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What is breathwork?
Breathwork is a breathing process that increases our ability to feel and resolve the effects of our past. It involves being guided by a trained breathworker to breathe in a full, free manner resulting in an increase in the level of physical and spiritual energy in the body. The breathing process cleanses the tension stored in the body, bringing the physical and emotional origins back into consciousness where they can be healed.

What is a session like?
Every session with a breathworker involves both counseling and the breathing process. Your breathworker will help you to contact your true feelings about both current and past issues, and resolve the associated unconscious beliefs. The breathing process assists this journey by increasing your physical and spiritual energy, enabling you to surrender to feelings and open the unconscious mind so past experiences can be released. Breathwork leaves you with an incredible sense of peace, aliveness, and authentic self-worth.

Why do I need a facilitator?
A breathworker is a professionally trained counselor who guides your breath in a way that enables the process to occur. S/he also guides and supports you through the variety of feelings, thoughts, and body sensations that you may experience during a session.

How many sessions should I do?
Breathwork can be used for either short or long term counseling. We recommend one session per week. The purpose of this is to build a trusting relationship with your facilitator and to maintain that relationship frequently enough to realize and integrate the cumulative results. In most people’s experience, a relatively short-term commitment to the process brings long-term and life-transforming results. Often, after only 15 to 20 sessions, you will be able to start getting results from doing breathing sessions on your own. However, there will always be value in continuing sessions with a professional breathworker. You can also attend trainings and learn to trade breathwork sessions with other breathwork trainees.

How does breathwork relate to childbirth?
Breathwork does not directly relate to childbirth, but if both partners are resolved with their own birth and family issues, they will be more able to give birth without complication and to be better parents. Since birth has a major impact on our lives, breathworkers tend to be advocates of gentle childbirth practices.

Why did you change the name from “rebirthing” to “breathwork”?
Since the breathing process was about more than childbirth, the name rebirthing has always been a source of confusion. Breathworkers have used different names, such as “conscious breathing”, as far back as 1980. The term rebirthing has occasionally been used by other practitioners to describe completely different processes that do not even involve breathing. This took tragic proportions in 2001 when therapists in Colorado killed an 11-year-old girl while forcing her through a tunnel of blankets and pillows. These therapists called their process “rebirthing” even though it had no connection to rebirthing as it was commonly practiced. Rebirthing as a restrictive therapy, (forcing people through a birth canal or by sitting on people) has since been made illegal in a few states. Rebirthing as breathwork remains legal under these laws but more and more practitioners have changed the name to avoid any confusion.

Relationship Transformations with Peter Kane
peter@PeterKane.org
(425) 802-2050 • 16710 NE 79th St., Suite 202, Redmond, WA 98052