Online Breathwork
Capitalism is crushing us beneath the heel of few. The Global Wellness Institute estimates the wellness industry to be worth 4.5 trillion dollars. That’s trillion with a T. Most of us cannot wrap out heads around the idea of a billion dollars, let alone a trillion.
In order to make a billion dollars, one would have to make roughly $27,400 per day for (wait for it) 100 straight years. Most of us don’t make 27k a year. Every day you’d need to make that amount and not spend it on anything. Does this sound right to you?
That is so much God damn money. A billion dollars is a world changing amount of money. And we’re talking 1,000 billion…
To conceptualize this amount of money is difficult, and honestly I haven’t seen it done in a way that allows me to comprehend that amount of wealth. To uplift an industry profiting off of the systems of oppression which keep us fixated on individual health instead of dismantling the fucking systems which are the biggest contributor to poor health and short life is cruel. These systems are cruel, and as a result, we become cruel in order to survive.
Go out and prosper. Go make your millions. Be wealthy and abundant. We want that for you. We want that for most everyone. At the core of our values is a belief that a lack of funds shouldn’t hinder your healing.
What the fuck does this have to do with free online breathwork sessions?
We refuse to contribute to a system where healing is only available to those with resources. We refuse to be another cog in the machinery which uses us until there is nothing left, then discards and forgets about the husks they’ve left behind.
You’ll read all about scarcity mindset and clearing trauma, and leveling up, and all sorts of other bullshit hooks to get you to spend your money on “healing” sessions and retreats and trainings and detoxes and coaching sessions and every other perverse permutation of neolibral individualism wellness on other sites. Not here.
Do we want your money? If you’ve got it, yeah, it makes it possible to offer free breathwork for those in need, and yeah, we’ve all got bills to pay. Do we want more of the comfort and resource money provides? Yes, absolutely. But not at your expense. Not at the expense of being part of the dysfunction without offering real solution. Can you do individual sessions, and group training, and workshops, and retreats with us?
Hell yeah you can.
Just by reading these words you are resonating with the community we’ve built, or you’re not. Either is fine by us. We want fighters and social justice warriors. We want the angry, the disillusioned, and disenfranchised. We call you in. We want those who have been fighting this fight for much longer than us, and we want those who have just decided to pick up the pitchfork.
But what we don’t want, is for healing to be inaccessible to those who really need it thereby perpetuating the systems which prevent us from healing in the first place.
If you want us to out our celebrity clients for a review, or see how many articles have been written about us in B list blogs, and see our Instagram photos in a private jet, then we are not for you. We are for the tired , but not weak. We are for the angry, but not hateful. We are for those who have been battered down, but refused to give up. And we are for those who want to give up every fucking day because it’s so hard.
We want to remind you that your worth is inherent and you don’t need to be or do or make shit to be of value. We want to remind you that there are others like you struggling to find their way out of this mess. We want to remind you that you showing up is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and that it’s not enough to just heal ourselves. We must make a community for healing. We want to remind you that you don’t need to do this alone.
We were (incorrectly) taught that what you charge is a reflection of what you feel your value is. We were (incorrectly) taught that people have to pay in order to get something out of their healing. That to “show up” meant to be able to be financial capable of affording the healing. We unequivocally rebuke this teaching. You are welcome to pay what you feel it’s worth if you’d like. You’re welcome to make a donation if you see fit, but if you’re still reading and want to join our community, then mostly likely you’re the human we want in our community regardless of your ability to pay or afford our services.
How Our Monthly Online Breathwork Group Works
So, what is this free breathwork group? We’ll gather virtually monthly on the second Saturday unless otherwise specified, set some intentional space, then everyone has an opportunity to share what they’d like to focus on or move through in their lives. After that, it’s a hand selected playlist and breathwork!
Sounds simple, right? It is, in effect, but it’s all about the work we put into it. Breathwork has always fascinated me in the way we can find ourselves in it, wherever we may be at the time. If we’re working through grief, we find ourselves through it. Joy, we find ourselves through it. Anxiety, panic, trauma, we find ourselves through it. Breathwork is many things to many peoples, so it gets to be whatever you need at the moment too.
You want to connect more deeply to your own inherent wisdom? You want to grieve the childhood you didn’t get? You want to find that wounded child inside yourself to protect and love them? Breathwork can help you do all of these things, but you have to be willing to meet yourself there, and put in the work.
Sometimes that means pushing yourself hard through it. Sometimes it means a few deep breaths and rest for the remainder. Sometimes it’s giving it all you’ve got even though it isn’t much today. All effort is honored in breathwork, and it repays in kind. To us, that’s some real beauty. Everyone gets to go at their own pace, and the facilitator will help you find yourself there. After that? Well, you get to take the breath with you wherever you go.
We’ll meet you there. If you are in financial need and want to join us, use code RESISTANCE at checkout to get in for a discount.
Come. Join us. We’ve been waiting for you - Sign up here: https://www.breathworkforrecovery.com/trainings-and-workshops
More Information About Online Breathwork in General
Online Breathwork Sessions
Giving you access to a large variety of options with online breathwork classes.
Whilst living under the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy there is a hell of a lot of everyday stress. Every week, we are dragooned by traumatic event after traumatic event and expected to just soldier on as if everything is okay and continue to produce for our oligarch overlords.
Every week some asshole puts out an article about "combating burnout" as if capitalism isn't to blame. As if we are at fault for struggling to exist in a world that thrives on the exploitation of our labor and our psyches. We don't want to contribute to this bullshit narrative. We want to offer real solutions for healing, and the foundation of healing must be in acknowledging the cultural and systemic issues which oppress and enthrall us. We absolutely need to take responsibility for our own healing, but we must also take responsibility for dismantling these systems. Self-care and self healing is an act of resistance but has been so commodified it seems largely out of reach.
At the core, this is why a large portion of our work is done online. To make it more accessible, and to increase its impact. We have been leading The Recovery Circle online since its inception in 2017. It's a community of people seeking healing from trauma, addiction, eating disorders, et al, and those who have been impacted by loved ones struggling with these issues.
Simply spoken, breathwork is a general term used for any kind of regulated breathing practice. By taking active control of our breath, we get to manage the autonomic nervous system which allows us to reduce anxiety, enhance focus, improve depression, and a slew of other scientifically proven benefits.
Most of these practices stem from India and are pranayama techniques, or variations thereof. We absolutely want to give credit to the history of these practices, even though we may not know where they originated specifically. Breathwork is available both in-person and online and we’ve been doing virtual and phone sessions since 2010. Here are a few things people frequently ask about:
Why online breathwork?
How does breathwork work?
How can you prepare for online breathwork?
What can you expect from online breathwork?
Why online breathwork?
It's pretty clear how convenient online classes have become for the average human living such a busy and hectic life under capitalism. Breathwork techniques can be practiced both in-person and online, which has allowed it to become more and more popular. Online breathwork classes give you the opportunity to practice in the comfort of your own home, giving the ability to focus more intently on your healing with no distractions. Put the kids to bed, put on your jam jams and jump on a session to help ensure a good night sleep after a long and busy day.
Online breathwork provides the opportunity for healing to those who may not be able to physically make it due to health issues, ability, or lack of transportation. The other benefit of any online class is that it can be accessed from anywhere using a laptop, or right from your smart phone. Breathwork online gives you that opportunity, as well as quick and easy options to communicate with your breathwork instructor, through the chat, via messenger through the app or verbally during the session.
So, why online breathwork you ask? Well, because we are still amidst a pandemic number one, and secondly, who has the social skills to interact in real life anymore, anyway. Plus, it can be done whenever you have a spare few minutes and those 5 or 10 minutes that you have available in between laundry and dishes is the perfect time to practice breathwork techniques using online breathwork classes that are available for your specific needs. With breathwork online classes being an option, it sets balance in your day knocking off one more thing that wouldn't take long to do or to travel to.
How does breathwork work?
Breathwork also known as, 'intentional breath control' has been around for thousands of years in the QiGong and Pranayama lineages.
According to choosing therapy, "breathwork triggers behaviors in the brain and throughout the body to turn off the fight or flight response which is our physical and emotional reaction to any type of stress or problem." These breathing techniques allow you to focus deep within each and every breath so that your body can reach a more relaxed and comfortable state allowing it to fight off any stress or anxiety you may encounter.
And that above paragraph is exactly why we've started this blog because it's utter bullshit. We don't want to "turn off the fight or flight response" we want to regulate it. We want to experience it then come back down into a more regulated experience. That fight, flight, and freeze response has kept our species alive and thriving for a millennia. We want to be able to receive the somatic sensations that we are in danger, then have more autonomous control over how we respond, and breathwork helps us get back into a more regulated state more quickly, by balancing the sympathetic and parasympathetic response.
Stress (generally caused by living under the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy) is typically a key factor that contributes to both health and mental health issues. Practicing breathwork techniques can ultimately help lower your stress levels, giving your body the opportunity to improve your overall health. Many people use breathwork to help with anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, chronic pain, anger, grief, concentration, and any other stress related symptoms they may experience.
With breathwork, we connect more to our physical bodies allowing for a more grounded and focused existence. Breathwork techniques can also be practiced to help decrease chronic pain. When we use breathwork, it had been proven to reduce inflammation in the body, allowing chronic pain to decrease giving you a more comfortable everyday life.
Breathwork has become available worldwide with many of its techniques and instructors teaching online breathwork classes making it easier for those who are immobile, or for those who just plain old live a hectic and busy lifestyle. There is a breathwork session for everyone's specific need, that's one of the benefits of breathwork. Heading on the journey to find your very own personal healing through each and every breath.
Bottom line is, in order for breathwork to work you must focus on your breath. Weird, right? According to lee health, "when we breathe consciously, the mind slows down and hones into the present moment. That causes a sense of relief allowing us to go back to our day-to-day feeling clear and focused." Once you're grounded, you can allow your body to open up and work through emotional issues.
How can you prepare for online breathwork?
First, before you register for any online meditation courses, you would have to be sure to have a reliable laptop, a tablet, or a smart phone with good wireless internet services in order to be able to stream clearly and efficiently. Some classes allow you to call in with only telephone line. Second, you'd want to verify that the particular breathwork techniques you be using are right for you by verifying contraindications and by speaking with your doctor or mental health provider. The best part is, you can take the class and complete it wherever you feel is comfortable for you. Find a quiet time and a quiet area and set yourself up.
The number one way to prepare for an online breathwork session is to focus and connect with your inner intelligence. Remember, you hold all of the power. You will want to make sure you have a quiet, uninterrupted space. Many breathwork practices involve music, and you can ask your practitioners for their playlist before or after. Music is known all around the world for contributing to the healing process. In palladium private, "music is said to enhance intelligence and focus, improve mental health, and boost the immune system, as well as self-esteem and confidence." We enjoy putting System of a Down and Murder by Death on our personal playlists.
You will realize, once you begin a regular breathwork practice that you start to reach a calmer state of mind and become more present with your surroundings. You’ll also be able to work through traumatic events and sort through the emotional detritus those events left behind. Once you have found the right breathwork technique that works for you, the opportunity for healing is endless.
What can you expect from online breathwork?
What you can expect from online breathwork is a powerful practice available to you in the comfort and safety of your own space. You can find a whole lot of breathing technique exercises based on your specific needs, and you can certainly expect healing. Doing this work in the privacy of your own space allows for those of us who struggle to open up on a group level, to access this healing without shame or expectation.
Online breathwork is breathwork, it's just a more accessible option for those people who aren't able to make it in person or don’t want to do so. It is a more convenient option for those people who may be socially awkward or have social anxiety or for those who are neurodivergent. It is a more convenient option for those people who have depression and leaving the house is way too much work for them mentally, physically, and emotionally. Breathwork online is indeed for almost anyone.
Think about how quick and easy it is to wake up and with the click of a button you start your online breathwork session right before we are thrust into the capitalist machinations of daily life. Or how quick and easy it is to use the 5 minutes waiting for the laundry cycle to finish and use it to start a breathwork session. Talk about sticking it to our oligarch overlords. Fuck you, I can heal and get my laundry done. Folding it is another story. You can always expect online breathwork to help you where you need it most, and let's be honest it is finding the time to actually get it done.
Look, the reality is that the more disenfranchised we are, the less time we have. Poverty is expensive and time consuming and research points this out. Breathwork can be a simple and effective tool to fight against the exhaustion forced upon us. I certainly want to have enough energy to see the enemies of freedom turned to bone meal.
In conclusion
Breathwork is life changing. Giving yourself the opportunity to learn breathwork techniques and practice each session can majorly improve your mental, physical, and emotional health.
Breathwork is a general term used for any kind of regulated breathing practice. Most of these practices stem from India and are pranayama techniques, or variations thereof.
When it comes to your own breathing practice, you are ultimately the one who gets to make the rules. That said, it's important you learn from an established professional, not an Instagram influencer looking to make a quick buck off your pain. One of the benefits of breathwork is that you can find an appropriate practitioner both online and in person. Here is a list of practitioners we recommend:
Whether it’s online breathwork, or in-person breathwork, both options will give you guided breathwork as both can make breathwork techniques available to get you where you need to be mentally, physically, and emotionally. When breathwork online is considered, it often becomes a more accessible option to those who are physically, or mentally incapable of leaving their house, or for those who live such a hectic life that just one more trip outside is far too much on their schedule.
Once you have experienced breathwork you will often begin to look at life and the world around you differently and more clearly. Life can be a hell of a lot to manage sometimes, there's children, capitalism household chores, outdoor errands, capitalism maintaining a marriage, dealing with health issues, schooling, capitalism, etc. All the many things that branch off of life, and with each and every thing that comes with it there's this lovely thing called stress that comes around to fuck with it.
A personal breathwork practice gives you the opportunity to change your life and makes it much easier to navigate your life under capitalism. Finding the right breathwork facilitator that best fits your needs is ultimately the right way to start. Lots of things in life are not easy, but one of the best parts about how things can be accessed today is the convenience of the internet. The worst part in many respects, also. The opportunity to access such a powerful training program online and learn all of its techniques and practices is monumental. We must take advantage of this power and put all of our energy into our healing and enjoy each and every moment we get the opportunity to breathe so that these mother fuckers don't win. And remember, if you’re looking for breathwork training, check us out.
SOURCES:
choosing therapy, lee health, palladium private, rand research