Becoming a Breathwork Facilitator: Navigating Breathwork Certification and Training Programs

Navigating the breadth of professional training programs for breathwork accreditation can be a complex and challenging process, so we're here to help you find a bit of clarity in the chaos.

You may be gravitating towards training programs where you have established relationships with current practitioners who are offering breathwork accreditation, or you may be diving into the deep end with few connections and a limited scope of the breathwork teacher training "scene".

Regardless of where you find yourself on your journey, it's vital to consider a number of aspects and to ask yourself a few questions before deciding where and who to train with.

• Why do you want to become a breathwork facilitator? What motivates and inspires you to offer this powerful tool to others?

  If you have a sincere desire to support others in their healing journey, this will help you to understand the dedication and commitment required to hold space for others in a safe(r), compassionate and ethical way. If you're hoping to cash-in on a current "wellness" trend, we would encourage you to take a step back and re-evaluate your motivations.

• What is your financial capacity to commit to a training program? Will you need a scholarship to attend the program? Which programs offer scholarship options?

  The reality is that breathwork teacher training can be financially inaccessible for many - and - there is also a growing movement within the breathwork space to provide scholarship and sliding scale opportunities for folks who may be unable to meet the financial requirements.

• Will a weekend course offer sufficient enough training to begin holding space for others?

  The short answer is - no. Breathwork is a powerful tool to uncover emotional and physical states of being that might otherwise be difficult to access, and like many healing arts, it requires an on-going commitment to education, un-learning and supervision. If you want to become a skilled, knowledgeable, compassionate, trauma-focused facilitator, a weekend training just isn't going to cut it.

  Perhaps more importantly, short intensive programs that promote professional training and accreditation have a sordid history of churning out improperly trained people who may intentionally or unintentionally perpetuate harm in the spaces they hold - in addition, the space is particularly ripe with "grifters" seeking to take financial advantage of vulnerable would-be facilitators with expensive and unsafe training programs.

  We have seen the harm and damage this has caused, and continues to cause, and it is wise to be aware that not everyone has your best interests in mind.

  If you don't have the time to commit to a longer, more in-depth program, we would recommend that you take a beat and focus on your personal practice.

• Who is teaching the program? What experience and knowledge do they have? Is the space inclusive? Do they come from a disability justice - trauma-focused - anti-racist lens?

  These are very important questions to consider, and can often be found by thoroughly researching an organization's background, and interviewing your potential teachers before carefully considering the program.

  It is always in your best interest and the best interest of your potential clients, to seek out a program that is invested in not only addressing current and historical systems of oppression and how they show up in healing spaces, but also in offering and integrating these teachings from a place of lived experience, where the teachers are respected and fairly financially compensated for their wisdom and knowledge.

  Unfortunately, this is still considered a "tall order" in so-called wellness training spaces, but the tide is slowly shifting.

• Is the program online or in-person or a hybrid of both?

It is wise to consider the way in which you learn best, in addition to your capacity and ability to show up in certain spaces. Fortunately (and unfortunately...) the on-going pandemic has created many more opportunities to learn remotely and online, which allows for increased health safety, and accessibility.

Many programs will now offer a combination of both, with opportunities to be in practice together at some point during the training.

Given the reality of the current global health emergency, we recommended taking pause when considering joining a program that is exclusively in-person and may require travel.

Does the organization clearly state the pandemic safety measures being taken? Is there a contingency plan and insurance should things go awry? If not, ask, and if that hasn't been established, be wary.

Breathwork Accreditation and Ethical Conduct Considerations

The concept of accreditation within the breathwork space remains a contentious one. Your geographical region may dictate professional standards for facilitators, particularly if you will be working with at-risk populations in recovery treatment centres, but for the most part, it's a bit of an unfortunate free-for-all that has been frequently called into question.

Without diving too deeply into the politics of breathwork legitimacy and accreditation, it is generally recommended to consult with facilitators who are transparent about who they are, how they practice, and what their lineage of knowledge and education is.

While the organizations that currently exist to "regulate" and "certify" certain breathwork schools holds a particular weight, it is important to recognize that the systems in place to determine a school's merit are not infallible.

It is vital that you take the task of researching breathwork teacher training courses with scrutiny, instinct and support.

Training and Education

Based on the information we've provided above, these are schools that we can recommend that you consider if you're seeking to become a professional breathwork facilitator and/or coach. It's still important to set up your enquiry call and make a list of questions to consider (ie: the one's above plus any of your own).

Breath Liberation Society's 400 Hour Breathwork Facilitator Training

Run by Breathwork Meditation, Pilates, and GYROTONIC® Instructor and founder of Breath Liberation Society, Chauna Bryant, this 400 hour training course is open and transparent about their lineage of practice, who their teachers are and the communities they identify with, and their values of anti-racism, inclusivity, diversity and trauma informed breathwork. They currently offer an online model and are moving into a hybrid model with in-person weekend cohorts. This training is offered annually.

The program and teachers will cover a wide range of educational points including practitioner ethics, radical acceptance, ancestral work, working with anger, breathwork and trauma, ethics of breathwork, breathwork for recovery, and sound.

This program is also transparent about the fact they while they are not yet certified as a breathwork school with the Global Breathwork Alliance, they expect to be by the end of 2024. Once certified, this will be the first and only program currently owned and operated by a Black woman, Chauna Bryant.

Scholarships are offered, as are sliding scale options and payment plans.

The Breathe Network

While not exclusively "breathwork training", this organization exists to "support survivors of sexual trauma with sliding-scale, trauma-informed, holistic healing practitioners and programs across the United States and Canada." They also "train healthcare, healing and advocacy professionals on the nuanced impacts of sexual violence and how to cultivate best practices in trauma-informed care."

We've included this program as we believe it is vital to consider the journey of breathwork education to be comprehensive and on-going. Sexual trauma is pervasive, and it is very likely that you will encounter clients who are survivors. It is a delicate and challenging space to hold, and to face, so receiving continuing education in this area is important to consider.

They offer both professional training in healing sexual trauma, and holistic training and workshops in holding space for survivors, through somatic practices and embodiment. Scholarships are available.

Breathwork For Recovery 800-1000 Hour Trauma-Focused Somatic Breathwork Certification (BCC)

Breathwork for Recovery® is the first and only national organization comprised of certified mental health breathwork professionals with special training in trauma and recovery from substance use disorder, chemical dependency, eating disorders, compulsive behaviors, and other mental health issues.

BFR is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs and LCSWs.

This program centers trauma focused practice, through a decolonial lens and offer comprehensive training in counseling skills, ethics and consent, biases and blocks, physiology and physicality, history and lineage, becoming trauma informed/focused, and anti-racism, decolonization, equity, and LGBTQ+ support.

BFR is open and transparent about their teachers, program details, and the impact of colonization on all aspects of individual and collective healing and survival.

Scholarships and payment plans are offered.