“For me, breathwork was an unforgettable, unbelievable experience. I got to genuinely look at the issues I've had with my parents, particularly my mom, and things became so much clearer, and it was a cleansing experience to be able to look at my demons without pain. And it felt so freeing afterwards to be able to allow myself to feel the feelings that I've tried not to feel for so long, because it's so painful. I will do it again - I really love the experience of being with people who have the same interest of facing themselves and not being afraid. I loved it.”

“I've done the breathwork 4 times, and each time I was totally amazed at what happened. It seems to me that the mind is truly huge, and most of the time I experience just the tip of the iceberg. Holotropic breathing pushes me off into the water, and not only do I not drown, but I learn that the water itself is me. As I do the breathwork repeatedly, I am learning how to be comfortable in the water rather than crouching on the tip of the iceberg and shivering. I think the breathwork is powerfully helpful in my struggle to become who I am.”

“I was very close to my brother growing up, but for the last ten years he has closed me out of his life, and I despaired of ever reconciling with him. During the breathing I had an image of him being in a lot of pain and needing contact. I called him the next week, and in the midst of an unrelated conversation, he referred to the issue that had been bothering him all this time, and we were finally able to resolve it. I'm also experiencing a significant shift in how I'm relating to my mother.”

“I feel so much stronger physically, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually as a result of having attended Holotropic Breathwork Seminars for the last two years. I've learned, through the breath, how to access, trust and utilize an inherent wisdom I was not aware of before. I was always searching for a way to transcend the pain of having to live with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Depression. Instead, I found a way to work with it. I've learned that there is always a little darkness in the light and a little light in the darkness and, most importantly, I'm finally o.k. with that. Holotropic Breathwork Seminars have been, for me, the safest environment to allow both the dark and light aspects of myself full expression without the fear of punishment or judgment. I believe the gradual integration of these two aspects of myself are leading me towards true wholeness.”

“The choice feels as old as being born. I don't have to prove I was right or be afraid of making a mistake. <> As long as I choose to live my life from my heart and have faith and trust in God, everything will be OK. It is when I try to control things that are really in His hands that I get into trouble. <> I have to let go of trying to understand my mother not wanting me. I don't have to make up to anyone or owe anyone for being here because God says I have a right to be here and that's all that matters! <> Let go of the need for being picked, or chosen or special. As long as God says I have a right to be here, I can give up the need to be special. Also, I can let go of the better and worse than thing. I don't need to do that anymore to justify my existence. (I picked men with low self-esteem who I saw as being better than me; I figured I could build them up so they would need me to feel good about themselves.) <> I don't want God to think that I am special. I want Him to love everyone the same. We are all the same. No one is better or worse than anyone else. <> I don't have to be afraid to love again. I saw the tremendous fear of loving again because I felt I was wrong for choosing a man over my mom. I don't have to risk being totally abandoned if I love and let myself be loved, because God is always with me. <> I have to let go of playing the victim and feeling sorry for myself. Just like I don't owe anyone for my existence, no one owes anything to me. Everyone has a right to live their own life. <> If I trust in God, everything is OK. I don't need to know the reason for everything; I just need to trust God. <> There is exactly the right amount of time in life that I need. No more and no less.”

 “I have done breathwork countless times and every time the experience is different. My childhood experience was one of horror and terror. It was Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA). All the fear I internalized as a child followed me into adulthood. By the time I did my first breathwork I had several years of counseling. Breathwork has hit on a deeper level, allowing me to let go of so many fears. Things are so connected in the psyche. During the last workshop, I had the realization that I cut myself off from love because I could not trust. It all had to do with my past. I saw that particularly the left side of my body was affected. The left side is the receptive side of the body. I am blind in my left eye. Connected to the false belief "Trust is not safe" was the false belief "If I do trust and allow love it is limited in nature." At the same time the realization happened during the workshop, I saw who I really am – a beautiful child of the Great Spirit – and that there is no limitation. The experience was so beautiful; I saw that everything goes on without ending! I plan to do breathwork every chance I get. It has made such a difference in my life.”

“My sessions were basically about how I would be able to save my relationship. I did not realize yet that I needed to save myself, not my relationship. After deciding that the relationship would end, I did not feel that it was over yet. I could not face the truth yet. I could not let go. The universe was about to place another wonderful gift in my path. Express mail via my therapist, Holotropic Breathwork was now my next journey. I thought HUH? Holo what? Ok, I will be there. I started to let go. I decided to trust the universe and my therapist completely on this one. I would like to share with you now what my experience at the Breathwork workshop was like. To share this is to join with everyone else that is holding back and not letting go. This is my way of connecting myself with everyone else in the universe and hoping that this gift will one day be placed on your path too. My first thought while driving to the workshop was, what the hell am I getting myself into. Do I really want to know what is causing me so much pain in my life? Am I just going to make things worse if I open up a new can of worms? Maybe it's not too late to turn around and go home. I hoped that I would get lost and not make it there in time. I always get lost, I am lousy with directions, but the universe had different plans for me. I got there just in time, not one wrong turn, damn it. I signed in and met another wonderful gift named Vicki. I sat through the lecture and was excited yet scared and wondered if it was still too late to come up with an excuse to go home. I partnered up, and went on my new journey. I started my breathing and started to feel the transition. I would not let go. The next thing I knew, Vicky told me to close my eyes and to breathe. Vicky lay down on the floor next to me held my hand and took breaths along with me. It was helpful to me to have a spiritual helping hand to get started. Thank you Vicky. The music was incredible. There she was -- my healer, a beautiful African goddess. She was tall, slender and dark, and graceful and dancing up a storm as we all sat around a fire. I felt a connection to her like I only felt with my companion. The connection was non-sexual. It was like running into an old friend. She was so mystical; I could not get over how at peace I felt in her presence. She told me that I could heal myself and that everything would be OK. She caressed my face and disappeared. I noticed then that I felt an energy running through my body like I never felt before in my life. I saw the energy coming out of my hands and fingertips. I rubbed my hands together and blew air into the palms of my hands. I saw the energy in my breath. I began to touch my body all over calmly. I had begun to heal myself and it felt better than any medication I had ever taken. I felt so at peace that I started to come down from that experience. I thought that it was over. I started to breath again. I wanted to stay where I was. Suddenly, I started to experience something that happened to me when I was two and a half years old. I knew that I had abandonment issues that came up in the past and it was this same experience again. However, this time it was different. I was not thinking about it. I was there reliving it all over again. I saw my brothers and sisters that were left behind when my mother came to the United States. I saw my grandmother and my mother walking away from us. I was crying for my loss. I was crying for my loneliness. I noticed for the first time about this experience the one thing I had never noticed before -- my mother was crying too. I felt so much compassion for her hurt. I realized that she did not want to leave us there. She was suffering too. I was not a bad boy. I was not ugly or unwanted. My mother wanted me, she had to make tough choices, and for whatever reasons she had to leave some of us behind. I now remember her telling us that she had to bring the sickly ones with her first because they needed tending. I was a good boy and I was healthy and strong. Unfortunately I did not know this as a two year old. Now I know my healing has started. I am feeling more complete than I ever felt in my life, alone or with a companion. I am letting go. It feels wonderful to want to be with myself, alone or with company. Now I value everyone and everything in my life, especially myself. After I cried for my mother I started crying for myself again. I went from one experience to another. What a roller coaster ride. I was now very sad and upset. Why? Why me? Why did they do this to me? Why did they choose to hurt me? I sobbed like I never did before. I was now starting to heal from the sexual abuse I experienced as a child. The shame, guilt, hurt held me back. I was always afraid to hold my head up. I felt like I was hiding. I could not be found out, or all the hard work and the image that I had worked so hard to accomplish would be gone. While in my breathwork I dealt with it all. The sex abuse was a pattern that was running like clockwork through my large family. My shame was not just from feeling like I was responsible for what was done to me. My shame was also for my part in keeping the pattern of abuse running its course through our family. I cried and cried; then I stopped crying. I just lay there and stared at the ceiling. I started to go into the numb state of mind that I would go into when thinking about the sex abuse. Except this time, it all made sense to me. Why did I do what I did? Why did my brothers and sister do to me what they did? It's that damn pattern we kept on repeating. It's all we knew. It was wrong, but it's all we knew. We hurt each other. I realized that I had to forgive my brothers and sister for what happened between us. If I could not forgive them then I could not forgive myself. I can now forgive myself. Someday, I will make peace with my younger brother. When the time is right the universe will put the task in our paths. What a breakthrough this was. We had discussed prior to the breathwork that if it were awkward to have physical contact with your therapist this would be considered, and we agreed to avoid the contact if it was not OK with me. I had agreed that it would be OK. Now as I lay there I realized that Ted was lying next to me. I felt startled and awkward. I noticed that the awkwardness came from my fear of feeling a sexual attraction to him. I realized at the moment that Ted was my therapist and that the sexual awkwardness was my own and that I would have to deal with it and respect the both of us. Once I got past this I looked at him and saw him as the healer that he is. I remembered him lying next to everyone else at one point or another to comfort and help heal everyone there. The experience that I had with Ted at that moment was one of great importance. I realized that from being a sex abuse victim I kept myself at a distance from so many people, because I always approached many people with feelings and thoughts of sexual overtones. These are my issues. I learned that as sexual as humans are, not everyone that comes into my life has to be or wants to be sexual with me. I now feel that I can analyze every situation as it comes along. I can begin to approach people in different situations and enjoy their company for who and whatever reason they are there for, and to respect them and myself. The closing gathering in the circle at the end was a bit overwhelming for me. I was feeling kind of ashamed and guilty for having shared so much with my therapist. I felt tired and could not wait to get out of there as soon as possible. I was not going to share at the end. I chose to stay silent. The person sitting next to me asked me if I had spoken yet. I said no and shared some things but not others. I felt a little better, yet very tired. When we were done I spoke to the young lady that asked me if I had spoken yet. I thanked her for waking me up. I told her that I appreciated the wake up call. She told me that I was welcome. I know I have so much more to work on; my healing has just begun. I feel very excited about the new way that I have found to work on my healing process. My journey continues and so will the process of healing and letting go. I accept all that the universe has installed for me.”

“Love is my only currency. AMEN! One hundred miles I have driven this morning to breathe – to breathe hard and fast – to breathe the first breath – the first breath. The original breath. This morning I am looking for something I know I will find. I need to find a part of myself – which part I don't know. One hundred miles and more – one hundred thousand miles and thirty-eight years and today I will – this I know – find what I am looking for. And now the breathing is done. I sat second and breathed first. The mandalas are almost complete and the late-day sun is reaching its long arm down the table. There is ease and peace as though we have all been through some ordeal or event. I got what I came for. I looked into God's eye. It was a yellow-orange eye and yet a mirror as well. I asked the question and heard in my own voice that I knew the answer already. God was curt (Kurt) with me. And instant. He also showed me a key – or perhaps showed me the key. I have no doubt the key is mine. An image not to lock something up but to release something. To unlock God's love. The truth …. The truth: that to maintain the illusion of separation takes more energy than to accept that we are all one – than to live the unity.”

“I was never heard, given attention to during my childhood. As an adult I attach this need to my current relationships, especially my past boyfriend. He is unable to give me what I need just like my mother. While attending a breathwork workshop in December 2005 ( Morristown ) I took one of his phone calls right before breathing. We were discussing why it was so hard for him to keep his promises and connect emotionally in the relationship. One of his replies stayed with me -- he said he didn't know how. During my breathing I saw myself over a crib looking at a baby; the baby turned out to be me, while the adult changed into my mother. I felt her feelings, how she felt uncertain about how to care for me. I also felt her want. She really wanted to care for me but didn't know how. After this session I saw and felt differently about my ex-boyfriend. I didn't take his actions so personally. Breathwork helped me to clarify that it wasn't about me but about him. In turn, my self-esteem and self-worth increased a bit which helps me to have a clear mind in making decisions about this relationship. In another recent breathwork session I experienced tremendous pain in my chest/heart area. I felt like I couldn't breathe, like I was choking, but in reality I couldn't push past the pain. It was too much to bear to deal with in my current life. I continued breathing, feeling the strong emotions, which then broke off to sadness and tears. I was crying for the attention I wanted, the hugs and touch I yearned for but never received, for never being heard. This also brought up thoughts about my four year old and how guilty I feel when I am not able to give all of the attention she demands. This was a very strong pain/feeling. After this release, I started to continue to breathe to continue in my journey, but the person next to me was screaming and releasing her pain, which triggered me. I became upset that I couldn't get what I wanted and was being overshadowed by her screaming, just like my childhood. Everyone else in my family was somehow heard but not me. My needs were never recognized. I decided to block her out by putting my fingers in my ears and throwing a tantrum with my feet. After a while I began to laugh; somehow it felt good to block her out and ignore her. I didn't have to pay attention to her and instead focused on my needs. That felt good. At the end of the breathwork I was able to see how my childhood affects my perception as a mother. I condemn myself for not meeting all of my daughter's requests for attention, and don't honor the good things I do. I did receive a very good important feedback from one of the other attendees. She suggested I ask myself, if I had myself as a mother would I like me as a mother. I couldn't say no since I do feel I do my best as a mother.”

“I want to document my experience at your Focus Breathwork workshop. I feel it was an amazing experience of great value to me on multiple levels. From the beginning, I put substantial effort into the circular breathing… I gave voice to my exhales, which became simple sounds rather than words... Though I do not believe I had a good sense of time, I would say that within 15 minutes, I was experiencing tetany of the hands… and then of both arms, eventually followed by a general tingling lack of touch sensation throughout the body surface. In your introduction, you had asked us to find within us anything that might inhibit our focus on breathing. I found some feelings of anger that were distracting me, but then used the thoughts around them to actually focus myself. Once the tetany took hold, each of those thoughts repeated in my head brought an experience of anger and sadness with the energy moving from my thoracic region, mainly third and second chakras, out of my body with my voice. I felt these as gentle, pleasant catharses, without the rigor and force of the more abrupt emotional purgings to which I had become accustomed in other therapies. I found my brain functioning primarily as an observer, with its only real task in the exercise to respond when my body felt a need for more breath (and in one instance, water)… The observer brain also was quite aware of the gradual cleansing of anger and sadness from my thorax. In fact, a few times it assessed that the thoracic region was quite clear, but since the purging was such a pleasant experience, decided to ask my body to go back with more breath, to see if any negative stuff remained. After a time, it was convinced that nothing remained, and completely let my body do whatever it wanted, much in the spirit of my recent work to recognize that my body had sufficient intelligence to make its own decisions in what it needed to heal and how to get it. To my surprise, my legs started moving. They remained flat upon the mat, but first one hip pulled its leg up into the body with the other hip further extending its leg, then the two hips reversed themselves. The result was an experience of "pumping." In fact, the observer brain sensed that more anger and pain were being pumped up from my lower body. Indeed, my voice was flowing with new and unexpected emotion. This continued until once again I felt well cleansed of anger and sadness. At this point, I sensed a change in the music was signaling the beginning of a gradual end of the exercise. I relaxed my breathing and became aware of a filling sense of beauty – in my body, in the purging process, in my demeanor. All was beautiful. And peaceful. I felt that my eyes were open, though the eye-mask was effective in keeping out any noticeable light. I was looking at the ceiling, which I created to be almost ornately detailed with a rich and pleasant pattern. In its center appeared a very large circular, bright purple creation that had nearly the look and texture of crepe paper, much like some huge flower. After a moment, at its center slowly appeared a face. It was a caricature representation, but I was not aware of comedy or negative distortion. In fact, it was quite beautiful. There were a few words, and much feeling exchanged. I recall soothing words such as, "It's okay." There was an overriding feeling of harmony and joy. I slowly came out of this altered state with a smile on my face and in my mind. My world was truly beautiful. After a break, I assumed my new role as sitter. After a short while a thought ran through my head, and I removed my socks and began to feel my feet with my fingertips. I explored a neuropathy that had taken over my feet about three months before – a lack of sensation along the distal edges of both feet, which extended from the fifth digit through the heel and up my leg, fading out near the calf muscle. I had seen a neurologist who, after an EMG and NCV, had declared the involved nerves completely healthy. With this and the blood work and other tests performed by my primary physician, there was simply no apparent (western medical) reason for the neuropathy. Another practitioner's assessment, and my own after reading John Sarno's "The Mind-Body Prescription" to which he referred me, was a psychogenic response to unacceptable, irresolvable tension. I was sure I knew what that tension was, and it had been associated with the anger feelings on which I had been focusing. As I now felt my feet, my subjective evaluation was that in my left foot, the more affected of the two, the neuropathy had been reduced by about 50%. In my right foot, the less affected, the neuropathy was about 80% gone. I was not really shocked, somehow, but I was certainly elated. This was a huge event! A significant physical disability had just been substantially reversed in 80 minutes! It would be reasonably easy to believe that the blood CO2 levels, lowered by the breathing, allowed a re-oxygenation of the nerve endings, re-establishing sensation. However, subjectively I believe there were two other key elements involved. First is the attainment of a spiritual belief that everything truly was "okay," as the face in my vision told me. Second is the belief that the body has sufficient intelligence to heal itself, and can do so when given the latitude and when the cause of the dis-ease is psychogenic. My feeling is that no reversal of the neuropathy would have occurred without those two firm beliefs. After several months, the current status remains 100% recovery for both feet. That first workshop and the three since have been wonderful, Ted. I have learned a great deal, and clearly experienced therapeutic gains of immense value. I look forward to the continued use of Breathwork on my life path. It really works! THANK YOU!!”

 “The weekend at Yogaville was amazing. I will never forget it! Thank you for all you do, and I hope we will cross paths again in the future. I can honestly say it was life changing. You are both gifted in what you do, and I will be forever grateful.”

 “My first experience was pretty limited — I saw a lot of yellow, remembered a few scenes from my childhood, but nothing traumatic like I was expecting. No traumas came over me. After I finished I thought, well, I didn't get that much out of this, but it was ok for my first time. Then, to my great surprise, for the following 4 weeks or so, I had so many memories resurface. My dreams were extremely vivid and colorful. I needed a LOT of sleep and rest just to stay grounded. A lot of energy moved out and through me and I had to take care of myself very intently so it could be transmuted. I can say after this whole process I feel much clearer about my direction in life, and I feel lighter and freer. I must have released things I wasn't aware of I was carrying, and I'm not aware what they were, it all happened in its own time and wisdom and at its own rate. All I know is I feel much lighter. Also my breathing is much easier now, and deeper. Thank you so much.”

“I don't know what happened yesterday, but today I have been energetically happy, throwing out good "vibes" to all I meet, and I think it was because of the amazing experience of HB. Thank you, thank you. If we can all be happier, more peaceful, and connect (as you said), the world will be a better place, and if it's not, at least we will be."