It is our whole body, along with our brain and energetic field, that forms our consciousness.
Breath is an active part of that system. Changes in our consciousness change the way we breath. For example when we are feeling stressed, we breathe in a very different way to when we are relaxed. This mechanism acts in reverse: Changes in our breathing also affect our consciousness.
There are many forms of breathwork - ways of working with the breath to affect consciousness. The approach to breathwork advocated by Body's Journey breathwork is similar to the original form of contemporary Western breathwork - Holotropic Breathwork, is different from many approaches in that it doesn't utilise a specific technique, instead inviting participants to tune in to their own body and process, to generate their own bespoke breathing pattern for themselves, creating their own perfectly tuned altered state of consciousness.
Supported by the safe and sacred environment of the breathwork session, these personally generated altered states of consciousness allow participants to undergo their own personal journey of discovery, healing and growth.
Breathwork can create an endless variety of powerful and profound experiences. Many journeys involve an exploration of trauma and the way it becomes locked in the body. It is through experiencing, accepting and allowing trauma to exist that we truly come to understand it and become free, and this in turn can produce significant openings and expansions, on many levels.
Kundalini is an Indian term describing a potent spiritual energy originating at the base of the spine. This flow of energy, from Earth to Spirit, can be described as the essence of consciousness. When this flow is increased, spiritual development occurs. A full Kundalini activation involves an accelerated spiritual awakening, and can result in a wide variety of emotional and energetic states, eventually leading to spiritual liberation.
There are different ways to approach this type of breathwork - gentler sessions and deeper, stronger sessions.
An average breathwork session lasts around 1.5 hours, with music being played to support and develop people's journeys. Participants lie down with eyes closed, initially being led with a guided meditation, then tune in to their body, listen, and allow a breathing pattern to develop. A led breathing pattern is usually also offered for newcomers to follo wif they wish. Breathwork sessions are usually held in a group setting, with one or more Breathwork Facilitators overseeing.
Growing up in Wales as part of a Quaker family, Jon was aware of the spiritual world from an early age. He spent several years on a shamanic path, discovering Holotropic Breathwork in his early twenties. He has continued to practice breathwork regularly since then, alongside Vipassana and other Non-Dual meditation, energetic healing and free movement (a combination of Chi-Kung and improvised dance). Jon has travelled several times to India, spending much of his time there with Sai Baba, and has also spent time at Guru Subraminium's Skanda Vale in West Wales. A spiritual journey is also a psychological one, and Jon has also worked with psychotherapeutic and other personal development modalities as part of his journey, which has now brought him to a place where he feels ready to offer breathwork, in the context of his wider spiritual journey, to others.
Almost everyone who participates in Breathwork feels its powerful connection to the ancient and the mystical. But in terms of modern, Western understanding, it was discovered and developed by Stanislav Grof in the 1970s. Trained as a psychiatrist, he initially spent time studying the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics, before shifting his focus to the effect of breath and music on consciousness, developing Holotropic ('towards wholeness') Breathwork - the basis of all Breathwork practices today.
The approach of Breath Journey Breathwork is based on Jon's experience and training, but is most closely associated with Holotropic Breathwork. Here are some video testimonials from around the world describing people's experience of Holotropic Breathwork.
