Holotropic Breathwork

A New Approach to Self-Exploration and Therapy

By: Stanislav Grof, Christina Grof, Jack Kornfield - foreword

Narrated by: Paul Brion

Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

The definitive overview of this transformative breathwork.

In this long awaited book, Stanislav Grof and Christina Grof describe their groundbreaking new form of self-exploration and psychotherapy: Holotropic Breathwork. 

Holotropic means "moving toward wholeness," from the Greek holos (whole) and trepein (moving in the direction of). The breathwork utilizes the remarkable healing and transformative potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness. These states engender a rich array of experiences with unique healing potential - reliving childhood memories, infancy, birth and prenatal life, and elements from the historical and archetypal realms of the collective unconscious. 

Induced by very simple means - a combination of accelerated breathing, evocative music, and bodywork in a safe and supportive setting - Holotropic Breathwork integrates the insights from modern consciousness research, depth psychology, transpersonal psychology, anthropology, Eastern spiritual practices, and mystical traditions. 

The Grofs' work with holotropic states of consciousness has introduced revolutionary changes to psychiatry, psychology, and psychotherapy. Written in a clear, easily understandable style, this indispensable book summarizes their remarkable insights.

©2010 State University of New York (P)2020 Tantor

I wish I knew this earlier

At 1.2x (where I listen to all my audiobooks) the narrator reminded me of Tuvok from Voyager. The background and theory make sense and in fact I've known the theory for quite some time. What I did NOT know was that by merely breathing differently, I could access buried incidents. Given the thoroughness of this book, I feel confident I can master the technique and run with it without too much trouble.

The big question is would I have enough hutzpa to force myself to keep breathing through a past death? Although if you can help it, emotional traumas can be much more accessible. Now, I just need to see some YouTube videos of the process.

I can't begin to imagine how much better my life would have turned out had I known this technique when I was in my 20s. Sigh, I guess that I wasn't ready to hear the truth yet. Well, now that I am, it's time to radically and fundamentally transform my life. "To the journey!"

don't buy if you are looking for instructions

lot of history and perspective... very little on practice... guess u need to take the workshop for these secrets to be revealed lol

opinions vs evidence

As much as I would like for this to be true, the evidence provided in this book does not support this theory. It is based on anecdotal evidence, and opinion. An example, is not conclusive evidence.

Not really what I was looking for

Not what I was looking for but it was interesting as it was closer

a bit long winded

doesn't provide much content besides reviews of their systems and stories. Not much in the way of describing procedures

Don't waste your time. Just garbage

Don't waste your time. Just garbage. No substance. Pseudo scientific quackery. I want my time back

Another valuable and self-empowering resource. Highly recommended.

Critical thinkers and medical professionals can go straight to chapter 9 and listen to the end to have several Dogma’s challenged—in a good way. Then circle back to the start of the book.

Who is this supposed to help?

Instruction manual? No
Research presentation? No
Any useful information? No
Waste of time? Yes
I’m getting my credit back.

Super disappointing

Eght hours 45 minutes of information very disappointing and really not very nice to listen to.
I did not learn anything !

Disappointed

I've been patiently listening chapter by chapter - hoping to get to some solid learning and instead I get childhood traumas - that are stomach charmingly unpleasant.

I'm giving up at Chapter 8 - I can't take any more.

It's like a book of horror stories - and not at all what I hoped to learn from the authors significant years of practice in this field.

a summary not exactly a guide

Grof never does fail to impress. If You want to know more about the subject and probably enough this is whre You should look

Recommended reading for breathwork facilitators

This is not a light read. I feel so much better equipped for my training as a breathwork facilitator now that I have read and listened to this detailed and intriguing book. I started out reading and making notes, but the content was so deep and new to me that I decided to go for alternating between reading and listening on audible for a more immersive experience. This way, I got the general idea from listening and searched for clarification by reading. I'm going straight back to page one for another read. I wish more medical experts knew of the benefits of this method for use with all kinds of psychosomatic illnesses. The world would be a better place if we could recognise symptoms of spiritual emergency as a healing and transformative experience.

Vital, transformational work laid bare

A lifetime of incredible work in transformational and consciousness therapy by the Grofs is laid out in an easy to digest, logical way. As someone who's about to step into the journey of becoming a breathwork practitioner this book is wildly illuminating, but it would be of use to anyone who has any kind of interest in psychology, consciousness, spirituality, history, society or humanity. The depths of our minds, our souls even, are expertly excavated by the Grofs who discovered, or rather rediscovered these ancient techniques. They literally have the power to change the world.

Muy interesante

Me he quedado muy entusiasmada con la técnica. El narrador lee muy preciso y bien pronunciado. Me gustaron la propuesta a questionar el mainstream y mundo académico, como si se ha aceptado que el apego comienza desde el parto por qué se presume que no lo podríamos recordar?. Recomienod leerlo!