 minutes in the integration phase with soothing music. No visible releases, but a serene atmosphere.

AFTERMATH

I have had contact with some of the participants that seem to feel the aftereffects from the breathwork in the form of tiredness, headache and nausea. So there seems to have had an impact. But really for me I need to slow down and give more time for the participants to feel and do their own process. To guide them into themselves and maybe stay away from intense breathing altogether. If we have not been working on deep breathing before it can be intense enough just to do that. So for me it was a great learning and I am setting up another one in two weeks. Looking forward to more learnings and a deeper trust in the power of listening to the needs of the participants.

Love to you all!