Holotropic Breathing : Opening the Heart to the Sacred Mushroom

Breathing: it’s something we do every day, habitually and on auto-pilot, and one of the few vital bodily functions that can be controlled consciously, as well as, unconsciously. With many steps leading up to my mushroom journey, we also had a breath workshop. Even though I have had some experience with breathing practices and like my encounter with mushrooms, holotropic breathing was wildly different.

“Broken down, the word holotropic comes from the Greek holos, which means whole and trepein, which means to move toward. So, holotropic can be translated to mean moving towards wholeness.”

Vinyasa yoga has been the most beneficial for me so far, from the various techniques I have experience with. The premise being that you match your movement with breath so that you’re able move energy and release anything blocking the flow. Breath in: white light-hearted energy. Breath out: dark, dense energy. This too requires focus and practice, however, you will soon feel changes afoot and can expect endless benefits. Some of which led me to my work with psychedelics.

Breath can regulate your state of mind and even transcend the narrow boundaries of the body ego into a relaxed and spiritual high state. I was actually not surprised to find that this is the goal of holotropic breathwork. This discipline falls under the umbrella of transpersonal psychology and attempts to integrate the spiritual with conventional methods. What actually transpires is difficult to…