Holotropic Breathwork - Reactions and Contraindications

Reactions and Contraindications

In a section entitled "Focused Body Work", Grof (1988) writes: "The last component of holotropic therapy, the focused body work, is used only when it is indicated. There are many sessions with a smooth course where no interventions are required. In some of these sessions, the hyperventilation does not trigger any difficult emotions or unpleasant physical manifestations and leads to progressive relaxation and to feelings of an ecstatic nature. In others, emotional and psychosomatic distress develops, but continued breathing brings about quite automatically a good resolution and good integration of the session" (194). He goes on to say that there are "only a few situations when focused body work is necessary in the early phases of holotropic sessions" and that "the main indication for the use of focused body work is a situation during the termination period of the session (usually after about an hour and a half to two hours) in those individuals where the breathing and music did not bring a complete resolution" (194) He points out that the "work on such problems is desirable, since it brings the session to a cleaner resolution and better integration, but it is in no way mandatory" (194-5). It is in this context that Grof refers to the exteriorization of "the various forms of physical discomfort associated with the emotional distress" (195). At this stage, "it can be helpful to use certain interventions that cooperate with the process, deepen it, and intensify it ... massage or pressure in the areas that are tense or painful, or offers of specific resistances that increase existing tensions ... Among the reactions that might spontaneously occur under these circumstances are violent shaking, grimacing, coughing, gagging, vomiting, a variety of movements, and a wide range of sounds that include screaming, baby talk, animal voices, talking in tongues or a language foreign to the client, shamanic chanting, and many others" (196)

Contraindications to be considered include: serious cardiovascular problems, glaucoma, severe psychiatric illness, and pregnancy (202); while special precautions are recommended in the case of epileptics (203).

He points out that caution is required in the case of individuals with a history of psychiatric hospitalization. Such procedures are "not without certain risks" and "if the process gets to be too active and extends beyond the framework of the sessions, it can require special measures" (251). Elsewhere, he writes that "experiential work with severely disturbed individuals requires a special residential facility with trained staff where continuous support is available for twenty-four hours a day; it should not be conducted on an outpatient basis" (204).