01/11/2024
The breathwork workshops are an integrational part of our 3 and 5 day retreats. We've talked to Pascal van Rees, who is our breathwork facilitator, to share about his workshops, because participants are usually really enthousiastic about it.
How did you come into contact with breathing techniques yourself?
About 6 years ago i was invited to join a breath-work session and after the tears, i felt peace and extra space. This was so profound i started doing this more often and started joining workshops/studies in various techniques. About two years ago i also followed a certified prana-yama program because i wanted to learn about the basics of breath-work.
What kind of breath-work do you offer during the retreats?
During the retreats i use a mix of strong dmt activating breathing, slow deep belly awareness breathing, hearth coherence breathing and conscious connected breathing.
What effect do such sessions have on the body and mind?
In general you become a much more centered/ stabilized and healthy person, physically, emotionally and mentally. Reduces stress and anxiety. Increases
oxygen supply to the brain, promoting mental clarity.
How does this help you during a mushroom ceremony?
It provides the participants with extra tools to use during the ceremony, especially when emotions come to the surface. It opens/clears blockages, offers
grounding and helps to stabilize emotions. It can deepen your connection with the mushroom medicine.
Can you also use these techniques during your integration process?
Yes definitely, and in various ways. When we do some breath practices during the day, we create a conscious moment, a moment to feel and be aware. This way we train our 'consciousness' muscle and become more conscious of our inner world. Slow and deep breathing, remember to breath deep into your belly/pelvic area.
Sometimes we gain new insights during the mushroom ceremony and want to integrate them in our daily life. This sometimes isn't easy and brings up certain emotions; fear, doubt, failure, anxiety, restlessness.
The techniques that can help us bring up insights, clarity and peace, which empowers and motivates us during integration, is using the deep connected breathing pattern as learned during the workshop.
What do you often hear afterwards from participants about this combination?
Many times people are blown away by the profound deep releases they experience, it definitely supports them to go through deep processes and ground them. In fact i would recommend these practices before, during and after a ceremony!
