What is normal during a Breathwork session?
After working with clients over the weekend, I found myself reflecting on the wide range of ways people experience Breathwork.
There’s no right or wrong way by the way.
I’ve been using Conscious Connected Breathwork for over 13 years now, both as a participant and a practitioner. And in that time, I’ve seen the full spectrum of human experience. Every session is different, and every experience is valid.
Here’s just a sample of what people can feel or experience during a session:
Crying - from watery eyes to deep, grief-filled sobs (all of which is welcome)
Complete and utter bliss as you almost float on the mat beneath you.
Falling asleep (sometimes snoring!)
Changes in body temperature. Hot and sweaty or cold and shivery (sometimes both in the same session)
Dreamlike visions or epic inner journeys
Bursts of colour or flashes of light
Making strange and beautiful sounds like humming, singing, vocalising
A sense of connection to loved ones who’ve died
A wide range of emotional expression, such as anger, rage, despair, grief, hope, gratitude, love and peace
Laughter, from giggles to full-blown hysterics
Painful memories and past trauma (that can be held with love, compassion and care, so you can begin to integrate and heal at your own pace)
Shaking, especially in the legs or hands
Crystal clear messages or ‘downloads’ about the things you feel unclear or uncertain about
Old emotions surfacing as physical sensations or tension
Deep peace and silence
Tingling, buzzing, or cramping in the hands (tetany)
A racing mind or inner resistance
Overthinking - “am I doing this right?”
Fears, secrets and regrets (that can be faced with grace, honesty and curiosity so that you can meet all parts of yourself with understanding and acceptance)
Meeting younger versions of yourself with the love, care and reassurance you didn’t receive at the time
Nothing out of the ordinary — just a restful lie down for 60 minutes ;)
All of these, and more, are completely normal.
Some sessions are profound, and others subtle. But one thing that is consistent for me in my journeys, is that I have mended the relationship with my SELF. Little by little, a reconnection and reclamation of the parts I have lost, forgotten or stopped loving. A reminder of my life force. My vitality. My spirit. My connection to it all.
And gratitude. Always gratitude.
What about you?
How have you experienced Breathwork?
I’d truly love to hear if you feel like sharing.
And while I hold all my clients’ experiences with reverence and honour, here’s a little levity for you — a tongue-in-cheek video I made of some of the common things we can say after a session Watch the reel