What is breathwork?
Breathwork is a term that encompasses a variety of controlled breathing techniques and practices focused on conscious breathing for therapeutic purposes.
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Breathwork involves paying deliberate attention to the breath and using specific breathing patterns. It offers a powerful tool for self-exploration, stress relief, emotional healing, and personal growth.
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By harnessing the breath, individuals can tap into their body's innate ability to restore balance and promote holistic wellbeing.
There are many different types of breathwork including Conscious connected breathing, pranayama, Holotropic breathwork, Tranformational breathwork, and the Wim Hof Method.
At Sama Somatics, we offer the 9D breathwork experience, a form of conscious connected breathing.
9D Breathwork
What is 9D Breathwork?
At its essence, 9D breathwork revolves around conscious connected breathing, a technique rooted in Pranayama practices from ancient India. This style employs a looping breath pattern, seamlessly transitioning from exhale to inhale, forming the foundational rhythm. The "9D" designation signifies the integration of modern modalities with this age-old technique. In 9D breathwork, Somatic breathwork combines guided hypnosis and an array of vibrations, sounds, and frequencies. This unique blend aims to penetrate the subconscious mind, facilitating the conscious discovery and liberation of trapped emotions and traumas while rewiring neural pathways.
What makes 9D Breathwork unique?
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Distinctive features of 9D breathwork include themed journeys, incorporating various techniques, and guided coaching elements. These elements expedite the process, enabling facilitators to navigate individuals to deeper layers of their psyche, addressing core issues directly. This approach serves as a catalyst for the emergence and reconciliation of suppressed and repressed pain, creating space for healing and transformation.
In essence, 9D breathwork can be likened to neural linguistic programming but supercharged. It empowers individuals to become pilots of their bodies, guiding the journey of self-discovery and healing rather than being stuck in the passenger seat.
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How does it work?
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Breathwork has been described as a potent healing modality, unlocking the subconscious by revealing suppressed thoughts and stored emotions, facilitating their processing and reconciliation. But how does breathing achieve this?
Breathing, though automatic, is within our conscious control. Through a guided technique of controlled over-breathing, intention setting, and coaching you will induce a deliberate and controlled state of stress, activating the sympathetic nervous system. This activation opens communication along the vagal network, flooding your brain with resources that will open your subconscious and aid in purging survival-based reactivity and defenses, liberating our minds from internal oppression.
However, what truly distinguishes the transformative 9D experience is the integration of guided coaching and specific themes. This approach accelerates the process, accessing areas that breath alone may not reach. It directly addresses key issues, allowing suppressed pain to surface and be reconciled, creating space for healing and liberation.
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You can read a recount of a 9D breathwork experience here.
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The 9D breathwork experience.
Frequently
Asked
Questions.
1. What do I need to bring?
You will need to bring along to your session a yoga mat, pillows, blanket, and anything else to make you comfortable (eg: eye mask, water bottle). You may also like to bring along a journal for reflecting at the end of the session.
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2. How long do the sessions go for?
Sessions run for 2 hours, with about one hour of conscious connected breathing, though this differs with each experience.
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3. How should I prepare for a breathwork session?
Make sure you are well hydrated on the day of the session and come along with a light - empty stomach (This can reduce feeling nauseous). Limit caffeine and alcohol in the 24 hours prior. After the session, hydrate well and nourish your body with healthy, raw food, safe connections and space to reflect.
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4. Is it safe?
Yes! Breathwork is considered a low-risk modality however some people can experience side effects including uncomfortable sensations or pain in different body parts, a dry mouth/ throat, coughing, temperature changes, intense emotions, tetany, nausea, dizziness, or a feeling of being lightheaded. More details are in our liability waiver here.
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5. Is breathwork suitable for everyone?
Yes, breathwork is suitable for everyone and has some amazing benefits. If you suffer from physical health issues, or mental health issues or are pregnant, please let your facilitator know before the session so we can modify the breathing technique. More details are in our liability waiver here.
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6. How big are the classes?
Our classes are capped at 12 participants to ensure an intimate setting.
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7. What are the benefits of breathwork?
Breathwork has been used as a treatment for a wide variety of struggles including Addiction issues, chronic stress, PTSD, depression and anxiety, chronic pain, grief and loss, anxiety, childhood traumas, suppressed emotions, relationship struggles, money blocks, patterns of self-sabotage, limiting beliefs, fears & phobias
Benefits include:
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Personal and spiritual transformation
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Inner peace and contentment
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Connection to something larger than oneself
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Newfound purpose and meaning- activated with new darma- shifting paradigms
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Reacting rather than responding- gaining control of emotional state
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Regulating nervous system
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Releasing trauma, complexes, negative thought patterns, old habits, behaviours that no longer serve you
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Clarity
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Improved sleep
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Improved physical and mental health
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8. How often should I participate in a breathwork session?
Participating in a breathwork session as often as you like is perfectly safe! Each individual is different. Some participants come weekly, however, others (particularly those who experience big emotional releases and revelations) come along monthly. It is natural to feel apprehensive in the lead-up to a class, particularly if you experience big emotional releases... your mind will throw up a mental block so it doesn't need to work so hard. Remember, pushing through these mental blocks will grow your resilience and your brain!
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9. What is tetany?
Tetany is a specific physiological response some individuals may experience during certain breathing practices. Tetany in breathwork is characterized by involuntary muscle contractions, particularly in the hands, feet, and face, which can occur due to changes in blood chemistry, such as decreased carbon dioxide levels or increased alkalinity.
During breathwork sessions, especially those involving rapid or intense breathing techniques, participants consciously overbreathe, leading to a reduction in carbon dioxide levels in the blood. This can disrupt the body's acid-base balance, causing alkalosis, which can trigger tetany.
Tetany in breathwork is not harmful but can be uncomfortable or alarming for individuals experiencing it.
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