In recent months, I have been learning quite a bit about breathwork meditation. More specifically, I have been in training to become a certified Owaken Breathwork facilitator. Owaken is a nationally known organization founded in 2017 to help people change their lives by learning to change the way they breathe.
It is not really about changing the way you breathe in and out during your daily activities. Let’s face it, we all breathe without even thinking about it. Rather, breathwork is an intentional practice. It focuses on utilizing controlled breathing techniques to impact one’s physical, mental, and emotional state. Owaken Breathwork starts with foundational breathwork principles with thousands of years of history behind them and adds their own style and techniques.
I am working toward Owaken Breathwork certification with the intent of eventually offering both private and group sessions. I believe wholeheartedly in breathwork as a meditative principle. I am also a firm believer in the Owaken style.
Breathing With a Purpose
Breathing is essential to life. We all know that. But on a subconscious level, how we breathe has an enormous impact on how we live. The goal behind breathwork meditation is to set aside some time to concentrate on how we breathe. We do this in order to fulfill a stated goal.
Another way to say it is ‘breathing with a purpose’. Breathwork meditation takes advantage of something that the human body does naturally in order to achieve something greater. For example, someone experiencing a private session might be learning to utilize breathing exercises to enter an altered state of consciousness. In that altered state, the person can address suppressed emotions or traumas.
A facilitator offering group sessions might propose breathwork meditation to help participants calm themselves, boost their energy levels, promote physical and emotional healing, and even unlock their own potential.
Core Principles of Owaken Breathwork
Owaken is not the only organization that promotes breathwork meditation. But given that I am training to become a certified Owaken facilitator, I thought it would be good to explain their core principles of breathwork. Here they are:
- Conscious Breathing – Deep, conscious breathing patterns are a staple of the Owaken method. Participants are encouraged to consciously alter their breathing patterns to access different states of consciousness and self-awareness.
- Mindfulness – Mindfulness is a core principle in the sense that facilitators encourage participants to remain fully present and mindful throughout the entire session. Being mindful encourages the release of pent-up emotions. It also inhibits limiting beliefs that can otherwise interfere.
- Inner Journey – The inner journey is a sacred principle in Owaken Breathwork. Participants are guided through a journey of exploring their inner selves to address unresolved issues and gain new insights.
- Post-Breathwork Integration – Following the actual breathwork, participants are encouraged to integrate their experiences and insights into their daily lives. A facilitator might help a participant think through the experience prior to the end of the session, making practical integration easier in the day-to-day.
Being that my expertise is in sound healing and sound baths, I plan to incorporate the discipline into facilitating groups and private sessions of Owaken Breathwork. Combining sound healing with breathwork meditation can be profoundly beneficial to physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing.
At the time of this writing, I am just about half-way through my training. I am seriously looking forward to eventually being certified and offering Owaken Breathwork to clients throughout the Salt Lake City area. In the meantime, I will continue leading private and group sessions with sound healing as the main focus. I will also continue to keep my readers informed about appropriate healing retreats.
