TRAUMA FOCUSED BREATHWORK TRAINING & FACILITATOR CERTIFICATION

FOR HEALERS, PRACTITIONERS, AND CLINICIANS

Let’s get certified!

Breathwork for Recovery offers a one-of-a-kind 800-hour (with a 1000-hour option) Somatic Breathwork Certification (BCC) that is a hybrid of online coursework and in-person hands-on facilitation, to be completed in either 2 or 4 years with a time commitment of around 33 hours of work per month. All work until graduation is to be conducted virtually and this breathwork teacher training is open to most anyone desiring to increase their knowledge base with breathwork, not just clinicians, social workers, or therapists.

The breath practice we teach is a two-part breath done through the mouth, not dissimilar to CCB. Its origins are currently unknown, but we are working to uncover its roots. We studied for 12 years under David Elliott* until we left for ethical reasons, and no real lineage of this work was ever taught. It most likely is a modified Kriya technique like rebirthing, but we are on the journey to discover its genesis so we can give appropriate credit to this practice.

BfR’s BCC covers topics that no other breathwork facilitator training programs touch — including anti-racism and intersectionality, spiritual bypass, ethics of care, and how to build an equitable breathwork practice. It is one of the most thorough programs available.

Over the course of our accredited breathwork training journey, attendees will learn essential information about breathwork technique, trauma, counseling and communication skills, ethical practice, implicit bias, and group and couples work using an intersectional lens. Attendees will also develop a deeper understanding of their own healing — a common result of taking training of this kind. This physical, mental, and emotional journey using conscious connected breathwork and slow breathing will be a mind-body exploration in personal growth and healing through the power of breathing techniques. Self-awareness is great, but with innate wisdom and conscious breathing, mental clarity and healing follow.

Some folks try breathwork practices and say "it changed my life." We'll give you the training and ability for your clients to say "it changed my life too." Come and see how different our certified breathwork facilitator training course and ethical practices are.

Note that we say trauma focused instead of trauma-informed because, at its core, breathwork is a trauma remediation technique, so calling it trauma-informed is more of a marketing ploy for SEO.

Remember: you can’t “clear,” “release,” “let go of,” or “cure” trauma with breathwork. You can integrate it, heal it, reframe it, reorganize it, and reduce its impact -- but “clearing” it is not a thing. Anyone who knows the bare minimum about trauma understands this. We are not sure when this languaging began, but it isn’t supported by any trauma practitioner we know. Be skeptical about ANY instructor who says these breathing practices or their breathwork classes will "fix" you. You are not broken, or stupid.

Each year of the Breathwork Clinician Certification (BCC) consists of:

• (11) 7 hours monthly training module (77 hours)

• (12) 1-hour monthly training test (12 hours)

• (1) 8-hour presentation days (8 hours)

• (1) 4-hour prep for presentation (4 hours)

• (50) 1-hour weekly supervision (50 hours)

• (50) 1-hour weekly homework assignments (50 hours)

• (12) 2-hour monthly trainer led bw (24 hours)

• (12) 2-hour monthly peer led bw (24 hours)

• (50) 1-hour weekly led bw session (50 hours)

• (50) 1-hour weekly received bw session (50 hours)

• (50) .25-hour weekly oral or written session notes led/receiving (12.5 hours)

• (12) 1.5-hour monthly peer to peer coaching (18 hours)

• (15) 1-hour sessions with outside clients (15 hours)

• (15) 30-minute oral or written session notes upon administering a session to clients (7.5 hours)

  Additionally, we have an optional +200 hours of adjunctive coursework to bring out the very best in our Clinical Breathwork Practitioners:

• 1 optional in-person hands-on clinic culminating in a graduation ceremony in the second year (20 hours) (West Coast, location TBD)

• (11 books) Specialized reading list and writing assignments (90 hours)

The first difference you’ll notice is that we provide over double the amount of training hours that are recommended by the Global Professional Breathwork Alliance as their minimum.

In our opinion and experience, a breathwork course or instructor attempting to certify you through a weekend training course is rushing this teaching. No one can teach breathwork or pranayama practices or any healing modality quickly, not one instructor. This IS personal. These courses ARE healing the harms of communities past and present.

Become a breathwork facilitator certified in teaching breathwork through our teacher training program and incorporate breathwork into your life and the lives of others. Bring healing into your own different breathwork technique by giving it the support, tender love, and care that this teaching deserves.

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.

Breathwork for Recovery is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs and LCSWs. Breathwork for Recovery maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. The 800-hour Breathwork Clinician Certification qualifies for 384 CE hours. This can be broken up to eight hours per training, two or per group facilitation, and one per supervision session.

One full and four partial scholarships are available per cohort to Black, Indigenous, Asian American Pacific Islander, and People of Color, with priority given to those who are queer or transgender. Additionally, any person of Indian descent who would like to attend will be allowed to attend at a “pay what you feel the course is worth” rate. To receive the scholarship, please fill out the general application for 2025. If the general application is accepted, you will be encouraged to schedule an interview with next steps.

2025 Cohort:

Applications Open Officially Oct 1, 2024

Deadline for Scholarship Applications: January 31 2024

Deadline for Applications: March 15, 2025
Opening Ceremony: Sunday, March 23, 2025 9 a.m.-noon PT
Day 1 (Online module 1 start date): Sunday, April 13, 2025 9 a.m.-3 p.m. PT
All following online modules take place on the 2nd Sunday of each month from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. PT (unless otherwise specified)

Monthly 2-hour Trainer led Breathwork occurs every 1st Saturday of the month
Monthly 2-hour Student led Breathwork occurs every 4th Sunday of the month                          

Monthly 1.5-hour monthly peer to peer coaching occurs every 2nd Monday following the training module

Weekly 1-hour supervision occurs every Tuesday evening from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm PT       

Students are expected to lead roughly 1 session per week with other cohort members

Students are expected to receive roughly 1 session per week with other cohort members

Cost:

Standard rate: $9,500 per person ($1,000 nonrefundable deposit due if accepted*)
Scholarship rate $4,750 per person ($500 refundable deposit due if accepted) Rate for those of Indian descent: (minimum $4,000 with a $500 refundable deposit due if accepted)
*Deposits are non-refundable unless stated otherwise.

Did we mention our school is online and students will have access to videos for the courses until graduation?

We fully understand that your daily life varies depending on where you are at around the world, so accessibility is important to us and why we created an online program. Is accessibility in healing spaces a priority? We think so.

Coursework will take place online via Zoom (no account required). Students will need access to a reliable internet connection with video chat capability for each online breathwork module. Links and materials will be provided via email at least 7 days prior to Training Day 1. The final program clinic will take place in person at a TBD location on the West Coast of the United States.

This is a comprehensive training program, but with any course of study, there is no way to “complete” an education in breathwork facilitation. This will not be the first or final breathwork training you will need to take to be an effective provider of these breathwork practices. Recommendations for continued education will be provided throughout and upon completion of this online breathwork training program.

At Breathwork for Recovery®, we are forever curious about how breathwork can help clients find integration for their trauma, decrease symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders, and ultimately increase their ability to connect to self and others. These online courses are part of our commitment to conscious breathing and living breathwork practices.

Visit our FAQs to learn more about this program, including scholarship guidelines, no-interest payment plans, and CE hours.

Not only are we breathwork practitioners, we are also clinicians, all with clinical training and many with certification or licensure outside of just breathwork. We believe in the value of comprehensive training led by vetted professionals and supported by hands-on facilitation and supervision. We believe our breathwork teacher training is some of the best in the world, and we practice the breathwork techniques and breathwork ethics we teach.

There is no substitute for a quality breathwork facilitator. We are working with people’s trauma. We are working with people’s spirit, too. Neither one should be taken lightly, and the kinds of skills required to do so can not be provided and honed in a weekend workshop. Knowledge IS power and gaining knowledge in these breathwork sessions and teacher training is the body of this pranayama training course.

Our online breathwork training, including breath coach training, and breathwork techniques help create and nurture breathwork facilitators and professionals who stand out in their field, and our curriculum is setting a national standard for breathwork certifications and training.

*In the almost 12 years I spent studying under David Elliott as one of his main teachers, I’ve grown both spiritually and professionally and will always be grateful for the opportunities that working closely with him has afforded me. In Fall 2021, I made the heart-wrenching and difficult decision to leave David's breathwork community, as I could no longer ethically be associated with him or his teachers due to the legacy of harm outlined here by Breathwork for the People.

I was not involved in the letter-writing nor am I affiliated with Breathwork for the People, but what they did was an important step in healing the breathwork community and took a tremendous amount of courage. I remained in David's breathwork community for a year and a half hoping to be a part of the important changes urged by Breathwork for the People and several other community members throughout the years, and to make it a better program and safer, more affirming space for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color as well as folks from the LGBTQIA+ community. The issues outlined in the letter were not remedied, however, and the changes were not made. So I left the community in order to build one that represents the values and justice focus that I and so many others hold true.

BfR’s BCC covers a range of core competencies, including: