Nov 08, 2020

Petra Sloan

 


Holotropic Breathwork and Systemic Constellations

Once each year we offer a six day residential workshop of Holotropic Breathwork complemented by systemic constellations. 

If you need information about Holotropic Breathwork there are excellent references on this web site, or in the book Holotropic Breathwork: A New Approach to Self-Exploration and Therapy (SUNY, 2010)  by Stan and Christina Grof. During the retreat each attendee will participant in four breathwork sessions – two as a breather and two as a sitter. Subsequent to the breathwork sessions are Mandala drawing, to express the session nonverbally, and a Sharing circle in which each participant shares what they would like about their experiences. 

We include simple meditation practices as a part of the workshop experience. We find that this is an excellent way for participants both to prepare for breathwork and to assist in integration afterward. 

Systemic constellations are used as a complement after breathwork and sharing, if it is desired by a participant to gain a deeper insight into a process. This may be because the process has been difficult to understand, or seems to still be moving. A full description of the use of complementary modalities after breathwork, including systemic constellations, is provided in Chapter 5 of Stan and Christina's book Holotropic Breathwork. (We have been trained to facilitate systemic constellations, incidentally, by Dr. Albrecht Mahr, who is mentioned in the Holotropic Breathwork book.) 

What are systemic constellations? The method is derived from the Family Constellation approach, but substantially extended. It is a form of group process in which the group members make themselves available as representatives in a visible system, in service to an individual – the Focus – who has a question and wants insight into possible answers. A trained Facilitator assists the Focus in clarifying the question to be investigated and deciding on the elements of the system that will be represented. Then the Focus asks members of the group to stand as representatives for the selected elements. When the representatives for the elements have agreed to stand as particular representatives they are placed in the circle of the group, and given a location and orientation by the Focus. Past that point the representatives follow their arising inner sensations and impulses. The Facilitator may from time to time ask the representatives questions, add elements to the constellation, or bring the constellation to an end. The elements chosen in the constellation can be various, from body parts to symptoms, to people (living or dead), feelings, archetypes, animals, souls, spirits and so on. Anything and everything that one can experience in a holotropic state. Because it is precisely a holotropic state, with the wisdom from the “knowing field” finding expressions through the representatives, just as it does through an individual during journeying. 

Most of our workshops are in the German language, but from time to time we offer an event in which German competence is not required, but instead the main language of the event is English. That is the case for this workshop.

To apply to participate or to ask questions best is an email to:
breathwork (at) synergeist (dot) net

Participant count is limited to a maximum of 12.

We do require than anyone attending an event with us for the first time have a personal conversation with us, either in person, by phone, or Skype, to make sure that the expectations the person has for us and the workshop, and we have for the person, are in balance. For us this is an important part of the workshop process itself, and enables the beginning of the deeper group connections so important for the process.