So there I am, curled up in the fetal position in the middle of a garden in a co-living space in sunny Cape Town, having hyperventilated and held my breath several times in a controlled manner. The oxygen flows through my body with a tingling sensation. I ask myself "Is this right now, does it have to be like this?".
No, this was not the birth of my passion for Breathwork, but it was the first Breathwork workshop I took part in. It was more about "performance breathing", i.e. preparing the body for extraordinary efforts such as ice swimming or extreme endurance sports... the Wim Hof method. Out of curiosity, I simply took part.
A week later, I'm at a retreat festival, appropriately called Retreat Yourself, where the whole range of yoga, wellness, spa, spirituality, workshops and talks are offered over five days. All rounded off with healthy food, camping villages and evening celebrations.
And while I'm still getting my bearings on arrival and exploring the first event location, I promptly bump into my Breathwork workshop facilitator from last week... but this time he's holding space during a breathing journey. Confusing, didn't the extremely well-built surfer dude teach completely different techniques for all performance-oriented people last week? Now he's suddenly standing in front of a group of around 30 mindful and self-effective yogis, very soft and calm, leading them on a deep, long and relaxed breathing journey with music... without any major techniques. About 60 minutes later, I am deeply relaxed and happy, with tears in my eyes that I can't explain. What was that?
Ok, so I'll have to take a closer look at that and luckily there are all kinds of different forms of breathwork on offer at the festival. Conscious Connected Breathwork, Psychedelic Breath, Rebirthing Breathwork, Pranayama techniques, Wim Hof or simply Conscious Breathwork.
And boom, there it happened in a sound journey with Conscious Breathwork. After a meditative introduction, I breathed myself into a trance and with such dreamlike music, I dove deep into my subconscious. I see colors and shapes that don't make much sense, but don't have to. Emotional blockages dissolve, problems clear up by on their own. The feeling of clarity, happiness and euphoria leads to a vision:
And that's where I see myself teaching Breathwork in Berlin. The desire to learn Conscious Breathwork and to teach it to everyone around me back in Berlin. In my mind's eye, I see a beautiful summer's day where I create a safe, protected space in the park for all people who want to meet themselves and develop further. Music sets that I have curated and fine-tuned myself and that take other people on the most fantastic dream journeys. It feels so real and brilliant, the seed has been planted.
A week later, I have exchanged ideas with various Breathwork facilitators, clarified many questions and am eagerly looking for a Breathwork training in Berlin. The moment of vision was no longer there, but this true feeling was as present as breathing. Back in Berlin, I immediately started my first Breathwork Facilitator training. How little did I know which amazing realms I was about to discover...
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